HARBOUR BOARD.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 1953, 28 May 1880, Page 4

HARBOUR BOARD.

Thttbbday, May 27. The annual meeting of the Lyttelton Har"bour Board was held at 2 p.m. Present — Hon. B. Biohardson (chairman), Messrs E. J B. Harman, D. Craig, B. Allan, P. Cunningham, C. W. Turner, H. P. Murray-Ajnsley, and the Mayor of Lyttelton. The Chairman said The following sums have been paid into the Board’s credit since our last meeting—wharfages, £ISOO ; towage, warps, &0.,£93 18> 2d, total, £1593 18s 2i. The engineer’s monthly r eport on the progress made under the harbour works contracts now in hand -will* be read. The harbour improvement committee will bring up a report relative to the harbour improvement to be carried out between the screw pile jetty and the Gladstone wharf. Upon further enquiry into the question of the foreshore reserve round the harbor of Lyttelton, I fiadjthat in a number of the Crown grants abutting upon it it is described as a road, and nob as a beach reserve, as in the remainder of these sections. It is, therefore, useless attempting to obtain jurisdiction over the whole foreshore round the harbor. My attention has been called to an opinion given by Mr Nalder, as solicitor to the Lyttelton Borough Council, on the question of the borough’s power to levy rates upon the sheds erected over the Gladstone Pier. The opinion, as given, raises a question of vital importance to the Harbor Board, should it prove that the existing legislation makes the Board liable to be rated upon all their harbor improvements. The question, I think, is of such importance that the other harbor boards should bo communicated with, with a view of taking such joint action as will remedy and set at rest such an anomalous state’of things ; as, it must be obvious that the interests of Lyttelton, as well as other ports of the colony, are largely served by the improvements of Harbor Boards, and if the borough levy rates on harbour improvements, the Harbour Board must in their turn exact further charges from the shipping. Doubtles, in consequence of the above opinion, the Borough Council have to-day sent in a letter requesting immediate payment of the rates on the Gladstone sheds. The position is an embarrassing one, as the solicitor to the Borough Council is also the Board’s solicitor, and I may say I hold a directly contrary opinion to that expressed by the borough solicitor. Under the circumstances of the case, as I am proceeding to Wellington to-morrow, I should like to have the Board’s authority to obtain the opinion of the At-torney-General or tho Solicitor-General, or perhaps both. A letter will bo road from the National Bank of New Zealand objecting to furnish a list of the names of the subscribers to the Lyttelton Harbor Board loan. A number of accounts for payment will come before you to-day. The secretary has applied for ton days’ leave' ofj absence, to be extended over next month, which doubtless the Board will authorise mo to grant. Leave of absence too, should be granted to the members of the Board who have to attend tho ensuing session of the General Assembly, and during my absence I presume the Board would desire that the duties of acting chairman should, as heretofore, bo undertaken by Mr Harman. I will bring before you several small matters relating to the purchase of a lathe, the fitting up of four extra water tanks on board the tug, and an application in connection with a boatslip from Mr A. Shaw. The report of the engineer was road as follows :

Sir, —I have the honor to report that the ■works of reclamation contracted for by Mr J. Stinson are finished, wltn the exception of the maintenance. He has slightly exceeded his contract time in the reclamation work, exclusive of the time taken to make extra additions to the boat landing, which was immaterial. The works of the dock are making fair progress, more especially in the excavation of the hill and carrying the same to embankment. Only onefourth of the excavation to be done. Plans are being prepared for the timber breastwork over the new reclamation, suitable for bearing the weight of grain sheds, as indicated by the harbor improvement committee. Plans will also be prepared for 100 ft. of breastwork on the rec’amation beyond Peacock’s wharf. Messrs Bell and Miller, writing on March 23rd, state : —“.We have now arranged all the terms and specifications for the pumps and engines. In respect to taking tenders for the pumps, we presume you have decided upon having centrifugal pumps, and consider you are right in this. We propose, therefore, to select four or five of the best makers, and request them to send in tenders. This being a speciality, there are only a few makers, and if we advertise they might bo deterred in face of competition with a lot of incapahles.” The harbor improvement committee brought up their report as follows : Tour committee having fully considered the plans proposed for the best permanent adaptation of the space available for berthage and shed accommodation to the eastward of the screw pile jetty, beg to make the following recommendations :1. Be timber breastwork. —That a timber breastwork be constructed along the face of the new reclamation between the Screw Pile Jetty and the Gladstone Pier, to be bnilt of sufficient strength to carry two flior sheds when required. 2. Bo shed sites. —That the leasing oIE these shed sites be deferred for the present. 3. Be proposed jetties from new breastwork. — That the breastwork plan shall include a 400 feet jetty, to be placed about 260 feet to the eastward of the Screw Pile Jetty, and parallel to it, and that a portion of this jetty be included in the contract for the breastwork. In deciding upon tbis jetty the committee have in view the construction, at a future time, of another jetty, parallel to and ahont 260 feet to the west of the Gladstone Pier.— Edwd. Eichabdson, Chairman harbor improvement committee. Mr Allan moved that—“ That the report of tho harbor improvement committee be adopted, and that plans for the timber breastwork and the proposed jetty to the east of the screw pile jetty he at once prepared in accordance therewith, and forwarded to Wellington for his Excellency the Governor’s approval, and that on receipt of that approval tenders be at once called for the construction of the timber breastwork and 120 feet of the proposed jetty.” Mr Harman seconded the motion.

Mr Cnnningham said he should like to see the length of the jetty defined, and that the breastwork be constructed as soon as possible.

The Chairman said that tho jetty, as projected, would be about 400 feet. Of course the work of constructing the breastwork would be carried ont as speedily as possible. The motion was then put and agreed to. The Chairman brought up tho matter of tho Borough Council rating the sheds on the Gladstone Pier. If this were allowed to be done by boroughs close to harbor boards it would be very prejudicial to them. After some discussion,

Mr Harman moved—“ That the chairman be requested to take the opinion of the Solicitor-General, or the Attorney-General, or both, on the subject of the rating by the Borough Council of the sheds on the Gladstone Pier.”

Mr Cunningham thought that they should ask the solicitor for an opinion before going to the Solicitor-General or Attorney-General. Mr Turner thought that the Board should band the demand of the Lyttelton Borough Council to Messrs Harper, Harper and Scott to defend it on behalf of tho Board. He objected to furnishing the Borough Council with an opinion which might be used against them.

The Chairman said he had no objection to the course proposed by Mr Turner, to call in an independent solicitor, but what he desired to see was that the best advice should be procured, so that it might be known exactly what the position of the Board was, so that legislation might be had that session. The Mayor of Lyttelton thought that the House would never pass such a clause as the one referred to by the chairman. Mr Craig asked whether the Borough Council would be satisfied with the opinion of the Solicitor-General ?

The Mayor of Lyttelton said that he could not say this, but he might nay that ho believed the Council would take no steps until the Lyttelton Harbor Board had advice, Mr Cunningham said he wanted to see the matter put straight, and carried out in a proper manner. Let the Board ask the solicitor for an opinion, ignoring the opinion given to the Borough Council, and instruct him to fortify himself with the highest opinion procurable on the subject. He thought this was the proper way of going about things, and that the Board should adopt it.

Mr Turner moved—“ That inasmuch as Mr Nalde? is the solicitor of the Ly'telton Borough Council as well as the Harbor Board, the chairman be authorised to place the matter of the demand for rates on the Gladstone Pier sheds in the hands of Messrs Harper, Harper, and Scott, with a request that they will fortify themselves with the opinion of the Attorney-General or SolicitorGeneral, or both, on the question of rating harbor improvements.” Mr Harman seconded tho motion.

The Chairman said that at this moment the .sheds were absolutely rested in the Crown.

The Government had broken the law by handing it to the Board, and had to go to the Assembly for an indemnity for so doing. Mr Ayntley moved a* an amendment—“Thatthe Boird’s solicitor bo asked whether he has any objection to the taking the opinion of an independent solicitor on the subject of the liability of the Board to pay rates for harbour improvements, he having given the Borough Council of Lyttelton his advice as borough solicitor, and ti nt on his reply being favourable, the chairman be requested to take the advice of the AttorneyGeneral, or any other legal advice he may deem necessary.” Mr Cunningham seconded the amendment. Mr Turner said that Mr Naldor had elected which body he would servo, as he had given his opinion to the Lyttelton Borough Council. He should vote against the amendment. Mr Craig should also vote against the amendment for the reasons advanced by Mr Turner. The amendment was then put and lost. The original motion was then put and carried. . A letter was read from the National Bank of Now Zealand stating that the Bank was not in a position to give the names of the subscribers to the Lyttelton Harbour Board Loan. Leave of absence was granted for ten days to the secretary. Two reports were read from Mr Turpin as regarded the state of the boilers of the tup, and the providing of four tanks for the tug for feeding the boilers. He also recommended the purchase of a lathe from Mr Grange at the price of £4O. Mr Aynsley moved—“ That the Board approve of the purchase of the lathe at a coat not exceeding £4O, and that the four tanks recommended by Mr Turpin to be placed in the tug be authorised to be procured.” Mr Craig seconded the motion, which was carried. A letter was read from Mr Shaw, asking the Board to grant permission to erect a boat ' 'Che Chairman said that the applicant had been referred to the contractors for the dock, and that it would therefore remain in their hands. If they liked to sanction the slip the Board would not interfere. Leave of absence for the session of Parliament was granted to Messrs Allwright and Biohardson. Accounts to the amount of over £4OOO were passed for payment. In reply to the Mayor of Lyttelton, The Chairman stated that the only cases in which vessels had been allowed to land ballast free of charge on the wharves was where the Government had bought the ballast, and it had therefore become the property of the Queen, and therefore not liable to wharfage. The Mayor of Lyttelton suggested that captains of vessels should be allowed to discharge their ballast without payment, on cither side. Mr Cunningham said he had actually had to pay the Board some £2O or £3O for wharfage, and also had to pay 6i per ton for ballast going over the other side. It was positively absurd.

The Chairman said that in many instances coal was brought as ballast, and the grain was taken in over the other side.

Mr Turner said that for many years past the ballast had never been charged for. It must be a very recent regulation, as only £46 had been received for it up to now. For the twelve years that he had been ship-owning in Canterbury he had never been asked for a single penny for ballast on the wharves. The Board then adjourned, to meet on Thursday, Ist July, at Christchurch.