Harbour Board.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7719, 23 January 1905, Page 2

Harbour Board.

ANNUAL KEI'OIiT. At. the Harbour Ilxtii ■') meet'ng on Friday, the secretary read the 101-1 1 owing report of the past year's business : The unnunl nccounts of the board arc now liefore you, Vhe result tiring most satisfactory, the working account showing u not profit of £5029 IHs for 11." twelve nionthjjfc. 1 The overdraft ill Ihellank of X.'A, mi Dec, 31, 1901, wns £1717 ITs Id. The previous year the crelil balance was £l5B Is id, tln* dilTcrenro lieing accounted for liy the expenditure incurred in carrying out thr works of harbour and wharf extension, namely :—Pernmnent way, £lOl Is 2'l ; plant and material, £]t>22 ; breakwater extension, £1919 8s 7d ; and wharf extension, £8798 Jin fill: (nuking n total of CO9OO lfis 2il. —Hreakwnler.— The amount, of £lOl 17s 7d lias been expem'ed during tile year on breakwater protection, which small expenditure is highly satisfactory when the exceptionally wenther which has lioen experkneed during the latter |>art of Che year is taken into consideration. It is also satisfactory to be able to report that no damage has been done to the wall during the year, and no delay has occurred to shipping at this port. The sum of £1919 8s 7d hns Ixvn spent in preparing the work' for harbour extension, namely : New plant, repairing old plant and buildings, quarrying stone, and making concrete blocks ; thirty of these latter are now on hand, costing £525. The engineer is expected up shortly for the purpose of starting the work. —Dredge.— The amount of £.">o 17s 2d only has been expended on repairs to the dredge during tho year; in this amount is included the cost of a new rudder. 200,080 cubic yards of sand have been removed from the harbour at a cost of 2.54 d per yard, the total amount hieing £2117 lis. —Quarry.— Active work has agnin been resumed at the quarry in procuring stone for the work of harbour extension. About 1500 tons of large stone been quarried, Ix'srdv.s the amount of smaller stone used in making concrete blocks, and what has been used ill renewing the breakwater protection. —Wharf.— The sum of £B9O 7s 9d has been expended on the wharf for maintenance during the year. The wharf extension authorised by the board hns been started ; material has cost, with 1 labour, etc., £.'1798 Is ."k1 , out of the totul estimated cost by the engineer of £OIOO. Sixteen piles have been driven, and 85 are prepared and ready for driving. . —Plant and lluildings.— Out of Ihe total cost of £ISOO 8s 5d under this heading a now plane has lx!cn obtained at a cost of £922. '1 he mixing house, which has been neglected for many years, has required a very large expenditure In repairs luefore the work of crushing stone and mixing for concrete blocks could be proceeded with. New foundations and other repairs have been completed, besides which new turntables and a siding had to lie made, the approximate cost of same being about £IOO. Sales of sundry articles have lioen made during the year, producing £.'l9 Is Hd. Wharfage and Dues. — Wharfage, £5200 : , berthage, £8242 ; warps, £072 ; water, etc., £53 ; port charges, £277 ; ' to>;nl, £9444. The increase for the year under this heading is £OBB. —Shipping!.— Four hundred and seventy-six vessels entered and left the I'ort during the past year, the aggregate tonnage being 238,743 '.—Vessels, 476 ; tonnage, I 228,748 : imports, 50,970 tons ; exports (butter and cheese), 0890 tons ; other exports, 5050 tons ; total exports, 11,940 tons ; total exports and imports, 02,910 tons. Tliis is an increase under all headings over the previous year, save in the number of vessels, which arc six less, although the aggregate tonnage is larger. —Kndo nments.— Tho earth from Ariki-stroct referred to in the last report has all lieen removod and the street formed, but the metalling has not yet ilxi'n done. The removal of this earth gives llttj lioard clear access to sections 18, 19, and 20, Mount F.liot reserve. Contracts have been let and completed during the year for the removal of 14,100 yards of earth from the western side of Mount Eliot reserve, at a cost to tho board of £592 7s 4d, and tenders for tho removal of the balance have liven authorised by the board. One section only, No. 45, llroug-ham-strect, hns been let during the year to Messrs llowc and Fatcrsoni having a frontage of 20ft Gin, at QOh per foot. The revenue from the endowments during the year amounted to £1207 12s Id, The extension of time grontid 'to the ironspnd lessees for 18 months will expire on January 25th, 1905, when the board will need to consider the position. —Lighting Wharf.— As the present system of lighting tho whurl has been proved to bo wry expensive, the board has made arrangements with the Kit son Light Company to erect a trial lamp on tho wharf, and, if proved to be satisfactory, live of these lamps are to be purchased and erected at a cost of £BB each, to supersede the present system. —l'ort Light.— Owing to complaints having been made on the part of the shipping companies whose vessels are trading at the port, the board lins made inquiries nx to the most suitatjc light for tho harbour, and it was decided to accept the otTer of Messrs Chance Hros., Ltd., of Hirminghnm, for a light for the sum of £BIO. During the year the old wooden structure which, formerly carried the port light has been replaced by a substantial lighthouse of platefcflaKK and steel on concrete foundutiops. The work was executed throughout by the board's stall at a cost for material of £B7, and labour £4O. This lighthouse will lie suitable for the accommodation of the new port light. —Boundaries of Electoral Wards.— As there has been considerable oxtension of settlement in some of the wards, and increased valuation in others, the original division of the harbour rating district wns found to be be very unequal, and with a view to bettor and more even representation of tho wards, the board decided to rc-arrangc tho boundaries. This work has lied! completed, and the new (|ivi.sion will lie the o()0 used in the bi-ennial election in February, 1905. —Harbour Hoards' Association.— During the past year a Harbour Hoards' Association hus been formed in Wellington, and the chairman and Mr Foreman were appointed to attend tho conference as delegates from this iKiard. Mules were made, oflicers and executive were appointed (of the latter tine chairman for the time being of this board was one), and various mutters affecting harbour boards were discussed. Hulisctiuently a deputation from the association waited on the Premier and the Marine Minister, at which our liii.'jiibers were present, when it was suggested by the deputation that the various Harbour Acts should be consolidated. and a draft bill submitted to the Harbour Hoards and the Association, The Ministers promised to give the matter their ccnsfcleriation, but so far nothing has been | (lone, —Harbour llate and Land Revenue— Owing to a considerable falling i°T 'ii the land revenue during the iPast few years, the funds of the trust account had fallen so low that it was deemed necessary to raise (hj rate from jd to Jd in (lie £ *, this, on the valuation, amounted tp £14,038 4s lOd. The amount received from rates during the year was £8,i1,-.(i m s 7<j, and from land revenue £8.209 lls lid, or a total of £ll ~V>(> 8s (id. This shows a decrease of £290 12s fjir tjie year 19(11. ' -MlliKiifg Fuml.— The total worth of this fund at the end of 1901 was £50,098 l(is 1(1(1, ! £49,000 being in Now Plymouth harbour bonds, and the balance of , £3.093 10s 10d bearing inleivtft at i tho Hank of New Zealand. A further sum of £OBO is still by the board to tho commissioners on the Ist November, 1904, coupon. During thw past your .the boaid , has lost the services by death o! j -M-.ijor 1(. IVirris, who was one of the i original commissioners. Tho vacancy was filled by tho appointment of Conuvtt, chulrtunn of the Aiii