THE HARBOR PROPOSALS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 109, 5 June 1909, Page 5

THE HARBOR PROPOSALS.

DISOUSSION AT THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. Iu the course of his annual report,, submitted to I In' Taranaki Chamber of Commerce last evening, the president, referring to the better plan to adopt—li broad or an attenuated wlmrf—expressed the view that the question was 100 important to be settled except by ' the very best expert opinion. Mr. lenn, in the eiu>uiug discussion, differed from this view. Tim Um-

bo!' Board, he said, had already got the j highest expert opinion in that of Mr| Kapier Bell. Unfortunately the Board had departed from that advice, and in this he thought they were makin» a great mistake. He believed they should protest against this departure. Subsequently, lie moved—"That this Chamber regrets that the New Plymouth Harbor Board, in the absence of the chairman and treasurer, and without due consideration of the Board's business, has thought fit to adopt a radical departure from the- extension scheme formerly decided upon, and which the Board had been carrying out for s everal. years, and begs' to suggest that no steps be taken to further commit the Board to the new departure pending the return of the chairman and treasurer." Speaking to the motion, Mr. Penn said the Board took a very important, and, he might say, an ■ extraordinary step in adopting, with a small Board present and the chairman and treasurer ; abssnt, a departure from the plan tbey : had been working on for many years— ' a plan that was endorsed by the "highest '

marine engineer available. The proposal was only carried by four out of the nine members of the Board. It was a very hasty action to take. He had been asked by several to bring the matter up Wore the Chamber. It was one for the consideration of the board, to whom the public looked for a lead. No actual harm had been done yet, and the Board could not commit themselves further before the return of the Chairman and treasurer, and when it full Board were present they would have an opportunity of discussing the nevr plan and altering it if they thought desirable. The Board's recent action, which was a serious departure from the policy of the Board, might! have a very bad effect on the prospects of the harbor.

Mr. Swing seconded the motion. He did not know which plan was the better, but, as an outsider, he thought the action of the Board was too hasty, and he felt that the expression of opinion conveyed by the proposed resolution would have the effect of staying the hand of the Board.

Mr. Murdoch Fraser opposed the motion. In this matter Mr. Penn's judgment, which was usually sound, was at fault. To pass the resolution was tantamount to passing a vote of censure on the Board members. 'He held the Chamber should not interfere with the Board in the way suggested. It was a matter of opinion as to whether the •Board's decision was in the light or wrong direction. The Haitor Board was composed of men without technical knowledge of the harbor and its requirements. They had to be guided by expert advice. They had been so guided. The Board simply had to find the money and carry on tiro Board's business to the best of their ability. The absence of the chairman and treasurer did not affect the duty of the members present. Messrs King and Connett were excellent men for the mission they had carried out, but that their opinion would have carried any weight against that of the Board's experts -was ridiculous. The Chamber should not interfere—it should hold its peace.

iMr. Stanley Shaw disagreed with the motion. He believed the Board acted hastily, though not intentionally so. It would have been wiser and better to have held' the matter over pending the return of the chairman and treasurer.

He/could not say if the Board were in _jeTpdsition to carry out the work with '"'the money available. The Board was entirely in the engineer's hands. TTo. thought it better to withhold criticism of the Board's decision. ' iMr. Johng thought the Chamber had a: right to take action in such a mat- , ter.

Mrj. Burgess disagreed. The Harbor Board was elected by the people of the district. The Chamber of Commerce had no equal standing and therefore no right to pass the motion. The Harbor Board had plans, etc., before them and were in the best possible position to judge of.the merite or, demerits of the tcßeme decided upon. Mr. R. C. Hughes thought the Chamber.had a right to express an opinion on a matter of this nature. At the same time, he thought it would be better to withdraw the resolution. 'Mr. Penn said he was not inclined to

withdraw the motion. He said the Board bad adopted the scheme on incomplete details. Comprehensive borings, for instance, had not been taken, and lie ■was satisfied if they came in-shore, .is

wag proposed, they would have to bore through rock. At Captain Bone's instance the Board had condemned the original proposal to lengthen the pre-1 sent wharf and declared for a broad and' short' wharf. Mr. Marchant had changed life plans accordingly. What value, therefore, could be. placed on Mr. present proposal 1 The Board had never gone into the cost of the scheme. On a very bald report the Board had adopted a radical departure from the original scheme. Mr. T. C. List pointed 1 out that the departure was not so great as the departure the Board had years ago made front Mr. Napier Bell's scheme in constructing the breakwater on a 'sandbank instead of on a solid bottom. The consideration, of course, was that of cost, which was £4B as against £75.

Be found' no fault with the Board's departure in this reepect, for it had been most successful, but pointed out that it was this alteration that was

responsible for the present position. Mr Marchant had admitted at a Board meeting that for every foot of sand dredged around the wharf and outwards the sand along, the breakwater would eink. Hence the decision of the engin-eer-to alter the direction of the seaward extension of the wharf, making it angular iji shape. There was a difference of opraion among members of the Board in Tegaril to' the practicability of the angular wharf, and it was agreed to call in expert nautical evidence to settle the point. Captain Bone was engaged, and reported adversely on the proposal. The Board, therefore, had no alternative but to re model its plans. The speaker did not wish to further criticise the plans or go nito harbor matters more deeply at that moment, but he thought the Chamber in passing the motion would be placing itself in an invidious position and exceeding its proper fnnction. He moved as' an amendment—"That the «n«tter be referred to the council of the Chamber for consideration." His belief was that when the council were in possession of fuller information on the matter they would not convey the motion to the Harbor Board. Messrs Frascr and Burgess supported tin? amendment, which, at Mr. Fraser's instafcee was' altered to read as follows: —"Thut as the motion practically amounts' to a vote of censure on the members of the Harbor Board, this meeting is ®f opinion that such condemnation of » public body does not cgwp witiiiir the province of the-Cham- ' tier)' l; Tlio amendment, after considerable discussion, was then put and defeated • i>y nine votes to eleven. W, F. Brooking moved another

r—r-.t-I neat—-"That this Chamber #xprej»« the hope that the Board will not pTOceed with the making of important alterations' to the general scheme of the harbor without fullest consideration." 'fr. Roy seconded. (Mr. Penn withdrew his motion, and flic amendment, becoming the sub«t*ntive, was carried bv a large major•!r..