The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, MAY 28, 1906. THE HARBOR.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1759, 28 May 1906, Page 2

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, MAY 28, 1906. THE HARBOR.

The unfortunate experience of last week will give more than ordinary interest to the monthly meeting of the Ilarbpr Board to bo held this afternoon. The liver entrance has ever been a subj ct of serious concern, and experience is proving what Mr Napier Bell foretold th-t the deeper water bring obtained would bring with it the disadvantage of a range that would inoonvenience shipping. Toe overseer also plainly submitted bis opinion to the Board I whin proceeding with the woik. The present writer bos always taken the daiker side of the 6ui jcct, aud sincerely regrets >bac coitain gloomy predictions have to some extent been verified. But wo do strongly deprecate the din of croakiDg that is low being set up, The taxpayers of this district are quite justified in resentirg all the “ I told-you-so ” fraternity who aro now rushiDg round abusing the Board for oot being more lavish with the publio money Every respect should be paid to the experienced men who have been work’cg the poit, but not a great deal of weight should be alticbed to the attaaks cf men who visiting the place iD charge of a liitle boat set themselves up as marine engineers, ready (o revile those who have aoted on the best engineering advice available. The position is too serious for the Board to palter with, its detraotors. It must be recognised that the rivor harbor will never give satisfaction unless the Board go on spending thousands to obtain tbo benefits that have been gained in other places, and tbeir attention must be oonfioed for the present to keeping the river open for the treffie that has b;en cuslomery at the port. Some day, the late Sir John Coode’s sobeme, modernised in some wajs, must bo taken up. That time is not yet ripe, and even if it were the river must still be kept open for the freezing works and general purposes, so that the Board of the present day must lo.k to the present and Dot have its attention diverted by the greater scheme the cost of which must some day be faced. Tbe Board will have before it to-day two opinions of importance, when we hope that eaoh will be given mature consideration, though wo aro not ouro that cither

will help the Board very muoh. Mr Reynolds’ sobomo Bcoms bo us to get over tho dillioultioß indiootod to him, but only in a way that would oronto ovou groator clangors. Wo aro suro that anyono visiting tho boacb cn thrco days last work and having Mr Reynolds’ proprsil in mind would f. ol that tho daogor would have been groatly intensified, while a mental contrast with tho harbormaster's proposal would havo favored tho lattor, always allowing tho supposition that ferro conoroto could not bo usod for tho slruoturo. Further, tho harbormaster's suggestion could not bo adoptod until it had tho imprimatur of an onginoer pieced theroon. Tbo proposal to bodily remove a portion of tho (ruining wall Bbould only bo taken ia oonjurotion with.tbo sand difficulty. Those who havo paid oloso attention to tho work know that tho Band bid is Btoadily extending outwards; it has even orept btlow tbo ladder WBy on tho opposite sido of tbo rivor, and rein v-d nf any portion of the wa'l would undoubtedly hasten the great sand difficulty, which is certainly now to « large extent being coped with. The Board should not have tho slightest hesitation in removing a portion of the wall if that is deemed a more satisfactory course, as it would be better for all parties to admit the blunder anil have it remedied before any serious consequences ensue. That, however, would mean a heavy expense for dredging or sand-pumping. It would mean work which the John Townley could not cope with. The Board lias followed engineering advice and adopted what seemed the lesser of two evils. Now unless something of the kitfd proposed by the Harbormaster can he adopted there seems nothing for it but to retrace the steps and accept the inevitable sand difficulty. The Board has upon it a greater responsibility than ever, while at the same time it must guard against panic proposals involving crushing burdens on the ratepayers. A correspondent suggests extending the existing breakwater pier. Any proposal of that kind would he hopeless, and,would he opposed by nine out of every ten ratepayers.

Tho Gisborne R fias will be inspeotcd by Co'onal Kettle to morrow oveDing. MvK. J. Clirisp returned to Gisborne on Saturday.

The Harbor Board meets at two o cloe this afternoon.

A mw-'ing of the Weak Bod Football Club will bo held at the Te Rau College at 7.45 to night.

Mails despatehed from Sydney via Vancouver on April 17th, arrived ill

London on May 21st.

The first pr ; zr in Tattersall’s sweep on Adelaide Cup, valuo £6OOO, wei t to two Wellington residents, Messrs Judah and Phil Myo-s.

It is tho intention of the Native Minister to try and induoe about 100 of the followers of Rua, the Maori prophet in the Rotorua diatriot, to accept woik at railway construction in some par! of thß North Is'and.

Nominations for the principal handicap events for the Gisborne Racing Club s Steeplechase Meeting, to be held on July sth and 6th, close with the secretary, Mr M. G. Nasmith, on Saturday next, June 2nd.

Over two thousand shares have already been taken in the local oil company, and it is expected the number will be made up to 2500 to day. Several of the directors visited Whatatutu yesterday. Mr W. Monk, representing Mr J. C Williamson, arrived in Gisborne on Saturday to make arrangements for the reappearance of the Repertoire Company, which play on Monday next, Harry Walter Worley, a young man, pleaded guilty iu the Oamaru Magistrate’s Court to stealing the sum of £149 7s Id, the propeity of his employer, David Dudd, butcher. Eleven charges in all were reduced to one, He was committed for sentence.

The wedding of Prinoeßß Ena and King Alfonso takes piece on Saturday next. The bade will bo given away by berunole, P.ince Louis of BatteDbeig. who, in accordance with KiDg Edward’s express wish, is to be attended by a staff of three distinguished naval officers. Whilst a young lady in Hastings was eating hor dinner the plate of her false teeth became detached by some means end she had the misfottuoo to swsl'ow three of the teeth and a poriicn of the plate. She was removed to the Napier Hospital for treatment. Bbe is now out of danger. The Natives of the Urewera diatriot slate that they have a new prophet about every three months, and when they find out that he is a fraud he is thought no more of. Rua triumphed through tho services of a gul iblo pressman ; otherwise he would have been defunct as a prophet before people generally had even beard of him. He still Btates he is to be in G’sborne on Juco 25th to moot KiDg Edward.

Messis Miller and Craig report the following prices at Saturday's auotion sale: Hens la to Is 81, roosters Is 31 to 23, duoks Is, pullets Is 81 and Is 61. butter 91, eggs 2s 3d, oaulifloweis 3 >6l to 5s doz, onions f£d lb, Bpplcs 4s and 4s 3d case, artiobokes Id lb, walnuts 541 and 6d lb, rhubarb 3d bundle, pickling cabbage 2s 6d d>.z, beetroot 2d eaob, carrots Id bundle and 3s 3d sack, turnip 3 l£d bundle, pie meh in 3s to 7s 61 dez, pumpkins 33 to 63 dez, kumeras 2d to 24d lb, marrows Is 61 dtz, ma’ze 43 bushel, hams 741, parsnips Id bundle. At Messrs Bain Bros, auotion on Salurday the following prices were realised : Hens Is to Js 51, guinea fouls Is 31, pullet. lid, ducks Is 61 to Is 91, butter 103 to Is, eggs 2s 3d fo 2s 7d, presorved Is 3d to 1b 65, parsnips 81 Bmall bag, oarrots 63 small Lag or 3s 61 Back, onions 1 jl to IJd lb, swrde turnips 4s 61 saok, potatoes 14d to 2d lb, pumpkinß Is 9d ti 2s 6d dozen, oauhUowors Is 9.1 doz-n, cabbagoj 8s 91 a d.ztn, nuiz- 4s bushel. Tbo East Cos-1 Mounted R fles broke up oam'p yesterdav. In tbe morring the members of tbo squsd.-on att nded a church parade at Holy Trinity Ohurob, the sorvica being conducted by tbo Rev. Dawson Thomas, chaplain of the oorps. Colonel Wintor was among those present. After tbe service the members of the corps bad lunoheon at tbe Trocadero, the new proprietor of which was highly complimented on tbe manner in wbioh be provided frr tbe ocoaßioo. Tbe second officer of tbe Tatawera, which arrived at Lyttelton from Wellington on Baturdav after a 32-hours’ paßsogo, reports that when the vessel was about abeam of Ka'koura he witnessed an extraordinary s’ght. The sea, which was run* ning i ery high, was covered with thousands of dead fisb, mostly ling and cod, which wero floating on tbe surfuoe. He could . o'early dis'inguish tbo fisb, and tbe vessel was steaming through them for about four or five miles. Tho officer was unable to account for tbo phenomenon, but he is inclined to tbink that there must have been some kind of submarine explosion or eruption which killed the fish and sent them to tbe surface in thousands. Captain ManDiDg, of the Mararoa, saw notbiDg of them, but his vessel was well outside the Cjurse taken by tbe Tarawera.

An old identity who has watched the Taranaki oil operations with much in terest is enthusiastic over the recent developments. *• I always knowed mister,” remarked the old gent, “ that there was plenty of oil about. Why, it's been my idea that there's oil from Moturoa to Gisborne, and that Tongariro and Ruapehu and the hot lakes have been burning petroleum for millions of years. It’s about time the Government got to work and put out the fires, and got some of that ’ere oil,”—N.Z. Herald.

A young lady residing at Uuntroon (North Otago), met with a remarkable mishap a few clays ago. She had bten seen walking along the road reading a book, and was subsequently missed. A search party was formed. After searching every likely place in the neighborhood, the party directed their attention to what fire known as ‘‘ earthquakes ” —deep fissures ill limestone near Duntroon —and eventually the lady was found at the bottom of a fissure 60ft deep. In some places the fissures Rre overgrown with vegetation, and evidently the lady, deeply absorbed in her book, had walked intp a fissure unawares. Her fall was partially broken by the narrowness of the cavity and the ledges on the sides, and it is not thought that she has beet) seriously injured.