HARBOR FINANCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 August 1922, Page 7

HARBOR FINANCE.

Imports To be rated. PROPOSAL CONFIRMED BY BOARD. The levying of a harbor improvement, rate of one shilling per ton on imports to New Plymouth, which was proposed at the last monthly meeting of. the New Plymouth Harbor Board, was confirmed at a special meeting of the board held yesterday. The clauses in the by-law are as follows: (1) A charge of one shilling per ton upon all goods discharged, at the. ’ port of New Plymouth shall be made to and payable by ships to the board as a ; harbor improvement rate. (2) Such charge shall be levied and paid either by weight or by measurement of the good.s according to the manner in which freight thereon is charged. (3) Such charges shall be payable to the wharfinger at the office of the board or at such place as the board may from time to time appoint. The chairman (Mr- C. E. Bellringer) pointed out that the levying of this rate was necessary to meet the increased charge of interest. The land revenue, he said, had dropped from £2788 to £l5OO and, though eventually the balance of the land revonwould be collected, the inability of / the -people on the land to pay at present reacted on the board. The .general account had a credit of something like £12,000. but it would not do to draw on this for every penny. They must keep some thousands in hand to meet any emergency and so they were leaving about £6OOO in reserve and transferring the balance to interest .account, leaving some £5OOO to £6OOO to be made up by way of harbor improvement rate. .

The alternative was to strike general rates as there would be a shortage on the interest. of both loans, but it was thought better to levy an improvement rate on imports. The board was about the last board to strike such a rate.

So far this year, proceeded Mr. Bellringer, thirteen overseas vessels with cargo amounting to 21,817 tons, had visited the port. The engineer reported that the 20-foot Ucut” was now into the base-line of the site of the new wharf for the whole distance. Especially good progress had been made with this work during the last fortnight. The quarry, too, was opening out well and the grabs, the* small one, were working very satisfactorily. The extension of the pile yard, whiclj was put in hand to relieve unemployment, had been completed and the big work of reclamation at the base of the proposed new work would be attacked when the proper machinery, now on order, had arrived. Already a start had been made with this work, the progress being good, but, with the installing of another loop, a work which was now in hand, the engineer expected to expedite the work by fifty per cent. Mr. D. J. Hughes said it was very pleasing, to him, as representing what had been the most hostile portion o-f the province to the harbor sehehie, to note the progress being made and he emmented ,on the unanipiity of the board- members who were working together for the whole of Taranaki. Mr. J- McCluggage commented on the fact that practically all the board’s land revenue came from sheep country and he felt sure that all the revenue due would eomajn a few years. It is hoped to put the harbor improvement rate into force by September I,