THE HARBOR ENDOWMENT BILL.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2645, 12 September 1881, Page 2

THE HARBOR ENDOWMENT BILL.

In No. 24 of “Hansard,’’ received by the last mail from Wellington, is a report of a debate in the Legislative Council on the above Bill. The endowment clause was the subject of . controversy, and all the speakers except the Hon W. Holmes seem to have objected to the clause. Their objections to it were based on one or both of two one, that the refusing of endowments in land was become a matter of principle, the other that the money would be thrown away, because the shingle was bound to silt up the port. Some of the statements made and the opinions expressed about the shingle question, are interesting, and especially so is Mr Whitaker’s reference to the report on the proposed extension of the mole, lately sent in by the Government Engineers. Other statements and opinions are’ very amusing, and very valuable too, as they tell us more about the breakwater than we could ever see for ourselves.

The Hon Mr Whitaker spoke strongly in favor of the Board being granted borrowing powers, but objected to the endowment “on principle.” He gave a very fair account of the progress of the works, and the importance of the trade carried on through the port. Referring, we must suppose, to the as yet unpublished report of the Government engineers on the proposal to extend the mole, he said : Engineers on the part of the Government had recently sent in a report on the subject, recommending that if the works were to go on at all, this additional piece should be carried out, and pointing out that all that was proposed was proper to be done, and that all that had been done had been done well—but they ad hered to the opinion that the harbor would silt up in due time. They calculate that it would silt up in twentylive years. No w, twenty-five years was along time; one did not know what would happen in that period. At all events, even supposing the silting up were to take place to the extent estimated by some, it was still a question whether it would not be desirable to make this harbor.

The lion. Mr Holmes spoke in favor of granting the endowment, arguing that Timaru ought to bo given an equal chance with Oamaru, to which an endowment of 05,000 acres had been given. And with regard to the silting up, even admitting that the north aids of the harbor would ever silt up, it would amply repay the people of Timaru to go to the expense of constructing the Breakwater, in order to have those additional facilities for shipping for the space of thirty-live to forty years. The Hon. Dr Pollen spoke very strongly not only against the Bill before the Council, but against common sense also. In the course of a long speech he said Timaru was the worse place ho had ever seen to make a harbor at, exposed as it was to the whole swell of the South Pacific without a break of any kind to afford the slightest protection to the work. Hc’thought it would be better, before any further extension was made, to wait until experience had shown whether or not the predictions of competent authorities with respect to the question of siltage were likely to be realised.

The Hon, Mr Wigley said he intended to vote for the loan without the endowment. He could only say that when the Timaru Breakwater was first mooted it had no greater opponent than himself. He always thought silt would get round the Breakwater and destroy it. Since then his opinion bad been entirely changed, and his practical experience was that quite the opposite effect would be created.

Tlie Hon. Dr Grace spoke against the Bill as a w hole, and not simply against the endowment. He seemed, however, to be entirely ignorant of the facts of the ease, as he spoke of the shingle scouring round the end of the pier at the present time, but he thought it not unreasonable to suppose that if the pier were carried out further the shingle would bank up. Eventually the second reading was carried by a majority of seven.