The Harbour Board.

Kawhia Settler and Raglan Advertiser, Volume IV, Issue 264, 22 June 1906, Page 2

The Harbour Board.

WHY IS ITS FORMATION DELAYED? COUNCILLORS ANXIOUS TO KNOW.

Before the business of Hie last meeting wbs completed, Or W. S'taw asked if anything had bjen heard about the Hat hour Board. A CLinmui ica im bad been sent to the Marino Depart men!; on February 17th, but no reply bad been received although it woe-then June. He felt justified in saying they had been shabbily treated. The sub ject had been under discussion for 10 months and he could not understand the delay. Cr Babbage : Someone must be working behind the scenes. Cr W. Shaw suggested that the CJ&rk writs every fortnight until an answer was received. He had heard that a petition had been sent in to the member for Waikato.

The Chairman : Du you not think that the petition wouP bur y matters up ? Cr Shaw was sure that it had never reached Wellington. It might be a good idea to forward a letter through Mr Greenslude.

Cr Jonathan : Possibly the Marine Department d ) nut want to vest the Council with the powers of a Harbour Board.

Cr W. Shaw said it was a pity to have to get Mr Gceenslade Jo use his endeavours to get the harbour vested lu the Council and then move for a properly constituted Harbour Bia rd It was the only way it cculd. be done, however, as to accomplish the latter might take 12 months. (At this stage Cr Norton, who had been comparing the letter book and the petition for the Town Board, drew attention to a clause in & letter to the Marine Departmant written by instruc tions of the Chairman. The last portion read : “ I may mention that it is probable that a Town Board will be formed here, in which case they would have to be represented on the Harbour Board.”)

Cr W. Shaw: That letter was never authorised by the Council. It leads to the belief that there are two local bodies.

Cr Armstrong did not remember the letter coming before the Council. Cr Jonathan could not see that the letter effected the matter.

(Cr Armstrong here passed a moti n to Cr Norton to second, which he did, to the effect that in future all communications be passed by the Council.) On the Clerk reading the motion,

The Chairman vacated the chair, stating that he would not remain in the chair ana take iusolencs.

Cr Armstrong : There is no insolence.

Cr M’Cardle : When you say that you will leave no more work to the Chairman that is insolence. I will not take the chair until it is withdrawn, and you will have to wait until I am not present to carry such a reaction.

Cr W. Shaw : I do not think that insolence was intended. I must say that now my attention has been drawn to these details I can see why the matter has been hung up. To my mind it is as oleTar as daylight.

Cr M'Cardle said that the letter was not meant to do that. The motion was very disrespectful and meant a deadlock to the business, as it did away with the power of the chairman.

Cr Armstrong ; The letter was not authorised by the Council.

Cr M*Cardle : If there is Anything objectionable in the letter I will take the blame.

Cr W. Shaw said the motion would have to be worded differently. It simply meant that all communications have to go through the Council. Cr Armstrong suggested meeting every month. Cr Jonathan remarked that this was not a personal matter, but it would certainly be against the interests of the Council if any such motion were placed on the minute book as it would tie up the businers of the Council Cr Armstrong : Simple answers to letters would be all right. Cr Jonathan ; It would delay tho business of the Council.

Cr Armstrong : That would be better than having trouble afterwards. Cr M’Cardle (resum : ag his seat) : This will require a notice of motion. It is not nice to have to bear impertinnnce. No man has worked harder in the interests of the Council than I have, and in the whole of my public life I have never been insulted so.

Cr Armstrong stated that no insuli was meant.

The Chairman (warmly) : You did offer insult, sir. On a previous occasion you insulted mo grossly, and if it had been used outside it would have taken all the manliness you possess to stand to it. We come here for business, and if you want fight you’ll get fight. You can give notice of motion. Cr W. Shaw was sorry at tbe turn affairs had taken and it was a most unfortunate matter, but he was not going to let the Harbour Board stop as it was. His reason for opposing tbe Town Board was because |he thought (lie objec. was greater representation on the Harbour Board, and that view was now borne out by the letter before, t'lem. The ©bairman bad then sani tiiat it depended entirely upon how the Board was conetitulbd, but be (the speaker) Lit ih.it it was to get the greater voting power on the Kawhia aide of the harbour.

The Chairman: Neither local body perhaps would bo represented. We could have an elective Harbour Board. Cr W. Shaw maintained that tbe letter to tho Marine Department was very oontradictOTy. It asked to have the Council vested with tbe powers of a Harbour Board, and further on said that another local body was coining into existence. Any common sense man would take (he view (hat if what

was asked was done it would have to be altered to give the second liocal body representation. The letter bad been the reason why no satisfactory answer had hsen received.

Tbe Cbairmin suggested that porhaps outsiders had been writing to the Minister of Marine.

Cr Babbage : The original idea was to get tho harbour vested in the Council. The trouble has arisen through wanting to have a properly constituted Harbour Board.

Or Shaw Get the harbour, the B ard will come later on. Cr Babbage : We might instruct the clerk to keep on writing til! we got ths powers of a Harbour Board. We must stick to that idea.

Cr Shaw: And that is just a-king for what we have been trying to obtain since the vary start.' It was eventually decided, on tbe motion of Crs Bibbage and Armstrong, “ That Ihe Marine Department be again written to re vesting tbe Council with the powers of a Harbour Board, and draw attention to previous unanswered letters.”