HARBOR BOARD.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 59, 18 June 1910, Page 2

HARBOR BOARD.

MONTHLY MEETING. The ordinary monthly meeting of the New Plymouth Harbor Board was held yesterday morning. Present: Messrs J. M. Connett (chairman), Newton Kins:, E. Doekrill, J. R. Price. D. J. Hughes, W. T. Weils, and E. Maxwell. BELL BLOCK RESERVE.

The chairman reported upon one of the Board's reserves at Bell Block, for a lease of which an application had been made. He considered it inadvisable that cattle should be allowed to graze over thw .property, iior they would break through the turf which was forming and prevent the work of reclamation which wa< going on very satisfactorily. Ifc would be advisable to sow lupins and soni" clov»r and other grass seeds in the r-omimr .-spring. Unfortunately cattle were getting into the reserve now. Mr. King said that this would soon be a most valuable reserve, and it would not be advisable to lease it now. He suggested that Mr. Sal way, a neighboring owner, might be allowed to run a few' -sheep on the reserve, paying a fair rental, and undertaking to keep off all large cattle and horses. It was decided not to lease the reserve at present, and to make arrangements for-owing and for grazing rights" by Mr. Sal way as suggested. A committee was set up to make arrangements for furze-grubbing, etc. SURVEY OF THE PORT.

The chairman reported that lie had attended a meeting of the executive of the Harbors' Association lately and he had also interviewed the Minister of Marine in order to see whether they would accept the soundings taken by Mr. E. C. Jones in 1-878 for the Admiralty.] The Department promised to lay the matter before the Admiralty. THE PARITUTU CREW.

Messrs Fleming and Ferguson, Ltd., contractors for the construction of the dredge Paritutu, wrote that they understood that the second and third engineers of the vessel were agreeable to remain on the dredge during the guarantee period, and they took the liberty of writing to ask if trie Board could see its way to retain the services of these men during that time. They had boui nafl considerable experience in the working of dredging plant, and they did not think it would be to their interest to employ men unaccustomed to the working of such plant. The time of Mr. Knowles, the chief engineer, who was to represent the builders during the guarantee .period, would b'e fully occupied in looking after the machinery without assisting at dredging unless .he had competent and experienced men to work the machinery. 1 Left in the hands of the chairman to arrange for a staff for the dredge. It was decided to call a special meeting of the Board for the day on which the dredge is ready to commence work at the port. A GOOD PASSAGE. Captain J. Mcßeth, master of the dredge Paritutu, -wrote from Albany on June 2nd:—"l beg to confirm my cable of to-day date, 'Paritutu sailed.' We arrived to-day, and will sail at 2 p.m. to-morrow. ' .1 am pleased to say that the Paritutu has done remarkably well this last stretch in speed and consumption, viz., 9y 2 tons, and covered a distance or 5434 miles in 568.8 hours, making an average speed of six knots per hour against strong south-east tradewinds and confused sea from latitude Meg. south to 20dcg. south, then light wind to time of arrival to-day, in as good working order and condition as when w.e sailed from Glasgow. I hope that our success will last, and that 1 will be in Wellington on the 21st inst." A NEW PORT LIGHT.

Foreman Henderson reported in refer-1' enee to' the .proposal of the harbormaster] that a light should 'be placed on the end of the 'breakwater for the guidance of shipmasters. In order to avoid .placing any obstruction on the breakwater that would interfere with the working of the I Mock crane, and to prevent the exposure of the light to the full force of the sea, i it would be necessary to construct a| concrete abutment of the lee side about' 30 to 50 feet from the end, and to erect the tower on .this. He submitted a plan of a tower 20 feet high, made of 531b rails. This would be strong and durable, and was designed that it could he re-1 moved to another site, if necessary. The approximate cost of this would he £lO4, Los. I It was decided to do nothing further in the matter, pending the report of the, engineer. I HARBORMASTER'S REPORT. Captain W. J. Newton, harbormaster, reported that during the four weeks ending June 11th tnere had been 38 steamer berthings and one sailer berthed at the port, the aggregate tonnage being 30,987 tons. The imports amounted to 6895 tons, of which 1152 tons were coafl. Of this, 46 tons were railway coal and HOG tons for private use. Exports amounted to CIS) tons of produce. The dredge had' worked on 20 days, removing ys'/ 2 loads of silt, equal to 5730 cubic ! yards. One small collier had discharged her cargo ..into the new coal bunker on the .breakwater. -As he had anticipated, an extra, post 'would be required on the j breakwater and ,pne on the wharf for head moorings, the drift being very short both for the collier to discharge and dredge to 'bunker. He recommenced the removal, of; 'the divers boat and dav.its, as they,,would be in the way of ) vessels at the berth when discharging I opposite the bunker. The dredge ''Parittitir" and the barque "Viganella.'' might arrive about the same time, so they must be prepared for two berths on the west side of. the .wharf. To enable them to do this, they would require two more posts in addition to those ■ mentioned above. This would give tln'ed working berths..in additions to the berth taken up by the Paritutu. Owing to rough ■berths in addition to the berth taken '■Shis month, but be had no reason to believe there was any difference from last month. The rnoorimi' posts, etc.. were authorised. '" " • ; ' 4 ' >** L'pRKMAX'S REPORT. ( ' 'Mr., 1?. TfeiKiei'son, t.ne works foreman, reported '"for *tihe l ',past month, as folMCw*: Shipments af Tasmanian *ar<t•wood had been received ex barque "MarjjjjOrie .Craig' 1 , and steamer "Lauderdale." aju!, ihe.hands had been engaged during ' the' greater pari of the month in stacking and l assorting the timber. The I>avque's shipment was-all assorted dircc fr,n|)i .t-ln*. trucks, but. the rate qf <trsclmrge frpm the', steamer was so rapid, 'and''the different .sizes of timber were iso'''mixed', 'that' about one-fourth of the ■shipment h|irt'to be dumped in various parts of. the yard, and afterwards retrucked and iproperlv assorted. When tliH work was completed he would pre'paro a detailed report on the timber, ■souip of which was not quite up to specification. Three men had been at work m the quarry for three weeks, and a quantity, of good stone had been obtained. Six new chafing pieces bad been fixed on the west side of the wharf. The concrete mooring -blocks required for the neiv dredge were being made, and all three

would be completed this week. One hundred mml thirty tons of coal ex Moa had been disc-hanged into the new bin at the breakwater at a cost of £3B Os (id, which was 7<l per ton less than handling into the old bin. GENERAL. The Borough Council wrote asking the Board to remove buildings on Cnrric street extention, so that the work of putting the street in order could he proceeded with.—Acceded to. BUTLDING CONDITIONS. Mr. King moved, according to notice, that the building conditions in the Board's leases be removed. He considered that ibis would be in the interests of the Board. Had the sections on Ka wau Pah Reserve been free of building restrictions, many more would have been sold. Building conditions were necessary under the old leasing conditions, but it was not necessary under i.lie present terms of leases. The leases were for twenty-one years, with right of renewal at the end of the terms, the Board having no interest in the improvements. 'Mr. McCluggage seconded, and the chairman also supported the motion. He admitted that he had been wrong in opposing Mr. King when he brought the matter forward at the time the reserves were offered. He believed that the sections would be applied for at once if the restrictions were removed. Messrs. Price, Maxwell and Dookrill spe'-e in favor of the motion, which was carried. GENERAL. Tt was 1 decided to place the accident insurance for the coming year with the Phoenix Assurance Company. Tt was decided to inform Messrs. E. Griffiths and Co. that the building conditions on the Board's reserves had been removed, and the sections could now be applied for.

AMUSEMENTS.

LTEDERTAFEL CONCERT. The programme of the New Plymouth Liedertafel's second grand concert, wnich takes place next Wednesday, appears in this issue. As our readers will see, the programme is a well varied one, and great care has been taken in the selection of the vocalists. ' The all-important matter of the blending of the different voices lias been carefully goie. into. Included in ihe chorus numbers are some gems of wellknown giand operas. Part singing by men only bas to be heard to be appve-j ciated, and New Plymouth is one of the! few towns in the Dominion that has a Liedertafel, a factor that speaks for itself as regards the vocal talent of the male portion of our town. The box plan will be opened at the Collier and Colonial Piano Company's office on Monday morning, where tickets may be bought and seats reserved. "PETE." For a number of years past, the public have, through the enterprise of wellknown theatrical enterpreneurs, had the opportunity of witnessing quite a number of the latest and most successful productions in the stage world. Consequently theatregoers have been educated to a higher standard than ever before. Theatrical managers are fully alive to this, and realise now that the public of New Zealand will only appreciate the tiling that is artistically sound. For. several years past, Messrs. Clarke and Meynell have toured these parts with plays which have invariably hit the popular taste, and as a result anything they submit to the public receives consideration. Through the advent of- kinematography, managers have found it necessary to - introduce only the latest and best London and New York successes, and also at great expense deem it advisable to engage the best artists to undertake the important roles. Next Monday night, June 20, Messrs. Clarke and Meynell will produce the drama "Pete" at the Theatre RoyaJ. "Pete" is claimed to give us something; of life, something that has the interest! of the actual, 'xhe story is not merely a trite plot introducing marionette characters, garnished with dull virtues «tnd duller vices, who are the people of fiction rather than the men and women of our own world. He takes society as he finds it. and presents truth with startling vividness, and for this alone the man who holds that the drama of the da- -hould present the mode and man-, nTfftli" time must be grateful. "There is in iriH-ligent delight," 1 says a leading wrier "in discussing a play like 'Pete.' winch presents its men and women with mavl-ed individuality and the breath of life."

"Petfi" is a, drama of sentiment by Fall Caine. who lias been assisted in this work bv Mr. Louis N. Parker. The theme of the play is novel and fresh. The authors have clothed their storv with the garments of rich im no-inntion.' find colored it with the tlioiights and customs of an interesting ■people, and have chosen as its localitv aii island alive with its own traditions. The stars of the company to produce this plav fn New Zealand under the regime of Messrs. Olnrke and Mnynoll. tire Vr. H. T?. Roberts and Miss Beatrice Dnv. and they will be snnnovted by a "omnanv of "'prominent English and colonial artUts, who liavp been specially selected to fill the many parts.