HARBOR BOARD.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2380, 18 November 1881, Page 3

HARBOR BOARD.

An adjourned meeting of the Lyttelton Harbor Board was held at 3 p.m. yesterday. Present—Hon. B. Richardson (chairman), Messrs H. Sawtell. O. W. Turner, R. J. 8. Harman, E. Q. Wright, Robert Allan, P. Cunningham, His Worship the Mayor of Lyttelton and Hon. J. S. Peacock.

The Chairman raid : —The Board having adjourned till to-day, the following is the business to bo considered :—Eo contract for pilot boat—ln this case I would suggest that the Board authorise me to obtain the report of an independent expert on the question of whether the boat is built according to the contract specification. Eo lighting wharves— Messrs Bell and Miller have written, stating that they will forward by next mail full particulars relative to lighting harbors by the electric light. A letter also has been received this afternoon from Mr Oleminshaw, submitting for the Board’s consideration a scheme for establishingjprivate gasworks of their own should they desire to do so. His letter may be referred to the harbor improvement committee, Eo caisson—Advice has been received from Messrs Bell and Miller by this mail that the caisson was to be shipped at Liverpool in the Pampero, which was to leave on the 25th October, so that wo may expect it to arrive by the middle of January nest. They state the reasons for delay, and that the contractors have been advised that penalties are to be enforced. The other business for to-day’s meeting is the consideration of Mr E, G. Wright’s notice of motion relative to representation on the Harbor Board for the country districts of Ashburton and Ashley and the borough of Sydenham, and the postponed consideration of the finance committee’s report relative to the reduction of the harbor charges. This question simply resolves itselves into whether the Board decide upon charging the future dredging expend!ture against loan. If so, then there is room to make a proportionate reduction in the harbor charges. Several accounts were passed for payment, amounting to £57 8s 2d, The Board then proceeded to discuss Mr Wright’s motion, as follows : “ That in consideration of the large amount of revenue derived from the counties of Ashley and Ashburton and the borough of Sydenham, this Board is of opinion that the said districts are entitled to separate representation, and the Board requests the Government to take the necessary steps to have the Harbors Act amended accordingly.” Mr Wright said that the question had been a considerable time before the Board, and no doubt the members had made up their minds how they were going to vote. But while this was so, he desired to quote a few figures. First, the population of the area represented on that Board amounted to 53,660, and the area unrepresented but contributing to the revenue amounted to 31,740, without counting the population north of the Hufunui or south of the Eangitata, or including the residents of Banks’ Peninsula. Again, he desired to point out that quoting • from the returns issued by the New Zealand Shipping Company for the yea* ending 31st October last, the export trade of Lyttelton exceeded that of all the rest of the colony put together, the export tonnage from Lyttelton being 64,914, and from all the other ports put together 63,700, He trusted that the Board would do justice to these outlying districts if even only by giving one member each to Ashburton and Ashley and to Sydenham, which at any rate would be some concession to the popular wish. He desired to point out further that there was no restriction contained in the resolution as to how this representation should be given, whether by the removal of the members of the Cham, bar of Commerce, or those nominated by the Government. He would not longer detain the Board, but simply move the resolution, hoping that the Board would give a more courteous answer to the request than that given to the Ashburton County Council.—The Mayor of Lyttelton seconded the motion. —Mr Cunningham and Mr Allan announced their intention of supporting the resolution, on the ground that those who paid rates, and had, therefore, an interest in the working of the Board, should be represented, and, therefore, they thought the resolution was a reasonable one, Mr Harman said he did not know in what capacity Mr Wright moved this resolution. Mr Wright—As a member of the Ashburton County Council, and at their request. Mr Harman said he asked this question to ascertain whether Mr Wright had a constituency behind him. He might say at once that he was in favor of the district spoken of being represented, but he thought that the latter words of the resolution should be omitted, as follows:—“And requests the Government to make such alterations in the Harbors Act as will carry out the above resolution.” He did not think that the Board should go thus far, but simply say they were in favor of the districts referred to being represented, but leaving the same power that called them into existence to carry out the alteration. If Mr Wright would accept his suggestion ho (Mr Harman) would vote for 1 it. If not, then ho should move as an amendment that the latter words of the resolution be struck out.—The chairman suggested that the words “ and that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Government” should take the place of the words proposed to be struck out by Mr Harman.—Mr Wright had no objection to this being done.—The resolution was then put in the following form, viz.—“ That in consideration of the large amount of revenue derived from the counties of Ashley and Ashburton and the borough of Sydenham, this Board is of opinion that these districts are entitled to representation on the Board, and that this resolution be forwarded to the Government.”

—Mr Wright, In replying, said he desired to say that he was not in favor of having members nominated by the Government at that Board. It was not in force in connection with many of the Harbor Boards of the colony, and he saw no reason for it here. The gentlemen nominated by the Government should find no diflionlty in obtaining a seat at the Board, nor did he think they would from any of the bodies empowered to elect members. All he required was that they should give representation to those outlying districts which were now practically debarred from being represented. —The motion was then put and carried.

The question of the dispute between the harbormaster and the builder of the pilot boat was referred to the chairman, with power to act. The Chairman said the finance committee had, as requested, gone into the question of the reduction of wharfage rates, and now came to the Board to request the Board's decision on the subject.—Mr Turner said that, as a member of the finance committee, he might say they had found that so long as the cost of the dredging some £7OOO a year, was charged as it was now, they could not mate any reduction in the charges of wharfage. In order to test the feeling of the Board, he would move—“ That in the opinion of the Board, from the Ist January next, the cost of the dredging works should be charged to capital account, and not to revenue.”—Mr Wright seconded the motion, and pointed out that if they made a further reduction of 6d per ton, they would have an excess of some £4OOO or £SOOO over their expenditure.—Mr Harman supported the motion, and expressed his approval of the course now proposed to be adopted by the Board.—Mr Allan said, that without any further resolution, the finance committee could bring up a report as to the reductions they recommended, and when they did so, he desired to direct their attention to the very heavy transhipping charges made.—Mr Cunningham also desired to call attention to the very heavy transhipping charges, because the merchants of Christchurch and Lyttelton were endeavoring to get back some of the Timaru trade, and they trusted the Board would assist them. — The chairman said that it would be his duty, as chairman of the finance committee, to call the members together and submit the whole matter to them.—The resolution was then put and agreed to. It was resolved that Mr Oleminshaw’s letter, respecting the establishment by the Board of a gasworks of its own, for lighting the wharves, &a., be referred to the harbor improvement committee, to be considered in connection with Messrs Bell and Miller's letter re electric lighting. The Board then adjourned till 2 p.m. on December let, at Christchurch,