SECOND EDITION THE LATE SEIZURE IN THE HARBOR.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2771, 9 February 1882, Page 2

SECOND EDITION THE LATE SEIZURE IN THE HARBOR.

At the meeting of the Harbor Board to day a letter was read from Messrs Bourn and Stumbles complaining.of the action of the Secretary to the Bdaid in seizing the anchor and chain of the City of 'Cashmere on its way to the wreck or that vessel, , The. letter stated that a claim of £25 had been made by the Board’s Secretary for lifting the anchor and chain, and that notwithstanding Mr Bourn had agreed : to pay. all 'chwges the Board’s officers brought - the "boat back when it was on its way to the wreck. The surf boat, in wbich„the anchor and chain was at the time of the seizure, had been hired from tho ’Harbor Board at the rate of £2 per day or £8 per week,'and an agreement had been -signed do that effect, , f , r After reading the letter the Secretary was called on; for an explanation. : - Mr Tennant said that be told Mr Bourn the Board bad a lien of £25 on the anchor and chain. Mr, BournJaughed when the amount of the . claim:-was named;'and said it ought to .be 1 divided by half. The wreck floating oompaiiy Wanted tto ’ hire a“surf ■ boat to convey the anchor and chain to the wreck, and after consultation with the Chairman it was agreed that the Board 'should. let them the boat and an agreement was drawn up. Mr Bourn signed the agreement on behalf of the cbmpj|ny, but he (the Secretary) did not coneider Mr Bourp’s signature sufficient; and wanted Mr Stumbles’ signatu'ro'',faf|b. When he went down to the wharf dn the morning he found thatV .the agreement for tlie hire of the' boat jfad not been signed by Mr Stumbles,; and the. £25 lien on the chain add anchor had not been paid. Th e boat, and anchor and chain were, being tojypd away to the . wreck,i.and he instiUcted Mr Graham, the manager of thdSemfce, to get a boat and bring the surf boat a'nd its freight back to the wharf.'‘Thdre was not a loks of more than ten minutes caused by bringing the boat back.. ; f filr.Tescljemaker—'Did they agree to pay the moncy before they took; the anchor away ? . .The Secretary-—They did not they would pay. '' ‘ V | Mr Teschemaker—They may not have told you, but did they tell . anyone, (pse to your knowledge? , : T 1 -rotary—l believe me tl. Bourn had said the payment would be all right.,

Mr Postlethwaite—l consider that the statement in the fetter attached to the agreement, namely “ Mr.Bourn will pay all charges," was sufficient to bind Mr Bourn to pay the Board’s claim. Mr Hall was of the same opinion, / ::i Mr Teschemaker did. not - view the matter in quite the same light. Mr Turnbull pointed out that Mr Bourn had stated in his letter that be was willing to meet the Board and give any explanation that might be con*, ■idered necessary. It was agreed that Mr Bourn should be sent for. ' _ On entering the room, Mr Bourn, in reply to the Chairman, said he thought it, was a strange proceeding that after hiring a boat from the Board and taking the anchor and chain away in, it, the boat and its contents should be seized. He never refused to pay the £25 claimed by the Board, but as his partner in the speculation —Mr Stumbles —was not present to sign a cheque on behalf of the Company, the money was not paid before the anchor was taken away, from the wharf. ,The crew of men had been pulling in the , roadstead for about an.hour and a half, when the boat and its contents were taken from them, and brought back to the wharf.' The sea' was very calm at the time, and

.the crew could have got to the ship easily. They tried twice since, but they could not get to the ship, and he .was ifraid they could not get to her now. ; The action of the Secretary, or whoever ordered the seizure of the chain and anchor, had in all probability cost, himself and his partners damages to •the extent of £IOO to £2OO. Everyone else in the place had rendered what assistance they could in helping them to get the vessel off the beach, and they thought the Harbor Board’s officers should not be allowed to obstruct., Mr Moody—Did you refuse to pay the £25 ? , , . ; ,Mr Bourn—No, I never did. I.sbould: have paid the money on Saturday if Mr Stumbles had beep at bonne. Mr Moody—Did you offer half the money? ;; . . Mr Bourn—l believe I did in a chaffing way say if they-got half the money they would be well paid, but I undertook to pay the . money when I presented the letter from Mr Jonas,which stated that the anchor and chain was to be delivered, to me on .payment b£ tHe < Board’s charges on it. ; " # Captain : Sutter—Why did you hot 'give, your own private cheque if Mr Stumbles was away. ...It was a shuffling kind of way of doing things. ) ■ Mr Turnbull—l consider the remark Captain Sutter has just made is a very improper one, and should he withdrawn. Mr Bourn—ldon’t think my conduct has ever justified the making of such a remark. I was not aware before that I could be called a shuffler, neither was I aware that the Board were, pawnbrokers to seize goods and hold them for money. I could have given my own cheque, but ■ X was .under the impression that my name* or Mr Stumbles’ name, was good enough - for £25, or the ; £l6O, the supposed value of the boat. The Chairman—l' consider Captain Sutter’s remark about shuffling an im ■ proper one, and it should be withdrawn. Captain Sutter—Thfep I withdraw it, hut I don’t think the action was

itraightforward, all thesame. (Cries of Oh! Oh I) The Secretary—Mr Bourn handed mo the letter, and said he thought half the ,claim.*was sufficient. Mr Bourn—No, I banded the letter to Mr Grahatn. I thought he was manager. Very likely I did jokingly Say half the claim was sufficient, or something like that., . < Mr Tennant said—A short time > after the transaction Mr Bourn met me in the •treet and said if I had allowed the boat <6 proceed with the anchor he would have seen me right with the Board. I did not thick Mr Bourn’s conduct was quite straight., ’ , . Mr Turnbull here rose, and left the Board room, remarking as he-went that, he would, not sit at the Board meetings while a servant of the Board was: / allowed to deliberately' insult a gentleman who came before the Boardj to have a grievance inquired into. 1 •Mr Bourn also retired shortly after.wards, leaving the whole matter,in the hands of the Board, who passed a resolution on the subject.