HARBOR BOARD.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2824, 13 April 1882, Page 2

HARBOR BOARD.

The monthly meeting of this Board was held to-day. Present, Messrs F. Archer (chairman), T. W. Hall, W. Evans, W. Moody, J. H. Sutter, A. Mee, T. Teschemaker, E. A. Barker, E. Turnbull. CORRESPONDENCE. A letter was read from the Railway Department stating they had no objection to ballast for vessels at the wharf being taken from their ballasting .siding The charge would be one shilling per ton. The secretary stated that he had written to the Railway Department, asking whether they would agree to. ballast the vessels themselves. It was resolved, on the motion of Mr Moody, seconded by Mr Sutter, “ That re ballasting vessels, in reply to the letter from the Traffic Superintendent of railways, the secretary be instructed to ascertain at what rate the whole workpf attending to ballasting vessels wo nld be undertaken by the railway Department, 1 A letter was read from Mr Henry Hoare, referring to a letter he had written to the Board a year ago on the subject of raising a loan in the London market for the completion .of the Breakwater. He .stated that he would be glad to do what be could on his return to England, to float a loan, if the Board considered it advisable that he should do so. " . Mr Evans suggested that Mr Hoare should be thanked for the trouble he had taken. Mr Sutter said a committee had been appointed to deal with the whole question of finance, and the matter had better be referred to that committee.

The chairman thought the committee might giro notice to Mr'Eoare Ofi their next meeting so that he* might be; present to confer with them. _ ! It was decided that the committee! should meet next Monday at ,11 a.m., and that notice be given to Mr Ebare. THE STEAM TOG. The Committee appointed to report on the advisability of arranging if of the' services of a steam tog for the port' reported as follows : “ The committee appointed to act in the matter of securing the services of a steam tug for the port beg to., report that they have received the following tenders ; s.s. Akaroa, 28 h.p., £250 per month ; Lillie Denham, 20 h.p., £200; p.s. Peninsula, 16 h.p., £l5O ; s.s. Jane. £lls ; s.s. Stormbird, 30 h.p., £333, They consider the s.s. Akaroa to be the only boat suitable fcr the Board’s work, but the price asked being higher than the committee feel justified in giving, they beg to request that the matter may be dealt with by the full Board." : r. Mr Evans thought members seemed alarmed at the price named, for the service of <.« tug. It ;was ■ absolutely necessary that a tug should be obtained, and although £250 per month was'’a large sum, it would only mean £750 for three months. The tug would be available during the grain seasoh, and with such a boat in the harbor there would be no chance of any vessel going ashore. The amount was a mere flea bite compared, with the benefits to be derived from having a tug in port. ■ Mr Barker thought that if the Board decidedfou hiring a tug the shippers: in the port should pay a portion of the cost. ■ ■

Mr Evans said it would be easy for the Board to increase 1 the shipping charges by a penny or twopence per ton. ,

Mr Moody said if the price had been £l5O per month the Committee would have considered, themselyas,.justified in accepting the offer, but they considered £250 too much. . c co

. A letter was read from Messrs Davidson add Conyers, Dunedin, qubt- . ing prices at which they could obtain a /suitable tug for the Board. - They, as agents for the best Home makers, could supply any description of tug required. They enclosed plans of various sized tugboats; V Mr Evans said if the Board thought of buying a tugboat, the Titan, now on the West Coast, could be purchased for about £3,500. This would hot mean delay in procuring a boat from England.; He should, however, not advise the Board to purchase a tug at present. Let them -hire one first, and then if' they found a tug of service they could easily purchase one. ■ Mr Teschemaker said he would be willing to agree to pay a high rate for a tug for one month as an experiment, df on the trial it were found that the steamer was of use in toeing the surf boats, the Board 1 could eithet hire ■ a steamer for a term or purchase one. Mr Sutter said there could be no two opinions as to the necessity for a steamer to be used as a tug in the port. It was just a question whether the expense would be justified by the benefits derived. -It was all - very ’well for Mr Evans to urge the 'Board so strongly to secure the eer vices of a tug. Mr Evans was a shipper and ■ was directly interested, but the Board had Jto consider what would be most beneficial to the whole district.

Mr Evans—Being a shipper I am in a better position to know the requirements of the port. ’• It was resolved, on the motion of Mr Moody, seconded by Mr Sutter—“That the Committee appointed to report on steam tug be re-appointed with instructions to obtain all possible information as to coat of ajtug suitable for this.port with details of power, consumption of fuel, and expenses of working, and that they be empowered to hire a tug for a month should they see fit to incur the the outlay of the experiment, A letter was read from the purchasers of the wreck of the City of Cashmere stating that as they had had the misfortune to lose the surf boat hired from the Board (through the action of the Board’s Secretary) they would give the Board an iron boat in its stead. It was explained that three boats like the one offered by Messrs Bourn and Co., had been valued at £IOO and that the value of the boat lost was £l5O. The Secretary stated| there was £7O due for hire of the boat in addition to £l5O, the value of the boat. Mr Sutter said that as the Board knew the boat was lost it would be sufficient that the company be called upon to pay its value. The rent claim might be waived. The Chairman—But they had the use of the boat, and the Board lost the use of it.

Mr Evans—l agree with Captain Sutter that the rent claim should be waived. It was resolved—“ That the offer of Messrs Bourne & Co., contained in their letter of April 13th, be not entertained, but that the agreement between them and the Board re boat be strictly adhered to.” A report was read from the Rocket Brigade giving a list of ,the ,work done during the past year. It was decided to; employ Captain Meredith as lighthouse keeper at a salary of 15s per week, and allow him the use of the cottage rent free. PROTEST BY CAPTAINS OP VESSBtS. The following protest was read—

“On this 12th day • of ! April, IBB2j personally - appeared and presented themselves at the office of David Mitchell Eoss,, Notary. Public, ■ George Thomson, master of the barque “ Electra Henry Eowlands, master of the barque “Duke of Sutherland William McGregor, master of the Ship “ BoavenueDuncan Smith, master of the barque" Campsie Glen,”, from the Ports of London, Algoa Bay, New York, and Sydney respectively, laden with general cargo, and now awaiting home despatch. And the said masters do hereby jointly- and severally protest to all whom it may concern, against the gross inadequacy of loading and discharging facilities provided by the Timaru. Harbour Board,, whereby we, the said masters, have suffered much damage and expense, and accordingly note this protest : of all and singular the premises,- ii, O. “ (Signed) ' Thompson, “Electra j” 1 Henry* Eowlands, “Duke l of ; Sutherland■;*?» W. McGowan, “ BenvenueD. Smithjr “Campsie Glen. “D. Ross,Notary ■-<public, Timaru.”

The Board asked the Secretary if there was hny good ground for, just read, and that' officer replied in the negative. He made the folio,wing;state> ment:—With regard to the the first vessel mentioned in, —he said she had been day with a fair average amount of pargo. On holidays, when the service had sent off boats, the Captain of the Electra said he did not want them’;' lyingiialongside as bis vessel was a wooden one, and he did nOt want a bole knocked in her side. Arrangements had been, made to work the vessels oh : Cfbbd the. Elecfcra declined to be worked on that day. In the caseof the-Duke of Sutherland, Mt ; Cunningham had asked that hef IbS'dingwas to; till the Electra wa!r loaded'. ’The-'Duke of Sutherland wofdld ’ then' be loaded with all possible despatch, Thp- Campaie Glen had been alongside tlja wharf 111 the time since" her’ arrival in the port, and steamers had been displaced fot her convenience;’ The Behtehub's agbntyMr E. Smith,.' had,' f ;AhC‘\ 3 /liiMe,.(Ptoper arrabgeinenis fpr.' di'schpirgipg the bgate when they atnvbd that Was the cause of, the delgy iniJneif discharging.',' . The Oceola hpd-.’pmrja reason to complain than any of the other vessels; .and •no u com plaint; had’ been made. . ,!V ■ I

>' In reply to Mr- Moody, the Secretary stated that he thought the Bdaird coald; manage to do All' the wbifk f of the port' this seasop. without’,, the „ purchase, of, additional boats,;, Thb.jwharf did naif the work now, and if an additional, crane was supplied the : wharf cbuldiio’ tbree^qui^ra'p'f : tbe;wpr£* It 1 was resolved—“ That in; r reply. to? ■ the protest forwarded by Captains of ifour vessels, complaining of:, want'of iattention in: shipping'acid discharging,' |the Board, after full of' (Opinion that rid ! g¥ound exists for the. ! cdmplairit"’ 7 r.'}'"' V• P* ienpees. The; following tehdbm'iivercJrSceivbd for ! widening the, wharf':—Jones iujidV Petets, £2934165; H. Mckerizie, Dime: 1 , din, (accepted), £2682 19s 2d. .. The, . Engineer’s estimatp was £2BOO. vr: .., ,

i The following tenders for thOi-supply of 1200 tons of com'dnfc was receiAtea:-*-Gathrio and Larnach’s Co., £4'lls lid 1 ” per* ton’ Turner^ (Christchurch),’. £4 l2s sd; T^Helsbf, and Co!, (Christchurch) £4 l2s lid G.., G. Stead, SA 15 s sd; 0. Pord,(Dunedin),,, £sus. V: :It jvas resolved after some discussion., “ That’; the : Engineer be' .instructed ito > extend the old tender of McKenzie-for 1 ' wharf ’so it’shhll he ten feet wide* in h accordance with ■ contract at pohCaulC ! * ■; S’ 1 : i road; fiqht!the.M r for Public Works stating, that the.! Go* , vernment could not supply a second cranes for the wharf as it iwas not wide enough fortwocranostobeworked on -1 it. .’•< •'’< The following reports were read«

enqinebb’s bepobt. •.-.••si-ririTf “ I have *tbb'honor to J report that during last month thb foundation'blocks of the mole wereextendedSOffy making 170 ft of the contract. i« Tenders' w^,e : Called‘for 1300. ' of 1 Portland cetneint,' 1 ; asd ;.f or f ; ; 627fr-:S6f ’ .;,They heetiut npWi await‘adoeptwcp., : ‘(Asi< insttuotedi ,rthe 1 dredging along- ! ' sidoof dhe'wharf hasbaen stopped;and vV j the rock which’*Wat in. tbo^Ay^hrtqe fi '. ! ; shipping has bebn “ In accordance’ witii instructions, a latge plans£ s>o hariipy/ j works vfes prepared and forwarded.,-to the Christchurch Exhibition, and photographs of the works made worn also forwarded; “ 1 have further considered the Wave screen, as suggested by Captain Sutter. Sdch a structure, lam. (Bonyinced, would cut off the range? and ’ would probably last for some time. But the 'constant concussion of translation waves would in time loosen the piles, on the stability t of 1 which the wholestrdcture depends, ■and, once .the/ piles - were, loosened it would not require yery .many heavy seas to destroy the structure. I am not awaro of. such a structuro bouig used/ elsewhere. Small harbors have been tranquilised by having-booms dropped ’ across their entrances, as, for instanCe, at Banff. But the conditional, existing between that harbor and here are widely ; different, and will ,not admit of comparison. The best method, 1 I consider, to cut off range, is to speedily complete the scheme of the Breakwater, .as, until the kant is built, there' must be a eonsiderable range inside the harbor?’ ‘

LANDING SERVICE REPORT. ' “ I have. the honor to report that 32 vessels have arrived during, the month. I have landed and shipped in all 4849 tons, the gross earnings being £902 7s 4d and the net £320 9a sd. “ There continues to be a . press of work and the capacity of the Service is tried to the utmost. “ I beg to suggest that a yard be - erected in which to store coal and timber, as on account of the laxity,, of consignees in removing their cargo when landed, 1 my boats are frequently kept , loaded on the beach for half , a dayj. besides which vessels ate hpnecessanly ~ delayed.; ' ~.." '■ “I beg to apply for permission: to ' order 30’cubic yards of road metal fop the approach to the Service which is badly in need of repair."

The Board then adjourned for Juncheon. • .c Oh resuming, Mr Hall was voted to the chair. Letters were read from Mr J. G. Sharp, and the Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, ofEering the Bdard two white Manilla hawsers. The former offered to sell at the rate of £65 per ton, the latter mentioned no price. "

THE HARBOEMABTEB. The letter received from Captain Mills at last meeting, asking for an increase of salary, was considered. The Chairman‘ -said that Mr Turnbull had a notice of motion on the subject, add it was now competent for him to : move it. • ■ Mr Turnbull said he would, ask'to, airierid his motion, so as to give Captain Mills two months’ notice i to terminate his present appointment. The original motjon Jsaid three months. • ' Mr Moody said he would move that j. the Board go into Committee to discuss theV motion. As a rule, he did not believe in preventing discussions being . made public, but he thought; that, when a man’s character .was brought into question it should not be made public. The motion was not seconded, members being of opinion that the public biffiri,right to hear all that was said and done "at the Board meetings. Every facility should be given to the Press.; Mr Turnbull said he should never say . apything that be would be afraid to see in print. It was necessary in • tjhe present position of the Board’s business to appoint a competent man. He (Mr. ■ Turnbull) Had no ill-feeling towards Captain Mills in the motion he had 1" moved. He'considered it was time’a * ; first class man wa‘s appointed to manage 'everything in connection .with, the 1 'hSrbonr, and Captain Mills was hot the man,;. . __ ■ ; ,Mr Evans said ho would second "Mr ? . Turnbull’s., motion. .He did < it. in-the . light-of.a .public duty, and-he . must say at the outset that he bad nO l personal animus against Captain Mills. The .present Harbormaster had . been avery • w good man in his day," hut the large increased trade of the port had got beyond him. Etc 7 would be in favor of giving Captain Mills a bonus or ..yipoognifingT his past? servicea; in riom.e other ;■ \yay r ; hut he. did; hoi ‘ think it ■ ' necessary to enter into details or to say why Captain Mills was not now the man to suit the Board as Harbormaster •Aiiapi'e efficient man was now required thh management'of the £ ; , r I Mr Moody saiid.he had, made enquiries ' . about Captain Mills. Sotrie people said "'tbitCaptain Mills was a most inferior . and others said he waka good man he (Mr Moody) was not able c;-|o form an opinion from his own and unless .some- proof of negligence or incompetence were'given he should hot support the resolution. It bad been said that blame attached to Captain Mills in connection witfr'the wreck of the City of Cashmere bull Sriakj no proof tjbat { .Qaptain MillfThad £ 'anything to” do with* thej wreck of that vessel. . . ! < ■Mr Evans—l doriotthink it riecessary, for you to refer to the City- of 1 . Cash-; .mere or it may call forth a great .deal; di^ssioql!'* r . " ■ Mr,Moody—l dd cdnsider it neces-j iary.. People have no right to make; unless they can prove them.. ' Mr Turnbull—l think that if I had not moved in the present matter I should have been guilty of gross negligence of public duty. -It.is certainly •tiine ah alteration was made. I ' ■, Mr Teschemaker. agreed with* Mr Moody. - He. had made .enquiries •whether any direbt charge had ever been made against Captain Mills, he had enquired of the Chairman of the Board,

•nd'the 1 answer was that a charge bad never been made against him since he was in charge of the Port. Party feeling might ran high in the .present matter bat he thought the Board should pause; before dismissing a man until he had been proved incompetent.' 'He ■honld ivote against- Mr Turnbulls notion. "Mr Barker said' he did not know ; Captain: Mills, but from the .opinion of outsiders he thought that Captain Mills; was now behind the age. Captain Mills 1 did very well when the: port .was a small one,: hut now that .the shipping trade was : becoming large and important abetter : nan was required. v : > >

. .Mr Hall said the only fault that could be found with Captain Mills was that'uhe v was ; too hard worked. The present Harbormaster was constantly at work from five o’clock jn the 1 morning to late at night.! All that Captain Mills h«id done had al ways been home out by competent authorities, - • 'The;, ’motion, that, Captain Mills be ; giyeu three: 1 monthVnotice that his services as Harbormaster will no longerbe: required, was then put and carried by, five votes to two. Ayes—-Messrs Turhbhll. -Evans,'' Sutter, Barker, and Mee. Mesqfs. Moody and Teschemaker did notvbte/ *' J * _ V ' 1 r -^ ® THE ENGINEER’S LETTEh. * The letter,Sent'ift by I '. Mrl Goodall at last meeting asking that his salary should considered. It provoked? a- very lorig and animated discussion,’at the conclusion of Which Mt-Teschetriaker gave notice toj move at next Inerting'—' '‘ That jMr Q opdall’s application f6i"'increase of, salary be entertamWatnextmeoting.” , ■ Tho .then ,