THE HARBOR WORK.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 26, 20 June 1914, Page 4

THE HARBOR WORK.

CAN IT lift FINISHED THIS YEART mr bellringer's viewjbl & ' disoussion~by boahd.

That the whole of the harbor, wotk ■ necessary to make New Plymouth a deep sea port can be completed fcy too end of me year, was tho tenor of renarks by Mr v. E. Bellringer at the meeting of the Hurtoor Board yesteWay in advocating «. scheme for the further accileinloii of the work. I'RiWREJSS OF THE WORK. In support of this view, Mr Bellringer quoted fi^un-i to show that tho work during the nast six or seven mouths had progressed much more rapidly than hod be< n anticipated by the superintendent of 'Works. In the report of the committee, in November last, he was reported to have estimated the work to be done us follows:—From the 33ft oat, 212 loads at 1% loads per day, lßfcdaya; from the 25ft cut, 101 loads, at the Bams rate, fir days; and from the fail* way 525 loads at 3 loads per day, 684 days. On this basis, Mr Henderson estimated Uiat the removal of the total spoil, Some 335j200 tons, would take twenty months. Since that date, said Mr Bellringer, the dredge had removed from the 33 feet cut 58,200 tons; from the fairway, tons; and from the 23 feet cut 6400 tons up to May 9, - and by the report, for tho month of May now before the Board, a furtlliwr 2C,000 tons iiad been removed, bringing the grand total up, to 178,000 tons. It iwur?t further be borne in mind, fee said, that four weeks were lost in January and February while the dredge was undergoing her annual overhaul. There thus remained only 156,000 tons of spoil to be removed, and it was apparent from simple proportion that this could . be disposed of in the remaining six or / -v seven months of the year. ( / TO ACCELERATE THE WOBK. Mr BeUringer then proceeded to outline a scheme for the acceleration of tho work whith remained to be done. So referred to the aoheme on at tlie meeting at tho that day ui deepen the wliateJp t&f swinging baain to 20ft at once.'TnsteW ' of piece by piece; to the full depth quired.. The harbor would thus nave a " swinging ba.iin fit to aceommodate, with :: ' the rise and fall of the tide, large ve£-/ sels, and the further deepening of too' >• basin could tben bo puiacd on. A 9W- * foot cut wag also to be made in the fairway. Further, he suggested an ex- .. tensive use of explosives for removing the hard formation at the bottom of the basin. lie thought tdie Board was - - hardly getting dumbest results oow, andjhe suggested that a commiitos consisting of the whole board be set up to outline a fetter scheme for the um of esplojiiveM on the final flve.ieet of dredging, ifo was sure 'his course would be a very beneficial one. He had been surprised to see how far beyond ' expectations the work had progressed, and was of opinion that with the policy he suggested the 'harbor would be com- ' pietcd by the end of the year. This would be accomplished if work were continued for the next six or seven nionLis only tit the same rate aa it had siace - ,' November, fiince .that. time, the me*..'.;, lmd worked i.early eleven hours, a day, and he was sure that if tliev were ap- • • poached in ibn right spirit they would be quite willing to work every hour of daylight if they were paid for it. They were very keen on their work. Captain Waller, by his work in planting near the Mikotahi shore, had helped the work tremendously. What he advised was that the committee obtain the ad- ' vice of an expert in the use of explosives, and report (o the next or a? special meeting of the Board. If tft!> work could be finished by tlie end of the year it would be a tremendous lift for Tannaki, and would create an unprecedented feeling of confidence in the port. The chairman expressed the opinion that there was no liurr" fa? toe ase o.' explosives, as four months' work; • would have to be done before that part- ( could be touched. It was unwise to tell people that the port would be ready fcy'. .■• the end of the year. There jfiS 80 feet of dredging inshore «h&h "aHraotjWv been touched yet, and that worst part of the work remaining. ?fc •• -i Mr Bellringer reiterated that there"''"'l was six or seven months' time yet be- "* fore the end of the year. The ninety feet referred to would not affect the berthing of liners, as it was work that could be done when the fairway and swinging basin were finished. Mr Marx doubted if a committee would be of any use. The Board could easily get all tho required information about -explosives by correspondence. The chairman said that he had discussed the matter with the superintendent of works (Mr Henderson), who said that it was impossible bo go any distance with explosive l ) because it would b? necessary to clear up as the work went on. Otherwise the explosives would be wasted.

Mr Maxwell said that Mr Henderson knew much about the rise of explosives, and he thought that he and the diver bottom of the ( baa<l>or. There was an explosives expert in "town now, and lie had conferred several, times with Mr Henderson. He to glad to hear that the work was progressing so well. Mr Hughes said he would support Mr Bellringer if the latter could show that. there was in the light of past experience need for expert assistance with explosives. Mr King snid he was sure Mr Be3lvii.gcr meant no reflection on Mr Henderson, who had the confidence of the Boiird. Engineers, however, might do good. Mr Henderson should, of course, be consulted, as he had been on previ- '. on* schemes. i^Hfit Mr Bellringer said it waa no linn on Mr Henderson to say that he * toidd not be mi expert in everything, as ll.e time had undoubtedly arrived when the Board would lm.v> to spend ft lot of money on explosives.. The Whole mat- ' t..'V could'he discussed with Mr Henderson, who had his heart in hie work", and could develop the details of Ws scheme. When it was first proposed to work the extended hours, it had been i'howrhl impossible, but good work had been done under the extension and he was sure that b.-tter work still conld be done. Mr motion war* eventually carried.