HARBOUR BILL

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, 29 November 1927, Page 5

HARBOUR BILL

PASSED IN THE HOUSE TWO AMENDMENTS. COSTS OF THE COMMISSION. [Special to “Tribune’’] Wellington, Nob. 29. The Napier Harbour Board Empowering Loan and Constitution Amendment Bill was passed by the House of Representatives last night. Moving the second reading, Mr. John Mason said the Bill was the outcome of the most urgent recommendations of the Royal Commission. He proposed to move two amendments when the Bid was in committee. One was to provide power for the board to borrow moneys to pay the expenses of raising certain loans falling due on January 1 next. A clause providing for payment of these expenses had been approved by the Treasury and the Auditor-General. The second amendment was to validate the excess borrowing of £7OO on the part of the board in connection with renewing loans. The amount borrowed in excess arose from the fact that there had been an error in computing the amount of sinking fund held by the board.

MR. DICKSON AT SEA. Mr. J. S. Dickson (Parnell) expressed the opinion that there should be provision in the Bill for payment of the costs of the recent Commission. He objected to the attempt to saddle the Government with the £3OOO cost. The board had asked for the inquiry and should pay. The Hon. G. J. Anderson suggested that Mr. Dickson should give a description of the wharf that fell down at Auckland. (Laughter, during which Mr. Dickson subsided.) Mr. W. A. Veitch (Wanganui) said it was not just that the board should be called on to pay all the costs of the Commission—£3soo was an enormous cost to face Mr. W. D. Lysnar (Gisborne) deprecated the question of costs being brought in. That was a very debatable subject and was. really provided for by legislation, Mr Mason said that there would be another opportunity of discussing the matter before the session ended. The Minister of Marine, the Hon. G. J Anderson intimated that he approved of the provisions in fhe Bill. The amendments were agreed to and the Bill passed.