DECKS CLEARED FOR ACTION.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 8, Issue 453, 5 August 1919, Page 4

DECKS CLEARED FOR ACTION.

Waikato River Board.

AND MARINE DEPARTMENT.

The friction between tbe Waikato Ri ;er Board and the Marine Department has about reached blazing point. The trouble, briefly, is that thn Government refuses payment of gnats made to the Board, because tin* latter will not remove certain groynes at the Aka Aka channel, which the Marine Department states were illegally constructed by the board. The Board, on the contrary, insists that the groynes were legally constructed, by authority of the Gh: vernor-in-Council.

At Saturday's meeting of the Board a letter was received from the Minister of Marine (Hon. T. M. Wilford), re'using to agree to the payment of ariy grants until the groynes referred to are removed.

I The multitudinous previous communications, and deliberations on this subject, have been duly chronicled in the Times' reports of the various meetings. The previous report containing full particulars appeared in our issue of June 24th.] The Chairman (Mr A. C. Glass) Ba'd he had asked the Marine Department to pay the grants and hold tho matter of the groynes id abeyance until the new Commission investigated the whole problem. The Department refused to do either of those things, and it also refused to take legal against the Board—hence, tho present intolerable situation. As a matter of fact, nothing but the Commission could settle the matter of whether the Board's work was right or wrong, for admittedly the Supreme Court was not competent to do eo : it was a question for experts. Ho (Mr Glass) would welcome an enquiry, for he believed that nothing but political spite was the driving foice of the opposition to the Board. After the explanation given by the Chairman, MrM. Gallery proposed, and Mr 8. P. Prondergast seconded the motion : " That the whole matter ho placed in the hands of tho Board's KO'iciton."- Carried.

" cr.EAH l-m; action- "

In connexion with the above, the following lottor, dated July 13th, I'll'.i, was received l> m lie Board's solicitor, Mr Hall Sk Iton :

'• Re Marine Dop irtment v your B> ard : From correspondence received, 1 wish to state that, I am willing to fight this case, provided your Board has no monov, free of ibarge, in the hope of ge/.ting costs against tho other site. 1 understand that your Board lias no money, and as your Board has not had a .-ijuire deal, I foel justified in offering my assistance in your hour of need. I fool confident, however, I will get my costs, not from you, hut from the other side. All I ask is to got your decks el-wed for ac' ion ---get tho evidence together and I will do the rest." ItIYEK COMMISSION. A communication, dated July ">th, was received from the Minister of Marine (Hon. T. M. Wilford) stating that Cuhinet hadaccopted his recommendation that n now waterways commission should ho sot up. He (tho Minister) would certainly make ' the Waikato liivor problem ' the first for consideration and report, " bolieviug, as I do, that tho river is an undeveloped as.-o' of immonso possibilities.'' ■ As tho dispute between the Board ami the Marino Department is now " sub judice," con"i:rnt is not. pormis'jablo.—En !