HARBOR BOARD TRANSACTIONS.

Oamaru Mail, Volume III, Issue 717, 27 July 1878, Page 2

HARBOR BOARD TRANSACTIONS.

We give below the statement of the Board's transactions during the past year prepared by Mr. Forrester, and adopted at yesterday's meeting. The report is of so interesting a nature that we deem it well that the public should be placed in possession of the information wbjeh it contains, more especially as it a great amount of work in the way of improving the harbor has been carried out. The report is as follows : ■ In presenting the statements of accounts for the year ending 31st Maich, IS7S, I have to congratulate the Board on the success attending to provide shelter for 11. J the port, especially v-'iv.i provided is accompanied hy such in the cost of lauding and" shrpfTiiig as lias been made since the Board'undertook the management of this work, as well as the work of harbor improvements. Those conversant with the working of the port know the vital importance of having the. means of flJ&rding despatch as well a:.; sufety to v«s%jßf? further, that rapidity of despatch fowni an important factor in securing safety. Oar present limited space being liftble*.to be blocked by an accumulation = ofvesseis waiting for berthage, steps have been taken by the Board to provide the desired accommodation so far as the means at its command permitted ; and 1 propose to record what has been done, since the last publication of the Board's transaction?, to meet the requirements. At the beginning of the past year, arrangements were entered into for the construction of 200 feet of Breakwater, 800 feet lineal of wharfage, the amount of wharfage projected being subsequently increased by 150 feet. ' The Breakwater extension has loug been completed, making the total leng'h of seawall 940 feet from the starting point at the cliff.

Wharf No. 2, having a frontage of 554 feet, with a width of 82 feet, is practically complete, and will be ready for traffic as soon as the approaches now in progress a:-o finished. 'The foundation blocks for t!i" extension of the Wharf, and .Vharf No. 3, in all 350 feet, have been sue 'cessfully laid, and the whole work is in the way to a satisfactory completion ; the actual amount done being more than double that of the previous year. Much improvement has been effected in the mode of carrying on the works, tending alike to rapidity, of execution and solidity of construction, and it is satiff-e'ory to note thatthe finished Work, as well as the work in progress, has been entirely free frpnvcasualties .during the year, tlie whole structure b?ing in the best possible condition as regard's stability. ' There is a:growing demand' for wharfage accommodation to suit a larger class of vessels than have hitherto beeu trading to the port, and as- the Maeandrewwharf has not been extended beyond the point necessary to suit the steamers and intercolonial vessels drawing no to 12 feet, a proposit ; on to fender-pile the Breakwater, so as to form a continuation ' of the Macandrew wharf, where vessels of larger draft, say 15 feet, can be discharged at all states of the tide, has been- adopted. ' A temporary return ■ at the present end of the wall has also been proposed, theintention being ta utilise :every available foot of space and water, pending the further continuation of that structure. The"businesß ef the Port has been satisthe quantity of grain, wool, and other exports being steadily on the increase, the imports being also greater than on the

previous year. 41S vessels, including steatners, have been discharged and loaded within/the shelter of the Breakwater during the present twelve months, having an-*aggfe-gate tonnage of 57, tons register. The vessels have discharged and loaded 38,534 tons of ..merchandise aud produce, 1,565,677 feet of timber, 14.01S bales of wool, 6672 tons; coals, besides live stock, &c., all of .which has been handled at the wharves or inner moorings, with the exceptioh v of 550 tons lightered from vessels lying at the outer anchorage.

There has not been a single casualty to shipping in the harbor during the past year, and the dispatch, so far as the Board's appliances are concerned, has been all that could be desired. Preference to the statements will show that the intentions and expectations of the Board have to the present time been fully realised.; but the growth of trade in the Port' and' district more thau keep pace with the works, and demands that more extended provision be made for the accommodation to shipping. To this end the Engineer has been instructed to prepare plans for a further extension of the Breakwater 4.50 ft. beyond the present point. Although the Board has done everything in its power to give dispatch to the shipping and further the trade of the Port by providing erainage and keejiing a number of boats and staff of boatmen, to supplement the wharf accommodation, great delay has occurred in carrying on this work through the scarcity of trucks at the disposal of the Kail way department. It is stated that the Colonial Government are taking steps to provide sufficient appliances, to prevent a recurrence of the delay and dissatisfaction arising from this cause, and it is to be hoped that the Board will not again have cause to complain of (heir efforts being nullified by conditions which it is in the power of the Government to imwrove. Unfortunately, the conditions incident to the scarcity ot trucks have been rendered more severe by the adoption of a reduced tariff' from St. Andrews to Lyttelton. which, by giving the merchants opportunities of transporting grain 109 miles northwards at the same rati; as charged for transporting similar materials 54 miles southwards, on the same line, interfere.! with the legitimate trade of this Port, anil divert-d tne rolling-stock northwards, to the great injury of this Port and district. -.Representations have been made to the Colonial Government by the Board on this subject, without as yet obtaining an adjustment of the tarilT, but hope is entertained that this injustice will not be permitted to continue, and that the railway tariff will be lived so as to be as equitable to the Port aud district of Oamaru as to any port or district connected with the railway system. At the close of the last financial year a sumof L 0617 was reported as available for improvements over and above the amount alloc* ted for the contracts then en sored into. This sum wdl be absorbed by the 75 feet extension of N.i. 2 wharf .and other improvements, and the expenditure of this sum exhausts the amount' .-p'-tilable under tin; orii. mi.•)..'. borrowing powers of the Board. Granted at a time when the succor of the scheme proposed by the Board was a problem yet to be solved, when predictions of failure were more common than sympathy or support, and the Board totally devoid of income, powers to borrow 1,100,000 were accorded by the Provincial Legislature with what result may be gathered from inspection of of the work and perusal of the Board's reports and statistics. As before state;!, further extension of the sea-wall is on all hands held to be not only desirable but necessary ; aud in order to continue the work of improvement, it has been resolved to ask the members for the district to promote, during the enduing session of Parliament, a Bill, giving the Board increased borrowing powers.