Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 1894. A Warning.

Manawatu Herald, 7 June 1894, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 1894. A Warning.

In years past much has been said and written about the improvement of the Manawatu river. We havo received one or two minor engineer's report, but good luck has befriended the district in their not being entertained. With the success at Liverpool every inhabitant of a small port in this colony desired to make his river like unto it, some have tried, but few have succeeded. We remember feeling, in common with many other settlers, much dissatisfaction at Wanganui receiving advances, loans, and endowments, but from what was said at a recent meeting of the Wanganui Harbourßoard, by Mr Jackson, the Mayor of that town, we begin to be of the opinion that we are more fortunate in having been , compelled to leave our river alone. Our Wanganui friends started " improving " their porfc in 1887 and up fco fche present time have expended -£88,118, with whafc result ? Thafc the outlay has been of very little use, if indeed it has nofc been productive of harm. Mr Jackson moved a resolution practically to stop all works, repay part of a loan with the money fchey still possess, and establish a sinking fund out cf their receipts, for ten years, to repay the balance of fchis loan, a £10,000 one to fche Government. If they did that, they would only then have a debt of £35,000 ! and we presume their endowment would be gone. Of course as you cannot make bricks without straw, you cannot make harbours without cosfc, bufc the moral of the efforts of fche Wanganui Harbour Board appears fco be, nofc to. attempt such works without sufficient capital and without experienced engineers. This is the doleful tale told : the training wall, guaranteed not to sink by the engineer had done nothing else bufc sink, and thus entailed a greafc expense in maintenance, it is stated that the wall had sun 1 * as much as fifty feet ; in snagging the river £631 had beeu spent, and in dredging £12,730. Mr Jackson stated v thafc whafc fche Board had to show for this money " was the punfc, for fche dredge itself

had disappeared, and the river had silted up." Though envious, in the past, at whafc we thought Wanganui's good fortune, yet we honestly regret the unsatisfactory ending of the expenditure, and have only drawn attention to the matter as a wholesome lesson to those who urge on public worts without giving the same that proper consideration they need. We also feel obliged by the successful inauguration of tendering ocean steamers at Wanganui, and hold that in this the hope of the porfc lies, and we are glad to find such an able business man, as the Mayor of Wanganui is, having the courage to tell the people the fact. He hoped, if bis proposals were adopted, the Board would be abl<> frt ' ~ „„„_ . . fV ,„ i - —«v ioad. vessels a ' ._._ ueads and reduce their local charges to about one half. The river Manawatu is, if anything, more convenient for transhipments to ocean steamers than Watog&llui) and the day cannot be so far distant when the lying off the heads of large steamers will be as of frequerit occurrence "as oft Wabgahui. *Tn!e river, the possibilities, are here, we only await the time and the man,