The Daily News. SATURDAY, JANUARY 21, 1922. THE HARBOR.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 January 1922, Page 4

The Daily News. SATURDAY, JANUARY 21, 1922. THE HARBOR.

The report of the operations at the port, of New Plymouth for last year, as contained in the annual .statement made by the chairman of the Harbor Board, presented to the meeting on Thursday, should be received by the people of Taranaki with considerable satisfaction. In the first place 7 the working account shows a profit of over thirteen thousand pounds, an amount that is well on the, way to double the profit made in the preceding twelve months and gives convincing testimony of the prosperity of the district as well as of the increasing value that the port is proving to Taranaki. Particularly is this evidenced in the imports, which, for the first .time on record have not only reached the hundred thousand tons mark, but exceeded if. This is very gratifying, especially as the great value of the harbor as affording facilities for the direct import of goods has not, in ttie past, been sufficiently realised or appreciated. The total imports and exports have risen from 65,181 tons in 1906. to 135,466 in 1921, figures whiefli faithfully reflect the progress and prosperity of the district served by the harbor. When it is remembered that it was not until the year 191" that direct shipments of produce, by overseas liners were made, and that the amount, so dealt with lias grown from 1143 tons in 1918 to 14,991 in 1921, some idea can be formed of the immense benefit that is resulting, and will result, from the enterprising policy of the board in making the port safe for those liners to trade here. This extension and improvement work is necessarily slow and costly, but even with the partial progress that has been made the port is regarded as perfectly safe for these large and costly vessels in all weathers, and it has occasionally happened that, to the congestion of shipping at the wharf, liners have been unable to obtain a berthage and so have had to proceed to another port. For that Reason the urgency.-for using all possible expedition in carrying out the comprehensive scheme of extra facilities that are now a matter of pressing necessity, is strongly in evidence, and it is therefore all the more gratifying that the board has been enabled to float a loan on reasonable terms (considering the state of the money market) wherewith to carry on the works designed by Mr. Blair Mason. Whatever disappointment may be felt by the public at the slow progress of this great scheme, there is every prospect of a more rapid advance from now onwards, as all doubt and anxiety over finance has been set at rest, while labor is plentiful and the board has acquired much necessary equipment that will facilitate progress. As much of the work is hidden from view, the full extent of what has been accomplished is not apparent, but it is there as the ground work on which to build. The decision of the board to have the site of the new second wharf -dredged out so as to give a depth of thirty-three feet of water is to be commended, and it was a .business-like policy to make the decision now, as the site will probably be ready by the time the concrete piles are seasoned and ready for being driven into position. With an engineer on the spot there are advantages in doing the improvement works by day labor, and the probability is that, considerable saving in cost will accrue thereby. It appears that the board is taking a business-like view of its duties and responsibilities, and the appointment of special committees should not only expedite the work at the harbor, but should safeguard the finances and prove of great service. Probably it will be considered that, the least satisfactory part of the statistics which accompanied'the report is the cost of dredging, which has increased from 5.94 pence in 1912 to 14.87 in 1921, and less spoil has been removed. This is probably the result of working in harder and more difficult ground. With the exception of land revenue, the items of receipt exhibit a satisfactory increase, but it is of equal, if not greater, importance that a close supervision be kept over the expenditure, a mat-

ter that the newly-appointed finance committee will doubtless take in hand. On reading the reports and the figures given of the past year’s operations (the conclusion is forced on one that the trade offering has out-grown the facilities, and that great as has been the increase during the past year or two it will be small compared with the expansion during the next few years. For that reason the board cannot push on with the development work too energetically.