The New Zealand Times (PUBLISHED DAILY.) SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 1879.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5616, 29 March 1879, Page 2

The New Zealand Times (PUBLISHED DAILY.) SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 1879.

Although there is ample proof that the proposal to establish a Harbor Board for the port of Wellington is regarded with great dislike and distrust by many members of., the , City Council,' it is equally certain that the general publie view the matter in a "totally different light. -.The sympathies -of the Legislature and t-ha-presant Government are also opposed to the City Council on this question ; andshould the Ministry be ousted during the ; next session of Parliament their, successors would, in all probability, be equally favorable to the.establishment.of,a..Harbor Board. Our own opinion is in ■ the same direction ; indeed 1 we have -heard nothing like substantial argument on the other aide. At the meeting of the City Council held on March : 20th, the proposal of the Chamber, of Commerce that there should be a conference between the t wo bodies with a view’to the formation of a Harbor Board, caused a dif icussion which . very clearly brought , out the wishes of the Council; but it is satisfactory to observe that there was,a disposition to yield to the pressure ofl out side general opinion if _by so doing the it iterests of the public could be furthered. We find the Mayor saying t-hat he stU | held the opinion that, if the

City Council possessed as large powers as it was proposed to confer on a Harbor Board, the former would do the necessary work quite as well as the latter ; that there would be less difficulty in borrowing money under existing institutions than there would be were another public body created ; and that the squabbles said to be continually arising between city authorities and Harbor Boards elsewhere gave warning of what might be expected to happen nearer homo If.. the opportunity arose. Nevertheless, admitting the disposition both of the lata and present Governments In favor of a Harbor Board, he thought it would be wise to meet the Chamber of Commerce and discuss the terms by which the two bodies might be enabled to go united to the Legislature, “ and do the “ best they could for the interests of the “ port.” His Worship also stated plainly that he saw no hope of the Corporation getting the requisite powers to carry on the harbor management in a satisfactory manner. A good many of the Councillors took part in the discussion which ensued, but it is unnecessary to quote from the various speeches, as their general purport was very similar to the Mayor’s. The conclusion arrived at was that as it appeared altogether improbable that the Corporation could obtain adequate powers for harbor management, and as immediate action was required to provide better, wharf accommodation, and make the port mote popular, the right course to pursue was to meet the Chamber of Commerce in conference in order that the necessary steps for the creation of a Harbor Board might be discussed. All this is satisfactory as far as it goes, but it would be premature to congratulate the citizens on the termination of a difficulty which is in reality only entering on its second stage. The fact is that the greatest caution and forbearance, and a good deal of patient work, will be necessary if anything like a speedy solution :of that difficulty is to be hoped for. We have no hesitation in expressing an opinion that sooner or later the Wellington Harbor Board will become an accomplished fact, no matter how great and numerous the obstacles may be ; but it must be evident to all who have paid much attention to the matter that the sooner the business is- concluded the better for the prosperity of. the port. If the Corporation is not to have the management with wall secured and ample powers, there should be no delay In establishing the Harbor Board. It Is beyond question that the interests of this part of the Colony are suffering considerably in consequence of the present unsatisfactory position of the harbor question. As Mr. Hunter very truly remarked, " We want more wharf “ accommodation badly ; we are preju-

“ diced every day for want of it. We sea “ vessels having to lie eight or ten days “ in the stream, and the masters writing “ complaints to the papers.” It seems possible that if there is due economy of time for the remainder of the recess, if the Council in their conferences with the Chamber of Commerce will only be guided by the same spirit which was displayed at the meeting to which we have already alluded, matters may bo so far advanced as to allow of; the final arrangements being made when Parliament is next in session. On the Ist of January last the very elaborate Harbors Act, 1878, came into force throughout the Colony. It provides that every Harbor Board created after the passing of the Act shall be constituted by a special Act of the General Assembly. Such legislation will therefore be, required for Wellington. The Act for 1878 deals exhaustively with a vast number of matters affecting Harbor Boards generally, but there are many questions which must be provided for in each particular instance by the special Act. In the case of Wellington, there are important rights at present possessed by the Corporation which must form the subject of discussion between that body and the Chamber of Commerce, and probably the Government, 5 before the special Act can be satisfactorily drafted. It all the parties concerned will approach the subject in an amicable spirit, and will bear in mind the fact that the future prosperity of the port largely depends on the manner in which their work is performed, the difficulties s will unquestionably disappear. The special Act once passed, ; we see no reason why those little unpleasantnesses between Municipal Corporations and Harbor Boards, which were referred to by the Mayor, and which have unquestionably occurred in other places, should find a further exemplification in Wellington. Speaking with some knowledge of the facts we are able to say that in many instances these squabbles have been about the most paltry matters, and have arisen from the peculiar temperament of individual members, ; and not because it is impossible in tho : nature of things that a Municipal Corporation and a Harbor Board should exist side by side without being actuated by a . mutual desire to out each other’s throats. The experiment must, at all events, be tried once more, and if due care be taken in drafting the special Act we have no fear of the result. The Corporation has already quite as much omits hands as it can conveniently accomplish, without meddling with port matters, and at the rate of progress which Wellington has shown of late years, the members of the Harbor Board will find their office to’ be no sinecure, and will have little sr.no time to spar’e'for stupid disputes with the older established authority.