CRITICS CRITICISED.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 121, 19 June 1909, Page 6

CRITICS CRITICISED.

THE HAIiISOK EXTENSION SCHEME. NEW WHARF PLANS DISCUSSED, LETTER FROM THE ENGINEER. At the .May meeting of the New. Plymouth Harbor Board it was decided to. make a r adical departure Horn the proposed plans of extending the wharl acconiuiudation at the harbor for oceangoing steamers. The plans before the Board formerly, and placed beioie the people and Parliament when the loan proposals were ea tapis, provided j for a seaward extension ot the existing wharf, with an angle to conform to the direction of tne mole, lest the dredging for berths should affect the stability of the breakwater. Acting upon the advice of the engineer and Captain Bone, who had been called in to advise as to the best method of dealing ; with shipping of the heavier class, the Beard derided to widen the present i wharf, and not to lengthen it, and to j lireuge a oerth inshore :or the big boats.

'J. lie action of the Board came ia for a good deal of criticism by a section of the Press, by newspaper correspondents, and by some members of the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce. It was urged that the change of plans would deiay the completion of tne berthing accommodation, and cost a lot of money; and, that the scheme was impossible Owing to the fact that the harbor bottom at the site of the proposed berth could not be dredged owing to the presence of a supposed reef of rook. As was expected, some of this criticism was replied to at yesterday's meeting of the Harbor Board. | THE ENGINEER'S LETTER.

Mr. i\ W. Marchant, the Board's consulting engineer, wrote under date 10th June: —

"(Seeing the controversy there has been on the wharf etxension question, I desire to re-state the case as 1 know .t. In I'JOU, when drawing up my proposals for the improvement of the harbor, I proposed to amend.the line of the wharf by putting in the suggested extension at an angle with the original line, because I did not, and still do not, consider the existing line of the wharf in the best position for the use of large vessels. The late Mr. C. Jfajiier Bell agreed with me and adopted my proposal in hie plan. If you refer to the lithographed plan issued in 11)02 whereon Mr. Bell's and my proposals arc shown, you will see the wharf extension as I have described. Between then and now much alteration has been made in the wharf. It has been widened to admit of laying four lines of rails to facilitate railway working on it. In 1008 a new survey of the harbor was made, and the question of wharf extension was reconsidered in connection with the alteration which had been made in the existing wharf. It seemed to me that an angled extension for the use of the largest vessels had many points, permitting as it did the use of both sides fo r the largest vessels, and leaving the existing wharf untouched. The plan of that survey was lithographed and widely circulated. It was in the hands of, the Board, its officers, and the public for many months without any objection being made to the angled wharf extension shown on it. Some six months ago I was instructed to prepare the plans for the angled extension I proposed, and the plans were completed. Then someone made the belated discovery that the extension should have been in the original direction of the wharf. I objected to that for the reasons given at the time.

"Then I suggested that Captain Bone should ibe engaged to advise the Board. He objected to any lengthening of the wharf In either direction for the reasons r he gave. Captain Bone is the Marine Superintendent of the New Zealand Shipping Company, n very experienced man in all that relates to the working of shipping. His opinion is continually sought and deferred to. I was therefore much astonished to see that opinion challenged by men who probably hardly knew the most rudimentary points about shipping or the larger class of it. When Captain Bone objected to any extension at all, I made the suggestion that if the wharf was widenedTo 80ft it would he a good thing as thereby we could dredge oat a 30ft berth of length sufficient to accommedate »ne of the largest vessels without bavin" to specially fitrengthen the wharf. Also, room would ibe provided for transhipment sheds for the use of storing cargo for the proposed small river steamers. "I may explain that both Mr. Connett and Mr. King were strongly i„ favor of such sheds being built on the wharf opposite the shipping berth. Mr. Kin" urged it very strongly. Reinemberin" this, it seemed to me to be the best alternative suggestion I could offer if Captain Bone vetoed any extension at all. . ' -

'•I may say that a very lengthy discussion took place between Captain Bone, Captain Hood, and myself over this matter. The result was'that Gintain Bone thought the widening suction n good one, and Captain Ilood "entirely agreed with it also.

I may explain that it would b c quite possible to dredge a 30ft berth alongside the existing wharf on the Eastern Jide. [t would, however, be necessary to expend £4OOO or WOOD in stiffening up the structure and driving longer piles where necessary. Itv the widenhi" proposal this expenditure is saved androom is afforded for the transliipment sheds 'lt was proposed to dredge inshore only so far as is necessary to easily berth a large steamer, and' not to excavate solid rock and boulders on the beach, as some have imagined. 'Like many an individual, the Hoard ''l !"": a ?. ,1 . e t0 do lhp ;,I(,st a»«l rumple est thing by reason of financial inability, and eonseijuentlv has to fall back on compromise and makeshift. The proper thing, as I have said before, is to leave the existing wharf alone and Imild a new one to the eastward for the use of the largest vessels. That cannot now be done, and it remains for the Board to finally decide what shall Lived." B"'* 8 "'* WeighiUg 3 " the l ,oints

. -MR. WUKIXSOXIS CRITICISM, i ?/''' s °"> referring to the letter, said he would like to reply to some of the criticism. Since the last meeting of the Board he had made it his business to go and have a good look at Timaru, Oamaru and Lyttelton harbors, and to consult both the Board'.-, ; engineer and Captain Bone. After Ion" I conversations with those gentlemen he , was unite convinced flint the latest scheme submitted was the one which' would be ot the greatest service, to the Board and to the district. The Tar-i----naki Herald had evidently embark.',! on a crusade of antagonism' to the proposals, and had particularly referred 1o the question of dredging, and had stat ed the impossibility of dredging the harbor to the required depth alongside the existing wharf. He had looked up old records of the Board, and found in a limited publication on "The Taranaki Harbor a report that in April, ln:i-> '•the dredging committee appointed in the previous Xovcmlber reported to the Board on April lHth recommending that borings be made In the harbor to find nit the nature of the material to be iiietigecl. lln> recommendation was subsequently carried out, with the result that it was found that there wouid

lie no difficulty in dredging with 11 powerful to a depth of 35 feet, the material being line gravel and sand under atliin crust of conglomerate of the 6iime material." That was tire outeome of the committee's investigations on lliat very question. Mr. Marchant. 100, was very strong on the point, and said there would be practically no trouble in dredging.

Mr. Price interjected that the portion bored was apart altogether from the position of the proposed inside berth. The chairman corrected him, and stated that No. 1 bore was drilled just at the shore end of the original length of 400 feet, and No. 13 bore was 140 feet inside that, or 540 feet inward from the end of the old wharf. He produced the plan of the tests, and the details. THE PERSONAL ASPECT.

Mr. Wilkinson, continuing, said the Herald had been good enough to criticise the personnel of the Board, stating that two of the members had onlv sat a fow times at the Board table—and, inferentliaHy, they could know little about the matter; and another who was comparatively new to the proceedings, and thus could know very little bettc;; concluding with a reference to the chairman "whose advice ,on an engineering matter had already cost the Board some thousands of pounds." Mr. Wilkinson considered that criticism unfair. The acting chairman of the Board had done more in the interests of the harbor than any other man

Mr. Maxwell (acting chairman) objected to the personal aspect being introduced.

Mr. Wilkinson protested that the Board was on its trial before the public over this matter. Mr. Maxwell did not think so, and ruled this aspect of Mr. Wilkinson's' out of order. The nremiber. he said, must confine his remarks to the feasibility or otherwise of dredging.

AX INFERENCE DENIED. Mr. Wilkinson, resuming, said that ! f he were not allowed to speak for others he wanted to deny for his own part any inference that he had not given attention to the all'airs of the Board, for he had given a considerable amount of time and close attention to it. The question of wharf accommodation had always been a difficult one with him, and he was satislied that in obtaining Captain Bone's expert opinion as to the requirements, the Hoard had done one of the best things it had ever done. The money expended in getting linn here had been money well invested, for his advice would help largely in making the port a success. At Lytleltou Captain Bone had continued aiid re-iterated his reasons for advocating tin; abandonment of the long wharf, and he was very emphatic that he was on the right track with the short, wide wharf. Mr. Wilkinson quoted the example of Lyttolton, where all Home boats were worked at the same wharves. There was no , large cargo operations on the long wharves there. After visiting LytteltoTi he went on to Tiniaru, and inspected the harbor there. He also sa,w Mr. Marchant, and closely questioned him concerning the new proposals. He left there more than ever satisJied. Now, the Herald criticised the Board, saying that a serious blunder had been- committed in adopting the altered plan, and allcoin" that the Board intended to dredge down to 30 feet for the full length of 1)60 feet. j As a matter of fact, only one berth GOO f.eet in length .would be dredged to the greater depth. In-shore of that berth tpr liners there would be another suitable for vessels of the Takapuna class, and other such vessels would be provided for on the other side. There would be room also for the smaller craft. A great point was that the carrying out of the scheme was within the means of the Board Another point raised 'by the Herald was that the adoption of the new scheme would delay the completion of the wharf, so that four or live years would elapse before an ocean 'liner could be berthed. H e himself considered two and a-lialf years | ample. The new scheme would take very little, if any, longer than the lengthening of the wharf, for under that plan a- great de*l of work had to be done on the present wharf in order to strengthen il. There was notion" m the assertion that the adoption o? the in-shore berth system would mean that thousands of pounds expended would be wasted, unless it was that the Board had made the present wharf unduly strong, and that l l( , did not think was' the case; for the wharf was not strong enough for berthing an ocean liner. Vet that statement bad been made in a New Plymouth paper. The work ot adding to the length of the present wharf would be carried out I under adverse conditions, whilst the widening would be less awkward Mr Price asked if Jlr. Wilkinson be:u '«••,?""" thc sM « 011 ll'e wharf. Mr. Wilkinson said there was ne>d for transhipment sheds at the port uther on the wharf „■■ „,r U . „„ ~ ' ed an instance in which a Tajanaki'„e,<haut lamed goods at .New Plymouth, and wished to Hm | i]k , ml U) . ■ port further up. lml nrst tho,c ~,0,1s l'*l .lo be railed t„ lilc X( . w vh ~ u^ sation and back to the wharf, a a co'l of las a ton. .Shells were a 'necessity

A WILD MTATE'.VIENT. Keturning to his reply to criticism, Sir. V, k.n.on ~u ot ed the Herald's assertion to he eileci that if the Board went o„ with the present scheme the cost would be so excessive that it would not be able to complete the work, and the 80. d would he "hopelessly broke." lint was a wild, irresponsible statement to make. The editor of the Herald jmgh know how to r,m , „ewspaper! but he displayed considerable audacity in setting up as an expert in makin'" harbors, and placin- hj s opijii..!, again,," il l u hu went n " j " thi s Strain people would soon question his ability wen to run a newspaper. Concluding ■ > there was absolutely no doubt a out the feasibility 0 f getting accommodation on the lines Copied at hL meeting, and, „ith our immense natmal aeilities. «e must soon have a better Harbor than either Tinniru or .Jamil" -M Hughes wanted to know what sli'ift" ' l ""' , " ,t »y - lhe tL ' n " "lnakellJn.l <,|lai , i '! l " l " Sili<l ; t meant that the Bo.nd could nut afford to sacrifice the ZTfn H lllU ' f "!' d b " i,(l ttaol]Kt ™« ™> 'eel to the eastward for ocean vessels **,,,,1 d he the best thing to do if tI.W the money. So they had to do the u "'^.i; 01 ' 1 ' 1 Avithi " tlicir means. '.Mr. Wilkinson said Mr. Alan-ban t ~atf a'lniitti-.l that the breakwater itself was something of,a lmlke . 11 "' < ls compared u-ifir breakwaters' in older pun s where ,|„, n , „,. c .;.|,„: means. c""n.i navUJoft 0 " . W< "" 1 " , '" ,, if U W ° Uld "' t I'-'J iHt I l„ borrow „„„.,. m 0 , J"' "''"i"' with the best plan. 5

,j -Ml!. MAX\V|.;U/,s VIKWS ,- I lie chairman pointed out that the 0 whan Jmd been Imilt fur a certain elis- ■- «f I»*t. I».t the conditions lu«l'altered"". •- ;."' «',;■' t 7, ''"•""Mi.odati,,,, was requir: 0 build . 1,,, f ltoi "' eouldirt afford (o ,1 > <! a wlinrl specially for the Ocean a boat s , and hey would have, to improve ; ad strengthei, the cxisli,,, w J,arf. '- ~,,| V, '""•"'"'''ft" but it was " vo,l "T /" ,"" |, '- V llli,t the work t "'•'"' l"i''. empowered ill-. Marehant to e J inaid had adopted their report. The S i i swe i' U -n" SCEl " it *<» write in 1 why I' U , ,i,l "'" s the only reason wl>> he allowed this discussion. It t oigh. and show the feasibility of «";il«iHg as proposed. That was the' fo IV |ir.r'°", , thl ', t , h,Ul t0 be "^l \ ,; r " : ' d ?"" kvil whllrt Proposals. I Am the question of the dredging had he thought, been 5eH1,.,l 1... "»,'"' in Wv \i,,i 7 nl "led by one clause l , lr ; if Ml,ol i I, ' t - | etlei' : and by (he relit, of the. borings previously referred "'. Lpoa those results. Mr. Jhirchant speeially fitted fur the brcakim. on of i this hanhor bottom, and he antfclpulal ilibVulty ,„ deepeni,,, sullicienflV for t. ocean Imers (If course, tliey'^,!,,) ** hard places, as indicted by ""' i .'»"- | >« tesls. |,y t|„, „ iM , (lrili ;, , minuns and l,y t|„. ,„,.,„,.„ ~» diners, but there was , i„. [,,.,,.\, new ra.IHIII dredge could „,," cue with ire stated his belief, a lll,u„,h L !li"l doubted it om-e. that I he oceini lin- ' crs were coming and would |, ilV e In be • proved for. Referring („ the i T' ' ' ?'"' he regretted ex- , eed.ngly that the. paper had adopted the course it had. Us article; were i doing a considerable amount of injury 1 in the country, and undoing all' the ' 1

nork thai had been done in allaying the settlers' distrust of New Plymouth. Whilst travelling round on the business of promoting the Bill recently they had made special ell'orls in that direction, and gradually as thvy went along they found the trouble vanishing, and the people becoming sympathetic with New Plymouth and ils'harbor. All Over the district the farmers' conversation of late had concerned (he necessity of erecting freezing works at New Plymouth, and the project found favor. Now he was met at the sale-yards by remarks something like this: "So you've fooled us into voting for the loan. You're going to dredge in solid rock, and we're not going to get ocean steamers in for five or six years." The agitation and the injudicious statements made without investigation had wrecked for the time the hope of starting a company to run small steamers in and out of New Plymouth. The Board had lost a great deal of revenue owing to the loss of the passenger trallie diverted to the Main Trunk line, and it behoved them to do their utmost to find fresh trade for the port. But they were hanked in their efforts from New Plymouth itself. He was absolutely satisfied that the full Board would be in entire accord over this adoption of Mr. Mart-hunt's latest scheme, for they had agreed to the appointment of Captain Bone and to abide by his' decision.

QUESTIONS ANSWERED. Mr. Hughes said the loan proposals 'hadn't turned out us well as had ucen hoped and intended, and events hail proved Mr. Thomson's contentions correct.

Mr. McCluggagc asked if the new scheme were likely to delay the completion of the wharves. The chairman pointed out that tlie work of lengthening the. wharf wouid have Iktu carried out under extreme dillk'iilticp. fur already the wharf was fully Occupied with rails, trw-ks and trade. It would lie impossible to have done the work liy tender, for the work would be constantly interrupted. The weather would also inconvenience and delay as the wharf.went further out. In widening, they would have a good roomy base to work from, their material handy, 710 interruption from trallic, shelter from weather, and a clear face to work on. lie thought there would be a saving of time rattier than delay.

Mr. McCluggagc urged the need for hastening on the work. The Stratford railway was extending further into the back country, and "there was increasing need for the harbor. He had been sorry to hear Messrs Wilkinson's' and Maxwell's remarks concerning the Herald, which had always been a great friend to the country in harbor matters

The chairman: Unit's the astonishing part of the whole thing. ' Mr. McCluggago said the Herald had been remarkably fair when the loan proposals were before the people. At any rate, it was the duty of a newspaper to criticise local bodies. Mr. Maxwell snid that what ho regretted most was the effect of the newspaper's articles on public opinion. Th.'V had led to the belief that the Hoard would not he aide to go on with the work, that the completion of the harbor would be delayed, that they would not .be aide, to dredge as proposed, and that a new loan would probably be necessary. Mr. Price considered that Messrs Maxwell and Wilkinson had "fetched" their criticism a little too far. Mr. Wilkinson replied that lie thought he had been very mild. The paper deserved a lot more than had been said.' At the conclusion of the discussion, the chairman remarked that Captain Hood had been adverse to the crooked wharf scheme as soon as he saw it. The matter was then allowed to drop.