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HARBOR LOAN PROPOSALS.

NEW PLYMOUTH MEETING. The attendance at the meeting which was held in the Soldiers' Club last night to discuss the harbor loan proposals, though representative, was very disappointing, considering the importance of the subject to the town and the province as a whole. Mr. C. H. Burgess (Mayor) presided, and there were also on the platform Messrs C. E. Bellringcr and J. S. Connett, members of the Harbor Board.

Mr. C. E. Bellringer explained at some ' length the steps that were taken to get j the Empowering Bill through Parliament and the fact that they had to compromise with the opposition in South Taranaki and agree to the culling out of a i certain portion of the No. 3 Area. This | meant that the board had to revise the schedule prepared as to the proposed rate, which had been fixed at Jd in the No. 1 Area, two-thirds of that amount in the No. 2 Area, and one-third of that in the No. 3 Area. That would have raised £21,392 as security for the loan. The valuation of the whole No. 3 Area bad been £5,373,510, but, with the exempted portion cut out, it was £2,873,510, roughly two and a half million having been cut off. The rating schedule now provided for a rate of Id in No. I Area, two-thirds of that in No. 2 Area, and one-third in No. 3 Area. This would realise £25,050 annually, and, as the total liability on the loan would be £IB,OOO, it would be seen that the liability for a rate would be less than fd, y 2 d, and %d respectively, even if the whole interest had to be met by rate, of which there was not the remotest probability. As soon as the time came that regular boats traded to the break water, and particularly when the railway round the mountain was completed, he was certain the' produce from Sout); Taranaki would pass over the New Plymouth wharf, and in this way they would contribute revenue. He was firmlj convinced that no rate would Je struck. The money would be raised, not in one sum, but as it was required to be expended. The whole district, he said, favored the scheme, but the main thing was to get them to come to the poll. Mr. S. W. Shaw apologised for the absence of Mr. King, who had addressed a meeting at Whangamomona that day and was addressihg a meeting at Inglewood that evening. » Mr. J .S. Connett pointed out that when the first loan was raised for the harbor over the whole of the Taranaki Land District the valuation was only £1,500,000. When the second loan was raised, with Opunake and Waitara districts cut out, the valuation was over £8,000,000. This present loan, with the portion of South Taranaki cut out, gave a valuation of over £9,000.000, and he added that thtre had been no revaluation made in some parts for over ten years. Therefore, when the revaluation came to be made in 1920, there was good reason to believe that the value would be increased 20 per cent. The position would then be much better, as the full rate allowed would provide £3OOOO. To his mind, the best feature was that, though various areas had been shorn off the district, they still obtained revenue from them. The dairy produce from Opunake and Waitara districts came over the wharf, and they could look forward to receivirfg the exports of meat from Waitara. 'With the construction of the Opunake line, they would also obtain the benefit of the South Taranaki produce. He was quite of the opinion that there would be no need to strike a rate. Regarding the scheme itself, they had as engineer Mr. Blair Mason, who, if not the leading engineer in Australasia, was one of the leading ones. The Board had adopted his scheme unanimously, which was a great event in the history of the board, because for many years there had been a difference of opinion as to whether a coastal port or a deep-sea port was required. Now all were of one mind, and, no doubt, that fact carried weight- with the ratepayers. Personally, he was quite optimistic over the scheme, and thought the ratepayers were too, and would reflect that optimism at the poll next Wednesday. Mr. S. G. Smith, M.P., after referring to the difficulty in getting the Bill passed through the House and alluding to the apathy displayed by the Ratepayers in New Plymouth over the matter, said that if there was any opposition to the scheme it could only come from those who had not taken the opportunity of considering what it meant to themselves and to the province generally. Mr. F. S. Johns (president of the Chamber of Commerce) moved: That this meeting most heartily supports the scheme for harbor improvement as set beforo them by the Harbor Board, and, further, pledges itself to do its utmost to bring ratepayers to the poll. Mr. J. Paton seconded this.

The chairman, in putting the motion, said that, as a ratepayer, he considered the board had done the best thing in compromising with the southern'district. The resolution was carried.

Mr. A. H. Johnstone also deprecated the apathy shown by ratepayers towards such an important proposal, and in his motion those present were formed into a committee to assist the board.

In reply to Mr. A. J. Richards, Mr. Bellringer stated that, on the loan being carried, it was the intention of the bonrd to push the work forward as speedily as possible, and, with this object in view, Mr. Blair Mason and his assistant (Mr Lee) were giving the matter every attention. The board had intended pushing on with the proposed reclamation from the breakwater to the Hoangi Stream, but they were held, up, as the railway authorities had not yet decided what land they required for a station, etc. As soon as this was decided the board would push on the reclamation, which they were anxious to complete, as they had firms waiting to go there. It was stated that the franchise would lie taken on plural voting, with a maximum of three votes. Ratepayers in their own right could vote. In reply to a question, it was stated that No. 3 Area waa being organised. A vote of thanks to the chairman concluded the meeting. MEETING AT WHANGAMOMONA. At the close of the stock sale at Whangamomona Mr. Newton King, on behalf of the New Plymouth Harbor Board, addressed a large attendance of settlers at the yards. Mr. McCutchan was elected chairman, and, in introducing Mr. King, stated that the poll on the loan proposals would be held next Wednesday. He hoped that every settler had considered the question, and realised the importance of the need to assist the Harbor Board in improving the breakwater. He stated that the settlers were interested in the freezing works at New Plymouth, as a factor in realising good'prices, and the loan to carry out the board's policy should re- ' cerse their loyal support. He concluded hooping they would Ur« to a«» tie d*j

when vessels were loading entirely at this

port. Mr. Newton King, in opening his address, remarked that he had previously visited Whangamomona on the loan proposals, but the Bill sanctioned by Parliament stipulated that a meeting should be held at each country or borough centre In asking for the support of the ratepayers for a £300,000 loan he desired to emphasise the fact that this would be called up in various sums —probably £IO,OOO to £IB,OOO a year, as the engineer desired. They would receive the sum at 5i per cent,, with £ per cent, sinking fund. It rested entirely with the <No. 3 area whether the province was to have a harbor or not. The voting was on the franchise ranging from 1 to ii votes. In dealing with the shipping, Mr. King stated that the companies had four classes of. vessels, but, so far, those of the smallest tonnage were being sent here. What they desired was to have vessels from 10,000 to 13,000 tons. Definite promises had been made that big steamers would be tent if the breakwater was extended another 600 to-800 feet, and the necessary shelter secured. He referred to the need of this to permit of direct shipment, but at present there was an arrangement between the shipping companies to have certain produce transhipped to Wellington. To illustrate the absurdity of this, he mentioned that the Home "finer Matatua came to New Plymouth and loaded beef, etc., and then the Corinna took away several• thousand crates of cheese and tnu 'lipped to the Matatua at Wellington, thus causing double handling and other expense that would be saved. Taranaki was growing in importance, and the farmers were sharing in the prosperity, and in this connection he thought the meat companies were deserving of recognition. In fact, to his mind the work had saved the situation. He felt quite sure that without these operating, prices would have been fully 26 per cent. less. They could have gone to the west coast and bought cheaper, but refrained from doing so. The works were handy to the breakwater, and direct despatch was desirable. In this connection shipping companies were not building smaller boats, but rather .increasing the tonnage, and unless the ratepayers permitted the board to further improve the harbor they would soon find the port in a bad way. Coming to the rates lie stated that No. I area (New Plymouth) was liable to a rate of one penny in the pound; No. 2 (Stratford), two-thirds of a penny in the pound; No. 3 (Whangamomona"), onethird of a penny in the pound. The aggregate amount of the rate would probably be £25,000 per annum, but they could not collect more than £IB,OOO, so the Tate would be less than one-farthing in the pound. In conclusion, he stated that the loan proposals were the most important ever brought forward in Taranaki. He hoped that all the settlers would make every effort to record their vote. They might lose a little time in doing so, but lie reminded them that he and other members of the board had spent several weeks on the matter. He then undertook to answer any questions.

In replying to a question as to why Manaia was left out, Mr. King explained that the Waimate end for the most part sent their produce to Patea, but the board members had visited the district, and at many meetings had a majority at the meeting. There was, however, a portion which he would call the silent vote, besides Mr. Powdrell's followers, and as Parliament resolved in its short session not to introduce any Bills of a contentious nature, rather than cause any delay the board agreed to delete that portion of No. 3 area. - In any case, it would make no difference to the rate. ~

In moving a vote of thanks to Mr. King, the chairman stated that they might set up a committee to work the different roads in the county to ensure voters getting to the polling booth, and he and Mr. McCluggage would provide cars to assist in the work. SMART ROAD FREEZING WORKS.

The chairman then stated that the present was a favorable opportunity to refer to the need for increasing the capital of the freezing works. The manager (Mr. Milne) was there, and he would address them. When the works were first mooted it was thought in many quarters that there was not sufficient stock, but this proved incorrect. There was plenty of stock, and he was rather astonished to hear that the works had stock booked up which could not be dealt with for several weeks.

Mr. Milne, manager,, stated it had been found necessary to increase the capacity of the works. Quite a number of farmers' freezing works had been formed in the North Island during the past seven years, but Taranaki hitherto had not been regarded as a fat stock-producing country. Last year's operations had proved that fat stock of good quality could be produced, the aggregate handled at the works being very large, but they were not able to cope with the quantity offering. At present the works could deal with 1000 sheep and 80 cattle, but I while the slaughter board could deal with a larger quantity, the other departments—fellmongery, fertilisers, etc.—required increased plant. To meet these improvements the capital would require to be enlarged, but those taking up further shares would not be required to have them fully paid up inside 2 years and 9 months. It was not desirable to have stock on the hoof going back for want of treatment. He hoped that the farmers would support their own worka, which were a public institution. Mr. McCutchan appealed to all to assist the company. The duration of the calls covered such a period that there should be no difficulty in meeting them, whilst the short history of the works proved that their institution had been a splendid thing for the province. A hearty vote of thanks to Mr. Milne and the chairman closed the meeting.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TDN19190425.2.16

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Taranaki Daily News, 25 April 1919, Page 3

Word count
Tapeke kupu
2,203

HARBOR LOAN PROPOSALS. Taranaki Daily News, 25 April 1919, Page 3

HARBOR LOAN PROPOSALS. Taranaki Daily News, 25 April 1919, Page 3

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