The Daily News. MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 1913. THE HARBOR REPORT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 206, 20 January 1913, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 1913. THE HARBOR REPORT.

The annual report of the Harbor Board, ptesented to Friday's meeting of the Board, makes interesting reading. Steady progress has been made during the year in nearly every direction. The revenue shows an increase of £o7!' from .CJ0.823 in 11*11 jo £1!,503. the net profit being ,€7300, which, after interest charges on the big loan have been met, will leave a substantial residue. This is less than the prolit of 1!)11. but this is accounted f uv by the imu=iu!ly large cxpendittire incurred in connection with tin' wharf, endowments, plant ami material and Works, expenditure which file chairman doc- not expect, to recur this -year. The total trade of tlm p,,rt is now yl.OJl) ton-, wliieli represent* sn increase of -1755 tons over that, of IHII. The increase is confined io imports: our exports have shown little movement for some years. Last year, indeed, thev ,i, ( .- ciea-ed by nearly 200(1 tons, '('hi, ,„.„.

vides but another illustration of the necessity for employing more extensive farming methods in the district. There is reason to believe, however, that the exports will improve during the current year. Our imports are steadily increasing. Ten years ago they stood at 41,075 tons; in five years they had grown to 57,240; and now they stand at 78,200. With the inauguration of a regular direct service from London, as will in all probability come about this year, the increase should be even more marked. A? for the harbor improvement work, the report shows that satisfactory progress has been made during the year. No less than .'iOI.JJGO tons of spoil was removed, as against 273.490 in 1911. At this rate, it will uot be many months before the necessary depth lias been provided for the accommodation of the Home liners. The cost of the dredging was heavy, namely. £8561. but the cost per ton of material dredged is considerably less than in lill'i. As soon as the required depth lias been dredged, the cost of keeping the harboi open will not be large, .fust now the important thing is to push vigorously forward with the dredging, and this the .Hoard is doing. The widening of the wharf, out of loan money, was completed during the year, and of the GOft. extension, half has already been constructed, and by March the balance ia expected to be finished. The' land revenue shows a substantial decrease. Tn 1910 it was £4BBI, the following year £4082, and last year it had dwindled to £3122. If the revenue continues to decrease like this, the Board may before long be placed in an embarrassing position, ft is likely, however, that many holders of L.I.P. will take advantage of the new law to convert in the near future, and the Board may expect an. appreciable increase in tV.cir revenue from this source. This Is but a temporary advantage, of course, as the Board will subsequently draw no further tribute from land the fee simple of which departs from the State to the holder, but it will probably tide the Board over till the time when the increasing trade of the port will provide it with an income sufficient to meet all ' charges without having recourse to striking a rate. On the whole, the Board's position is strong. Tt still has about £37,000 of loan money available, plus authority to raise an additional £25,000, which should be ample to complete the present improvement scheme, though, if trade increases as there is vyery indication of its doing, the question of providing further accommodation will have to be faced before very long. Meantime the Board is to be congratulated upon the work done during the year and the satisfactory position of things generally.