HARBOUR BOARD.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 223, 17 October 1903, Page 2

HARBOUR BOARD.

ORDINARY MONTHLY MKfii'lNW. The usual moV.hly linciin" of thn B wrd was Loid on Fn iay. Pras-jnl.: Viesavß Connetifc (chairman), King, Dtngk, McLom, Hornby, I'' is ai.i. , Maxwell, and j?riee, (Lp&aiii Giaut, tctiag-harb'.'uiui-isst-r, was fas:; prosci'ii.. The minutes of t-ho prev/sua oiainarj' i.iifl special wy<)Utij,' were coniiimcd. In re ply to Mr Dingle, the Ghriirmar , u"d tho coufeuUing i-iigiceer's fee w;v ; £3O a yoar. K«> churged 'Xpriws and for advico when required. • An informal ditcusiuoa took place in -eferntca to the wharf, during which \lr Foreman complained that the state-

ueat made by the Kugineer that thu ?h«f was in good order was not borne >ut by the information now before the Board. (Several mouthers took part it.' ha diwi'iiision, out tho uistc-r dropped ili dealing w iih ths foreman's report. Tiw Treasury notified placing to the S-mrd'a credit .£932 la lid, boing ii'i oar con 1; ot'th l ) net land iwrauea^

i' ueu within, tho provincial district, for ho quarter ending Septerubar 30th, , 1903. A, Shanks and Co., Lmdoa, notiGei under da'e September 4th, that tha tirst cylinders for the local " driver " vould be shipped by tha vVaimate. Tha Board's solicitor repo-tsd on th ; question of the Board's liability for the, rirafc lot of cylinders sent Dy Shanks' md Co., which were returned as unsuitable, for which Shanks and Co. drjw on the Board for the cost, holding that the fault was not theirs and refusing to credit the Board. The solicitors painted out that if Shanks and Go. carried on business iu New Zealand here would be 1 fctle difficulty in taking crion, but proceedings would havß to ie taken in England by soma person duly authorised by the Board, and the evidence for the Board would mos' probacy be taken in New Zoaland under Commission. This would be very expensive, and having regard to the amount involved could not alviae oho Board to proceed. They, however, suggested that the Board should refus° so honour the draft for the cyiindarp, aow on the way out, until a settlement of the Board's claim was made, and r,his course would probably result in a settlement being arrived at. Mr Foreman aiked what tho position svould be if the Board were eued.

Mr Kiog Siid tha B iari would no 1 ie able ro g>;t delivery of the cylinders r ,ill it took up the diaft, bun the firm would be in tho same difficulty as the Bjard in regard to takiug action. After furth' r discussion, on the •no ion of Mr Kinp, seconded %y Mr Maxwell, it was decided to notify Mwsra Shanks and Co. that the Board tefus) to take of tho now jylindcre till fho matter was settled. Mr J. McWitliams, of McWillrms tnd Andrews, contractors for the intake at (ho n«w Borough waterworks,

wrote offering .£1 to .£1 53 par ton foi .he the us 3 of old rails at the hirbour ;nd offering to let the Board havi ihem back an 15s a ton when they hac lone with th* m, The Chairman prop's=d that thi •ails be s<sld to Messrs McWiWam \n<\ Andrews at 25s per ton, not Us than ten tons to be t-iken. Seoondod by Mr Price and carried. The Hrrbour Master reported tha luring OjTobtr, 37 steamers and om ■lailing vessel had been berthed, thi iggrfigato gross tonnage being 28,20< tons. Imports were 4293, and ezpoH iO9 tons. The dredge worked 2i clays, makiDg 285 trips, and remoyinj 17,100 cubic yards of land. Thi soundings in the harbour showed ver; little difference from the list survey. A'r Dingie would like to know when the sand came from. Captain Grant said that question wa too many for him. Mr For&man said an equally impor fcant question was, where did the san< go to that was discharged from thi dredge ? Captain Grant said he had not beei an the beach in front of the town fo some years, but it was add to be goioj past. The Foreman reported that thi diver had found eight bad pilts in tht wharf. He also stated the details ol work done during the mon h. Mr Dingle said he would like to have he report on the position of the wharf ead.

Mr Marchant's report was then read, and after further irregular discussion on the question of the condition of the wharf, etc., the matter was dropped. The Works Committee's report was read. Q.i the motion of the Chairman, seconded by Mr Foreman, the report was adopted. After another irregular discussion as to the Engineer's report on the wharf, Messrs Maxwell and KtDg expressing considerate difference of opinion as to what stepi had been taken to get the Engineer's repoK, Mr MoLnan said the Engineer was wrong to say the wharf was in good condition unless he had aali-fhd himsef on tho point by a personal in&pection. 'fho R-served Commutes were granted an ex eaaion ui tiroa in which to report. Mr West's tender for cib service was aceep'ed, the Chairman to arrange for express hire, Mr J. Hooker was the only other tenderer, the price being tbe sam=.

Mr King moved that the Ohairuwn, Messrs Maxwell and Hornby bo a committee to deal with tenders for supplies. The \yefltport Goal Company's tender was aceep ed at 27s tor screened and 23s for unscreened per ton for coal supply. Account wore pa«sod far pa' merit Tre tjoaid went int) committee to. consider an application by tho foreman for an increase in wages, and on resuming it was decided to grant him an additional 5s a w<>ek. The question of Mr Pairs' application fjr boring rights was deferred for the present. Mr King said that Mr Pairs had told him he was going to Australia to purchase a plant tie (Mr King) would be willing to grant boring rights. The Ohairmiu said that Mr Fws had obtained rights over several farms at Bell Block, and that he had arranged terms with the owners. These pro-j pertios were not affected by the iron sand lease. PROSTITUTION OP REVENUE, Mr Maxwell moved—"That all revenue from da'e derived from Reserves (Mount Eiiot, Kawau pah, Moturoa, and all other) be paid on receipt iuto the Trust Account to be applied towards payment of interest on the loan." He said that in past yuars the Board had required all money it could lay its hands on and now there was a cbanoe of a surplus reveum. The whole of the interest had been drawn from the land fund and rates. An assurance was given at the outsat that ino rate would be required, How that there was revenue available it should be devoted to payment of interest aj was

•lone by <.■"'.<■!• iio-.rrtr, :u>.; ', u.: : , •.[ vhfcy n. ex. w. i- . . .; .... ( iloan, T;.h 7 (i '-vcii'd do lii i Br.il):', ;,.,... i'.-.ii -i Well!?' DD'G ?'V.;j.st >. , )t>ii'..v!.y -v is Jvav.n i li :' v ice-"?sfc, Ij'.ii- Ik 01 ;-, ended i!i; l-"t *;.ould^ ; . ; >j ■iitpp-iye'B had already paid ovtj £IOO,OOO for micros:, and be j 6 wils only asking for a very .small I •.hiog, Harbour extension w:ir oaiihmA but it should nut u fleet nis proLi a!. Ho was io sympithy with Mr j V. L,ean'rt mo 1 ion, bun considered tho Boaid should d i the f«r thing by the v,\ ap-iyers. When r,he Board hud a surplus if it wanted to absurd the weoaVDi'H that io would dejl with tbsirn f.ifrly over any lo:\u pi-.0 wis lor ioc-wurt'-on wovk» "then it slwu'd snow thm policy by the fidrniuistt-iition of it-pie-oiit surplus for the reiki of th'< ratepayers. Mr I'iL'L-ari sneov.ded tin motion.

Mt Pi'ii" poia'-cd out thv:t t ha laud s fund receivwd by the Bcird umonntud £ •ilbngether to date to £195.442. As n ■ ritapnyer and a represetitaiv > of the < Govern ment he would oppose the I motion. It waa fche Government ex- i pendtture that allowed Mc. Eliot ] Heserve to be let. Mr Dingle supported Mr McLean's « proposition. He contended that if the • land revenue waa speot on wharf ex- ] tension it was a legitimate and proper ; use of the money. The pr&sttnt wharf ' bad already cost £16,000 and would i require from £SOOO to £IO,OOO more ! to enable it to meet requirements. He : considered Mr Maxwell should not < press his motion. As business man, J during the present prosperous times, the Board sbou'd make the beat use of its funds. The Chairman contended Mr Maxwell had not put the matter correctly. It was only on the supposition that the wharf extension would be cirried on that he (the Chairman) had Btated there would be a surplus of £3OOO. For yearspast the accommodation had bean insufficient, and it was a mirv«l

that serious accidents had not occurred. Mr Foreman opposed the motion, as he had never admitted there was a surplus. He considered the wharf was positively unsafe, and it was not pleasant to contemplate that tin Board was endangering people's lives, and something ought to 1)8 done. Mr King said thai tin well-known ■ Oonnett's and Kin«'s surplu.s wis b»- j coming famou?, an-i would scon bname a negotiable urticK Mr McLean, i when before tho Commit'ea of th.-il i House, had stated tbat if the Board, ' bad the surplus they hud stamd the ' port to gat .it. He twittei Mr Mx- ' well with altering his poarion, and ' admitting the Board had a surplus Mr WVd oppes-d the mo:ion. 3 Mr Maxwell, in reply, said he had

rieyvr admitted tha Board had a surplus, Is was preposterous for a local holy to talk of a surplus when that snvplus was derived from other than its trading account. Apparently there Wiis a little margin to work 00, and all ho asked was th it the net money from endowment should be used to pay interest and thus relieve the rati payers in a small w,iy. Oo a division the motion wa3 lost by 6 to 3, Messrs Maxwell, McLein, and Hornby voting with the ayes.

IMPROVED WHARFAGE ACCOMMODATION. Mr MoLoan moved that the iioud take immediate steps to strengthen and extend the whaifage accommodation, and to provide facility for shipping. He said that the motion was the outcoma of his last visit to tha jwnarf. The country members very rarely had such an opportuui-;y of seeing the insufficiency of the wharf accommodation as at the v : sit referred to, when two largo steamers were discharging cargo. If an accident tcok place on the wh ni , in face of the Chairman's stifcament of the dangerous state of the wharf, and that there was money available to put matters tight, the accident assurance policy would not, he thought cover the Board. He publicly charged the Chairman with running the risk in order to pirade a surplus of £3OOO, the only use of which was to boom property. If the Bill came on again he would give the promoters advice : Be straightforward ; gat expert advice; get a guarantee) from the Insurance Companies that they will insure ocean ships coming to the breakwater ; be sure that there is sufficient stone to do the work; provide for a north-east wall, and, above all, don't lot the soheme emanate from New Plymouth. Mr Dingle seconded the motion. He considered that M r McLean, ns an old member, was equally responsible with the Chairman lor tha danger that had ex'sted for years past at the wharf. He was prepwed to take his shwe of -esponsibility and not throw it all on the Chairman, Mr Maxwell supported tho motion, contending that the present strucuro was uasafti owing to and the danger of railway traffic. He also coiißi:iet'-id tint additional berthage accommodation was necessiry. Tho Chairman poised out that tho logical conclu-ion of .Mr McL tan's ar- . gument was that the Chairman should have* increased the wharfage accommo- , dstion. If the Board took this view he was quite prepared to go ahead. Mr Foreman, while supporting the ' motion for increased accommodation, , considered tho Chairman was free from b' imo.

Mr McLean, in reply, admitted rn was paitly ro-ponsibla for pastd ...-gen), but while the Otiaivman had known the dangfr he (Mr MuLean) had not. The motion was curied, Mr McLean then moved—'« That the Board'* Soginoer be requested to visit New Plymouth and report as to the best mode of extending and strengthening tho wharf so as to provide further berthage accommodation and a safe mooring for larger boats thin thns-i now trading at the port, aud to provide fulficiont room for the safety of the public."—Carried. Mr McLean further moved- -" That the Board take the state of the preso.t dredge into consideration with a view of finding out how loug she will the port." He pointed tut that the life of the port depended on the dredge and he would like the Engineer to report on the matter. Mr King siid that the dredge was doing very good work, and was good for a few years more. He pointed out that whereas Mr Maxwell had said that the expenditure on the dredge had been about £250, in the report for 1902 the cost of repairs was set down at about £IOOO. Mr Maxwell: Then you are right and I was wrong. The motion was then carried. FORESHORE BIGHTS. Mr Mac Lean said- he had given notioe to move that the resolution of 17th July, dealing with the foreshore rights, be rescinded in order that tbey may be ppen for le*S9 to, any faiwfida

• ■ ■■.: .i>n ft. II:; was a'Di'-y"; v!i.'. Mi' ■;...■. :i! ■.'* ICtjil ;:.'.<l l.O'. iin.n gii'.nttd, '..•„ -.:'..;r liuvii.l4 Bom Mr Bony lie wii'ißf' :o ■«■:.■,■i.iUmw the m.'tion. S .m f: :. : .ui-;ion c.iiwd a* to tho lesir-■■■!) is'* ' f tin' .UoardV ■esoiv-s in B.ough.imstreet, 'out no iction was ? -kon. The Board rose.