The Daily News. MONDAY, JUNE 29, 1903. THE HARBOUR EXTENSION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 203, 29 June 1903, Page 2

The Daily News. MONDAY, JUNE 29, 1903. THE HARBOUR EXTENSION.

It is much to be regretted that there are inflations that evary effort will be msde to prejudice ratepayers regarding any echt mi for harbour extension tha' may be brought forward. The news-, papers at Waitara, Opunake aed Hawers have already wiitten iu coadem cat'.on of tbfc Harb up Board proposals. The press at Stratford and Irglowood. on the other hand, have, we are pleased to 6ee, adopted a much more judicial tone, and while not committing themselves to support any scheme of ex'en feion aro prepared to cinsider any prop g :1s which may be formulated, and support or condemn them as tbey find the proposals deserve. This is aa it efaou'd be, and. we would say, right here, that there is no intention on the part of the Harbour Board to spriog any sui prise on, or in any way tak' i d van tags of the ratepayers. Theii desire is to take the ratepayers into their fullest confidence. The notice cf motion given by the til airman of the Board regarding tha idjustment of representation is ia iteel! a proof of tha desira of the Board, to do wl at ia fair in tht matter ot representation. The question really before the ratepiyors is : do j they desire to remain as an appendage of Wellington for all time or h vet port capable of berthing direct steam era ? We have sufficient confidence ii the etergy and self-reliance tf the people of Taranaki to feel sure if the) are satisfied that such a port can be obtained and aVa reasonable cost they will support it, A.3 regards the possibility of giving accommodation fo> direct liners we have the plats of Mi Marthaot, the Board's Engineer, con ill med by the most fminent marine engineer of the day (MrNaper B II) showing that this can easily be done a» a cost of less than X 145,000, Ktgardiagthe dependence tr be place! upon their reports it should be rercenbsred that when the present works wer> started we were told that an expend! ture of £200,000 would give accommodation for vessels of the cl ss of th.old Hawoa roughly 500 to 600 tons. For a less expenditure than wasciotem plated the haibour is to-day giving accommodation to vessels cf 1000 to 1500' tons and, though shipping is frequant and regular, abaiutel* no interruptions occur. Only last week the Auckland and Wellington papers reported delays a Onehunga and Wellington thnugt bad weather, yet at New PI j mouth no delay occurred, and on one of the roughest days we have had this winter the TJpolu, 1141 toDS, arrived, landed 600 tons of cargo, and lef; without any difficulty or delay. The same night the Waitui arrived wiih the Engl sb mail just bi fore midnight, on a pitc.', dark and exceedingly stormy night, landed her mails aid passengers withcut delay, and left for We'lington soon after 1 a.m. At the same time vefsela were weather-bound in r.eaily cv>report along the coast, including Wellington, which IVr Maxwell bonsls to much. Then, as regards th* C'st of tho extension of the harbour, Sir Parlane quoted figures at the

■ Farmers' Union Coherence showing that the viluitioi of ths hurfcour district was somo Shall it be said that, with an ea'ato valu9d at 1 nearly etveu millions eterlicg, the people of Taranaki are so wun'ing in enterprise that I hey iefue to find ( be iotcris - . on a piltry £150,000, *heoi's expenditure will givo them diraet at c-jfb to tho mu'ke'.s of ihe wot Id, save thorn 10-s par ton on their export s and 15s per ton oa tfceir imports? Why, the swing in freight alone will : ' more than pay the whole of the in-! teresf-, leaving out ths question of IJ indirect benefit.