TIMARU HARBOUR BOARD.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2406, 2 December 1880, Page 2

TIMARU HARBOUR BOARD.

The usual monthly meeting M’as held to-day. Present —Messrs F, Archer (Chairman), T. \V. Hall, Sutter, Gray, BesM'ick, Moody, Turnbull, Barker, and Acton. THK HOARD AND TUIC RAILWAY OMRARTMKXT. The Chairman road a telegram which be received froln Mr Maxw'ell, Manager of ItailMaiys, intimating that he M ould be in Timaru on a certain date, and stated that on the da3 r in question be (the Chairman) and Mr Mood3' saw the Manager of Railways in reference to the working of the jctt3' at the Breakwater. Mr MaxM'dl, who had been shown a coi)3 - of the proposed connection Mi’th the BreakM’ater, had since M’ritten stating that he approved of the plans as a temporary expedient but M’hen the new railwa3’ sheds M’ere erected a permanent junction from a reverse direction would have to be made, and asking M'hether the Board M’ould co-operate M’ith the Government in having these improvements carried out. Mr Moody said that during the intcrvieM' referred to, Mr Hailing, M’ho was present,-was consulted re the rates for loading and discharging goods at the Breakwater, and that he explained that the rates alroad\- mentioned—-Is Gd per ton, and Gd minimum on each consignment —M’ould not admit of any reduction, but that the Board was under a wrong impression respecting the Gd minimum, which was not an additional rate, but merely intended to apply to consignments of less than a ton. Mr Hannay also intimated that the department proposed creeling a large shed on the reclaimed ground south of the Breakwater. Mr Hull said the Board expected some pecuniary return for the occupation of the reclaimed ground. Mr Mooity replied that the building proposed muis merel3’ for receiving and distributing purposes and not for storage. Mr Acton thought that Mr Hannay ought to be asked to explain the concluding portion of his letter in M’liich he says that “ of course consignments to and from stores M’ill not pass through the sheds.” Some discussion ensued, in the course of M’hich it M’us explained that the Is Gd per ton imposed h3’ the railway department was for haulage and working at

the ships’ side. The present rates for cartage to and from stores was Is per ton.

Mr Moody remarked that assuming the Board agreed to give the Is Gd per ton, they canid not charge more than Is Gd for dues and the public would gain no advantage as the rates now charged by surf-boats was 3s per ton. Mr Barker also submitted that although the Board might bear the expense of erecting a temporary tramway they could hardly be expected to contribute towards the construction of the permanent tramway, which was a Government work. Mr Turnbull said the Government had borne the expense of laying down the tramway at Lyttelton, and the department would hardly be justified in exacting different turns from the Timaru Board. Mr Moody moved—“ In reply to the General Manager of Bail ways the Harbor Board would like to have the rates of haulage, Ac., submitted before coming to any conclusion, and further to point out that these rates must be reasonable, as the present cost of shipping by boats is carried on at 3 s for wheat and 2s Gd for oats. The Harbor Board is agreeable to bear costs of sidings, if such is borne by Lyttelton Harbor Board for similar convenience,” The motion was seconded by Mr lies wick iind carried. A CEMENT GRIEVANCE. Messrs Cargill, Gibbs and Co. wrote in reference to their contract for the supply of cement, complaining that the engineer for the Board bad dealt with them in a most illiberal manner, rejecting a large number of casks on the ground that they wore damaged, whereas out of 15600 tons supplied to the Oamaru Board not a single cask had been refused; Mr Goodall said the casks fo.warded by the firm in question had been so weak that they could not be stacked without going to pieces. There was a great difference between the casks of various brands. Those of White Bros, were exceedingly strong, but those which the contractors had forwarded were nearly all more or less damaged on tin; voyage. Under Guthrie and Larnach’s contract he hud had to condemn a whole cargo. TUB JETTY CONTRACT. In compliance with an application from the contractor for the jetty, one months’ extension of time was granted, the engineer stating that the work would be finished by Jan. 1. IRONMONGERY. Mr J. 11. Slansell wrote asking a share of the Board’s favors re supply of ironmongery. Mr Turnbull submitted that the request was a reasonable one, and it was resolved —that the ironmongery firms should have month about of the Board’s custom. TICK NEW DREDGER. A comunicalion was road from Priestman and Co., intimating that that the Board’s dredge being very much larger than anything of the kind that flic firm had previously manufactured, considerable delay had thus arisen, but that the hands were uow working overtime, and it was expected that the apparatus would be shipped by Oct. 2. mill-discounting. In reply to a question the Secretary stated that the rule in collecting accounts for the Board was to allow 2} per cent discount, hut on one occasion lie had taken a bill at three months instead. Several members remarked that by accepting bills a pernicious and dangerous precedent would be allowed, and it was resolved that all landing charges should be in cash payments, but that 2-},-per cent would be allowed on payments made before the 16th of each ensuing month. HATES FOl! TI.'UHER. It was stated that Mr Jackson had decided to make a stand against the demand of the Board for certain landing charges on timber. The Board, it appeared, bad been charging in accordance with the scale imposed by the railway department, but as some doubt existed as to whether this could be legally recovered it was formally resolved —“That the rates for timber from this date be charged the same rate of measurement per 100 feet as in the railway tariff. THE REGATTA. An application from, the secretary of the Regatta Committee requesting, the Board to grant them the use of the Breakwater on December IG—the day of the Begatta—was considered. After some discussion during which it was intimated that the Committee intended to impose a charge of Is per head on visitors using the Breakwater for witnessing the regatta, it was re ml veil that the request be complied with. LANDING STEPS. Mr Beswick ihoved—- “ That another set of landing steps be erected for the use of passengers by steamers and other vessels.” Seconded b} r Mr Hall and carried. STONE JETTY. Mr Sutter moved — “ That the engineer be instructed to prepare plans and specifications, with the estimated cost of each hundred feet of a jetty built of stone, to start north of the old landing service sheds, and to run out so as to leave the extreme north point of the present plans as shown when completed. This jetty to be confined to dray traffic.” The motion was seconded by Mr Gray and carried. CONTRACT Oil DAY LABOR. Mr Turnbull asked leave to lay on the table a notice of motion. At last meeting it was resolved to construct 6G feet of the Breakwater by day labor. To prevent the Board being placed at a disadvantage with contractors or the work delayed, should the day labor prove a failure, he proposed that tenders be called for another section. In reply to a question, the Engineer stated that the Board would be able to take over the works from the contractors in a fortnight. Mr Sutter supported the proposal, and stated that he was entirely opposed to the work being done by day labor. He considered between the purchase of plant and stables the experiment would prove costly and useless. Mr Acton considered that one serious objection to day labor was that they would have to buy the plant from the contractors, and if the experiment was not successful it would have to be sold again. An outlay of £I6OO or £2OOO required careful consideration. Mr Gray said he was absent when the proposal to try day labor was considered, or lie should have opposed it. By taking the work out of the hands of Hie

contractors,operations would be retarded and money squandered. The motion ought, if possible, to bo rescinded at once. Mr Barker was in favor of giving day labour a trial, and Mr Moody remarked that with the figures submitted to the Board, showing how profitable da}' labour would bo they could hardly avoid the experiment. The engineer said the cost of plant would be very small, and eventually the discussion was adjourned till after lunch. REPORTS. The following reports were submitted : ENGINEER’S EE PORT. I have the honor to report that 325 ft. of the Breakwater contract JS T o. 2 has been completed to date, and there now remains only Bft. of this contract to complete. The wharf contract is progressing favorably. It should be completed and the wharf fit for use in one month. The contractor requests extension of time for another month. I beg to recommend that he be granted the extra time asked for, as he has pushed the work on as much as lay in his power, and had to contend with many unlookedfor difficulties. Tenders were called for ironbark piles and beams for the extension of the wharf, and now await acceptance. I have made inquiries as to the practibility of making alterations to the travelling gear of the crane, so as to enable it to traverse a curve, and hand in a scheme suggested h} r Mr Huggins. lam of opinion that any scheme however fair it may appear, would be problematical and that delay and perhaps injury may attend the alterations. A turntable' but for the cost would best answer the purpose. I consider a good substitute for this could be made by constructing a traverse table capable of carrying the crane to travel radially. By this means the direction of the crane could be altered with ease. Appended is a diagram showing the method of working the traverse table. The probable cost would be about T3OO. Soundings immediately south of the Breakwater have not not changed since last month. . I have prepared sections that have been taken at various times, also a survey of the coast showing the extension of the shingle since the works began. MR. HUGGINS’ REPORT. I beg to lay before you a plan for working the large crane round a curve with certainty and safety, and also the probable cost of the same. The weight of the new work would be about B.V tons exclusive of road wheels, the cost of same about £IOO, and the fixing would cost about £IOO. I should be glad, should you wish it, to give you any further information as to its working at j’our meeting on Thursday. C. Huggins, Engineer. It was resolved to call for tenders for 180 feet extension of Breakwater; tenders to bo in by January! 5, 1881. The tender of James Fox for the supply of ironbark timber at 2s 8d per lineal foot and 25s per 100 superficial feet for beams, was accepted. THE CRANE PROBLEM. Messrs Jones and Peters wrote intimating that they were prepared to offer a plan for taking the crane round a curve. It was’resolved That a committee be appointed consisting of the Chairman, Messrs Hall, Acton, Gray and Mood3 r to consult with the engineer, and report on the plan re turntable and altering crane, Ac., with power to engage professional opinion, if wanted. The report to be in at next meeting of the Board. The Committee agreed to meet on Dec. 11. ACCOUNTS. Accounts amounting to £3161) 13s Id on general, and £2OO Is 8d on landing service account were passed. NO TICE OE MOTION. Mr Turnbull gave notice of motion that at next meeting ho would move that the resolution passed respecting day labor be rescinded. The meeting then adjourned.