SELWYN COUNTY COUNCIL.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2175, 14 February 1881, Page 3

SELWYN COUNTY COUNCIL.

A special meeting of this Council was held at 11 a.m. to-day. Present—Messrs E. J. Lee (chairman). Mathias, McMillan, Feryman and Wilson.

The business of the.meeting was to elect two members of the Lyttelton Harbor Board to represent the Council. The Chairman said their business that day was, as they probably knew, to elect two gentlemen to represent the Council on the Harbor Board. The only candidates that he was aware of were Messrs B. J. S. Harman and E. G. Wright. Mr Peryman asked under what authority the Council nominated their members. The Chairman called attention to the clause in the Harbor Act. Mr Mathias moved the nomination of Mr B. J. S. Harman, speaking m high terms of commendation of the zeal and assiduity with which he attended to his duties.

Mr Peryman seconded the nomination. Mr McMillan proposed Mr E. Q. Wright He trusted Mr Wright would go in there to see if the wharfage rates could not be reduced. In this respect he thought the late Board was much to blame, as no attempt had been made to reduce the rates whilst they had the loan to expend, and, therefore, it was clear they could not do so when it was expended. This was one reason why he could not support Mr Harman. He also desired to point out that the Board was working the steam tug nt a loss, merely to give the port of Lyttelton a name with ship masters. The time, he hoped, would soon come when the Board would reduce the wharfage rates, Mr Wilson seconded the nomination. No other candidates being nominated, the Chairman declared Messrs Harman and Wright duly elected. Mr Wilson said the wharfage rates were a very heavy tax indeed, and he was glad to see Mr Wright going in to reduce the rates of wharfage. For this reason he should have liked to have seen a much larger infusion of new blood. Mr Mathias thought that the electors should, prior to returning any candidates, make them give a pledge that they would vote for the reduction of wharfage rates. Mr Wilson pointed out that it was simply the shipping versus the producing interest, and the only thing was which should have the preference. Ho did not see that the new candidates proposed would be any improvement at all. After some further conversational discussion, the meeting terminated.