TIMARU HARBOR BOARD.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1851, 9 February 1889, Page 2

TIMARU HARBOR BOARD.

At Wednesday’s meeting of the Timaeu Harbor Board the chairman’s report was read, and from it we make the following extracts The report stated the expenditure of loan funds during 1888 was less than in any year since 1878. The expenditure was : On north wall, £6632 ; dredge, £1349 13s Id ; slipway, £Bl4 12s sd; breakwater, £515 Is SJ. The north wall was proceeding satisfactorily, and about one-fourth of the stone to be deposited under the contract was In place. The work was not yet sufficiently advanced to have any appreciable effect on the range during heavy seas. The breakwater was generally in a satisfactory state. Part of the top layer ,of random blocks had been lifted and stacked on the parapet offset, in order to scour the shingle back from the breakwater. No particular change was y«t observable in that direction. The slip had been used by the board’a tug and dredge, and by one coasting schooner. The dredge had done good work in deepening the water at the Moody wharf. Duiiog her fifteen months* work she had removed over 34,000 tons of spoil. The report referred to reductions in the working expenses by working the tug and dredge with one crew, and wise. The completion of the north wall f"would in future hrgely reduce the outlay on hawsers and fenders. Mention was made that the Fifesbire and Elderslie between them made five trips to the port last year, commencing in January and ending in December, taking away large cargoes of frozen meat, wool, and grain ; that the board had applied to the Governor to proclaim a pilotage district coterminous with the harbor ; and that the Shaw Sayill and Albion Company’s claim for the loss of the ship Lyttelton was now before the Privy Council. The consolidation of the bylaws, effected last year, was referred to, and the altered dues adopted'were enumerated. Dealing with the board’s finances, it was stated that the ordinary working expenses for year were £3756, £387 3a 6d less than the previous year; interest on loans, £IO,OOO 6s Id; ditto on deposits and and overdraft, £163 19s 4d; payment on account costs of appeal in Lyttelton case, £1124 10s 4d ; total, 15,04415 a lid. Ordinary revenue: From dues, etc., £9447 13s 6d ; interest on deposits, £2846 3s 3d ; total, £12,29314s 9d; deficiency for the year, £1626 9s 2d ; costs in suspense, £1124 10s. The deficiency of £1626 95,2 d was met by drawing on the capital of the loan account for payment of interest. The trade of the port showed an improvement on the previous year, the inward and outward exports for 1887 being 68,852 tons, for 1888 74,617 tons. The exports under leading lines were Wool bales, (1887) 23,813, (1888) 25,874;, frozen sheep (1887) 11,509, (1888) 424,333; gram and milling produce (1887) 305,766, (1888) 399,538 sacks. The chief directions of exports during 1888 were, United Kingdom 13,039 tons, Australia 11,055 ions, coastwise 19,647 tons. In conclusion, the Chairman referred again to the finances, pointingfout that, for the first time, ( he Board had to draw on the loan account to*pay interest, and that the,receipts from interest on deposited loan money are steadily falling to zero. Their being the still unsettled Lyttelton case hanging over their beads (although there was no room whatever to doubt the issue of the law proceedings in relation to the loss of the ship Lyttelton will be fully satisfactory, yet possibly the Board may not recover the whole of its costs) ; the possibility of having to provide a new tug boat, and that the day is not far distant when it will be found wise to incur expense in dealing with the shingle on the South side of the breakwater, it would be wise to avoid difficulty as far as possible by -husbanding the balance of its borrowed rescources. There remained of the 1836 loan on Dec. 31st, £44.590J0n deposit.