The Manawatu Herald. Thursday, May 5, 1910. HARBOUR BOARD AFFAIRS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 835, 5 May 1910, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. Thursday, May 5, 1910. HARBOUR BOARD AFFAIRS.

At the last meeting ot the Foxton Plarbour Board it was decided to hold a special meeting in Palmerston on the 19th instant to discuss preliminaries prior to the Board waiting upon the Minister in reference to the purchasing of the wharf. Until this vexed point is definitely settled, and the Board given ahhulute control of the local pint, no comprehensive scheme for its development and improvement can be attempted. If only a portion of wharfage revenue collected by the Railway Department —amounting to thousands of pounds —had been spent on the improvement of the port in the past, we do not think there would have been any ' outcry for the setting up of a Board. As a Staterun concern, no one will deny that the port has been shamefully neglected. We doubt whether the Railway Department ever gave the port serious consideration. We might go farther and hazard the opinion that Cabinet, until recently, were not even aware of the fact that so much of the railway revenue was derived from wharfages at Foxton. Ac things ate at present, the Board is powerless to assist and encourage shipping by improving the bar. It is surprising that shipowners are prepared to take present risks, and the position is getting more serious every day, vide recently published state of affaiis by a leading shipping firm and the pilot’s reports. We cannot think that the Minister for Railways will be so blind to the interests of his department and those of the port by refusing to transfer the wharf to the Board. The Government must now be approached by the Board as a whole, backed up by the Shipowners’ Association and others representative of the vast district which the port should serve. Whatever action is decided upon should be the outcome of the Board’s collective intelligence. Individual sparring and Ministerial buttonholing, and party feeling should not be allowed to enter into this important matter. The acquiring of the wharf must be lifted above such trifles and united action taken. We hope that every member of the Board will be present at the special meeting to discuss the line of action to be persued.