HARBOUR BOARD.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 1009, 14 March 1883, Page 2

HARBOUR BOARD.

A meeting of the Harbour Board was held on Monday afternoon, at ,2.30. Present—Messrs Gibson,; (Chairman), J. Richards, W. Aitchison, O. Syraes, and R. A. Adams. ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN, Mr Symes proposed the election of Mr Gibson for the ensu ng year. Seconded by Mr Aitchison and carried. CORRESPONDENCE. Letters were read fi oin— Messrs Zohrab, Newman, and Do., offering luminous paint for sale. From the Bank of New South Wales offering £6OO overdraft on certain terms. From the County Council, stating that Mr Josiah Richards had been appointed a member of the Board. From the Returning Officer, Otoia 'K i d i no t iooo f “MF'C.~ Syraes. ‘ From Mr D. Coutts, giving reasons for declining to pay an account of Mr Beere’s for £2 2s referred to him by the Board. From Mr J. Thomson, 0.E., enclosing account for preparing report.

From Messrs Jay and Haynes, applying for refund of wharf dues on goods landed for the Kakararaea and Manutahi Railway Stations. From Captain Flowerday re repairs to Pilot’s house. PARTNERSHIP LIABILITIES. Mr Thomson, C E., wrote enclosing £4 10s, rent due by himself and Mr Fraser on Board’s lease, and contending that Tregea’s trustee having failed to claim his share of the lease, that part fell into the Board’s hands again. Mr Adams proposed “That Mr Thomson be informed that the Board cannot release them from their liability in the matter of the section leased by them.” Mr Gibson seconded. Members seemed to be of opinion that the Board could not divide the section up/ The motion was carried. WHARF DUES. With regard to Messrs Jay and Haynes’ application, the Wharfinger wrote that the goods had been landed and stored by the Board’s, men and the charges would amount to quite as much as the wharfage. Mr Aitchison moved, and Mr Symes seconded, “That Messrs Jay and Haynes be informed that their goods having been | landed, and labour expended on the same in the usual way as for ordinary goods, the Board decline to refund the amounts paid.” Carried. THE BREAKWATER. The Pilot reported that one of the blocks at the end of the Breakwater was loose. The Chairman said that he had arranged to have some concrete run in between the crevices, and that would be done on the first favourable opportunity. THE PILOT’S HOUSE. The pilot wrote, asking for an understanding about additions to the house occupied by him. Mr Adams said that a resolution was passed previously that a committee should inspect the house. It was understood that the Chairman and Mr Aitchison should inspect and report at next meeting. FINANCIAL. With regard to the letter from the Bank of New South Wales, it was decided to acknowledge receipt, declining to give a personal guarantee. pilot’s report. The pilot reported as follows : 1. The bar is not very good at present, hatdng an island in the centre and two channels, one to the - eastward and the other to the west ; but the spring tides have been very high, giving a good depth on the bar. The channel by the breakwater is about 120 feet wide, with deep water. 2. I visited the gravel pits up the river as requested, and found that the greater part of the spoil is deposited in the river and forming quite a gravel bed in the reach before getting up to the pits ; in fact I could hardly get the little boat up at low water. 3. Everything at the Heads is in good

working order. There have been eight arrivals and departures since mv last i e 4 Jort. In reference to clause 2 Mr Aitchison proposed—“ That the Public Works Department be notified, respecting the damage being done to the river by the spoil from gravel pits, referred to in pilot’s report, and a request rnade that immediate action be taken to prevent further damage being done.” Ho thought it was their duty to see to this matter, although they had no jurisdiction.—Carried. wharfinger’s report. 'The wharfinger reported :—The heavy rains and fresh .in the river, lately, have caused depressions in your cattle wharf, and it will require four or five loads of clay to bring it up to the proper level. I would also call your attention to the fact that there are two large snags in the river, one opposite the upper end of the railway wharf, and one below the railway wharf. They are not in the way at present, but, should we have another fresh, they would probably be carried down into the channel, and perhaps form an obstruction to traffic. On the motion of Mr Adams seconded by Mr Symes, the chairman was empowered to make any arrangement he might think Tit for the removal of the snags, and also procure the clay recommended, ACCOUNTS. The following accounts were passed for payment :—J. Thomson, £4 10s ; Patea Mail , £1 10s 6d ; G. D. Hamerton, £6 4s. TRANSFER. A letter from Mr F. O’S.'McCarthy asking the Board to sanction transfer of lease held by him to Patrick O’Neill was ordered to lie on the table. engineer’s report. The report was taken as received. Mr Adams : What good is it ? Mr Symes : The question is, where are we to get the ways and means ? The Chairman : The question has been asked, What good is it, and where are we to get the ways and means ? He thought the first thing they had to do, was to ascertain what work was necessary. That they had done by asking Mr Thomson to report. The next thing was to consider whether they should adopt or decline the report. If they were here as gentlemen in favour of improving the harbour, they should adopt a report given by gentlemen fully qualified to give it. If they did no t adopt it, they could not see what am oun t of money would be required, or if_ a rate were needed, what the amount of it would have to be. If the Board did not want to go on with the work, they had better resign at once.

Mr Syraes ; Does the present income cover the expenditure? Mr Adams: The wharfage is sufficient to meet the Board’s expenses, Mr Syraes considered that the Board had made a gross mistake in increasing the wharfage, as the extra money was not enough to do any improvement work. It had simply driven away trade from the river. If the extra wharfage amounted to £SOOO or £6OOO, money enough to go on with the work, he would say well and good, but if it was simply to lock up, what good was it. They wanted justice between town and country ; they wanted them to pull together, as they could not do without each other. The increased whar£a#ejvas_odious to„couutiW_.settlers, and had done more mischief than enoughT~TF a good scheme had been brought forward at first, the country settlers would have supported it, but they would have an uphill fight now.

The Chairman —Mr Syrnes wishes to know if we can pay our way. The wharf account shows a surplus of £376 Os lOd, and in round figures the revenue was about £l5O a year more than the expenditure. There was nothing in the way of income to expend upon improvements, but if town and country pulled together there was a fair prospect at an early date of things being in training. The river required protection on the west side, there was no doubt about that. They should adopt the report, get plans, and procure an order-in-Council, and that could be done as a first step. With regard to the wharfage, he would bring forward a motion at the first special meeting. He was always opposed to the rise, and in their future action they should bear in mind that they would have therailway,and should make the wharf dues fit in with it. He did not anticipate much increase in the wharfage until the railway was through to Hawera, when it would be double or treble what it was now. He also hoped to see reduced freights, but until the line was through to Hawera it would be folly to go to the settlers asking for a rate. There were other things requiring attention, such as the reconstitution of the Board, and the of re-defining the Harbour district by the Government. These were matters which they could go into until they were connected with Hawera, when they could ask settlers if they would make this the port or shut it up altogether.

Mr Aitchison asked what the financial position of the Board was compared with last year ? The Secretary replied that the overdraft had been reduced £250. Mr Aitchison said that in the face of that he could not understand the ungenerous remarks that a member had made against the action of the Board last year. The Board might have made a mistake, but the fact was that they were now in a better financial position than they were last year. It was easy for members to rail at the late Board, but they should remember that the step was taken after due consideration. At the time they had to decide that as they were drifting towards a heavy overdraft, whether they should resign and throw the whole thing upon the Government, or whether they should endeavour to make the Board pay its way. They chose the latter, and simply imposed sufficient charges to pay working expenses, and he considered they had hit it pretty close. Taking all things together, it was still a matter of opinion if such a mistake had been made after all. He maintained that if they had taken off the wharf charges and landed goods free, it would not have made a vast difference to the trade. What they had to do was to leave the past but of the discussion. Let them profit by its mistakes, and stick to the future. They could adopt the report in the meantime as a basis of something to work up to. He agreed with the Chairman that there was little chance of raising a rate until the railway was open to Hawera or at any rate to Manutahi. Mr Adams remarked that at first all the Hawera people were inclined to get goods via Patea. All the shippers had peti-

tioned the Board against raising the rate, and yet, in the face of that it had been done. He maintained that they would have been £l5O better off if they had not halved the Hawera trade. In his opinion it was not advisable to adopt ibe report at present. They had adopted another one and bad not rescinded- the adoption of that. . He did not know how Mr Thomson had come to the conclusion that his present recommendation .was the best thing as it was contrary to what he advised in a letter to the Patea Mail shortly after the Wakatu disaster. The first section of this work, 800 feet, would cost £6OOO, and not an inch-of the river would be improved. The second section would cost £BOOO and would also do no good. In fact the work comprised in the report would do no good to the river unless completed. He wanted something that they could go on with at present, and the work already adopted (a wall on the west side) would" do immediate good. He understood that. Mr Thomson’s report was made to suit the parties who employed him, or his views had been changed since he went with Mr Gibson to the Heads. If they adopted this report it meant that they could not go on, perhaps for years, or if they went on the river would be in the same position as it is now; until the whole amount had been expended. He thought they ought to look to the present good of the fiver instead of a speculative scheme. He could see a way of getting £6OOO or £7OOO, but he did not see where £20,000 was to come from. Mr Aitchison ; What report was adopted ? Mr Adams : A report three or four months ago.

The Chairman : Mr Thomson’s report exactly corresponds with his letter in ihe Patea Mail, He (the Chairman) explained that.the wall on the west side was required to protect the present breakwater. Mr Aitchison would move the adoption of the report. Mr Richards also spoke in favour of its adoption. Mr Symes considered that the work on this side was wanted. They might try to get some assistance from the Government even in the shape of plant. Nothing had been done last year in the way of improvement, and it w,as no use to sit there and conlinue.to do nothing. A rate was rather obnoxious, and unless they brought forward some scheme in ship shape style, it Was no use to ask the public to assist them. The Hawera people stuck at the wharfage, and said they could get their goods via Waitara for so much, while by Patea the cost was so much more, That was the feeling. The Chairman had great pleasure in seconding the adoption of the report. Sir John Coode was strongly in favour of the west pier being the first work to be done by the Board. Their Engineer merely wished to modify the construction, not to alter the plan. They should get everything in training, so that when funds were available they would not have any delay. The railway had cut off the trade to Waitara, and he doubted if it Would return until the gap in* the line was filled up. Mr Aitchison said that he had noticed from the newspapers lately, that there was likely to be considerable agitation to obtain endowments when the House met. Some Harbour Boards that like their, own wanted money for improvements, intend—tA_apply; agiiia— for-—endowments, and it would be wise for the Board to keep their eyes open to what was being done, and if there was any chance of Parliament doing anything in that direction, they might throw in their claim. If pressure were brought to bear, something might be got by way of endowment. The motion was then put and carried. , SPECIAL MEETING.

The Chairman moved that a special meeting be held on the 20th inst., to consider the by-laws re wharfage and storage. In seconding the motion, Mr Aitchison said that there was a slight error in the report of last month’s proceedings. He had expressed himself that if the new Board could agree with the Shipping owners, to lower freights at the same time as the Board reduced the wharfage, they might compete with Waitara. If they took half-a-ctown off the freights, and the Board reduced the wharfage it might do a little good. Mr Adams thought they had nothing to do with shipping charges. The persons most interested were those who paid the freight. He was satisfied with the freight to Patea, but the mistake was to make the charges on places outside. Competition would bring freights down, and it was probable that in a month they would have a second steamer running. The resolution was then put and carried. GRAVEL. It was resolved to charge 6d per yard for gravel taken from McCarthy’s pits. The Board then adjourned.