TIMARU HARBOR BOARD.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2323, 25 February 1892, Page 2

TIMARU HARBOR BOARD.

The ordinary meeting of the Timaru Harbor Board was held last Tuesday. Present—Messrs Acton (chairman), Hill, Stumbles, Talbot, ■ Flatman, Teschemaker, Wilson, Morris, Gibson, Manchester, and Evans. The harbor-master submitted his report in re the ship Irene, and letters were received from Mr Bullock, of the N.£. Shipping Company, claiming £95 damages for the damage done to the Arnold. It appeared that when the Irene broke away from her mooring she fouled , the barque Arnold, and damaged her to the amount claimed. The matter was discussed at some length, and Captain Stone, of the ship Aurigia, was called in as a witness. His evidence was to the effect that the harbor master was not to blame. Finally it was moved by Mr Gibson, seconded by Mr Hill, and carried —" That in the opinion of the board all reasonable precautions were taken for the safety of the shipping; that no blame is attachable to any of the board's staff, and while regretting the slight accident, absolutely refuse to recognise any liability." Messrs Evans and Stumbles dissented.

Captain Falconer's report in re the wreck of the Lyttelson was read, and the following resolutions carried: — Moved by Mr Teschemaker, seconded by Mr Manchester, and carried :—" That this board desire to express their thanks to Captain Falconer for the very able manner in which he succeeded in destroying the remains of the ship Lyttelton under the most difficult and dangerous circumstances." Moved by Mr Gibson, seconded by Mr HillW That this board desire to express their satisfaction with the manner in which the diver has performed his duties in the past, more especially in connection with the wrecks of the Lyttelton and Duke of Sutherland, and vote him a sum of £5 5s as a slight recognition of his faithful services."

Mr W. Balfour wrote informing the board that whereas last winter his men found it impossible to get a load of shingle on the beach near his farm at Seadown, in December they found plenty of shingle thoro. " As there has boen no flood iu the Opihi river to carry shingle

out, it appears certain that this shingle has been carried along from the Washdyke lagoon, and is the result of the shingle-shifting operations. . . . The distance the shingle must have travelled is about six miles." A petition against the purchase of plant for shingle-shifting was received from the Levels Road Board, and was not read. THE SHINGLE QUESTION. Pursuant to instructions given at the previous meeting, Mr Marchant submitted proposals for dealing with the shingle difficulty, as follows : Report on shingle-shifting appliances that might be used in Timaru Harbor : " I submit hereunder three separate proposals with estimates of cost thereof for the removal of the shingle, together with my opinion on the whole subject of shingle-shifting and dredging plant. " I propose to remove the shingle from beside the breakwater and deposit it in the hopper barge, on practically the same lines as the experimental working just concluded, with the addition, however, of more speedy means of conveying the shingle to the barge, and so that the latter could be loaded at any state of the tide. My reasons for the retention of the Priestman system of lifting the shingle, instead of adopting the shingle pump as recommended by the commissioners for this purpose, will be set forth hereinafter "Proposal No. I—To obtain a seaworthy self-propelling hopper barge ef 150 tons capacity for the removal of the shingle only, having no dredging machinery of any kind on board. When not employed at shingle-shifting she would lie at her moorings and would not be capable of doing any other service. How the crew could be organised to work this vessel for a few days together, and then be put to other work, or not be employed at all, I am not able to suggest at present. In actual work, however, we might be able to make some workable arrangement. The cost of such a vessel in working order I estimate at about £3500 or £4OOO, based on the tender lately received from England. Assuming in" all the estimates of cost herein, that 150 days in the year will be ample to maintain the breakwater against the encroachment of the shingle, I estimate the total cost of shingle-shifting by these means at £llOO per annum,, including working the Priestman crane on. the breakwater, and together with £2oo'insurance and renewal fund. "Proposal No. 2—To obtain a seaworthy self-propelling hopper barge as in proposal No. 1, but fitted with a powerful sand pump as described in my report on this subject two years ago, in order that the vessel when not employed at shingleshifting may be used in dredging the hard sand accumulations within, or if necessary without, the harbor. We received a tender from England for this plant. With all necessary additions thereto I estimate the cost of it at £6OOO in working order here. The annual expense of working this plant would be about £I4OO per annum, including £3OO insurance and renewal fund. Assaming 250 working days in the year 3-stbs of the total expense would be charged to shingle-shifting, and the balance of 2-sths to dredging, thus Shingle carrying, 3-sths of £I4OO (150 working days), £840; add cost of working Priestman crane on breakwater, £260 ; total cost of shingle-shifting, £llOO. Harbor dredging, 2-sth of £I4OO (100 working days), £560. Under this proposal the Taniwha would still continue at her ordinary dredging and other work. "Proposal No. 3—To obtain a seaworthy self-propelling hopper barge of 250 tons capacity, of greater r>ower than in the foregoing proposals, to be fitted with a largest-size Priestman crane and powerful sand pump. The cost of this, based on the tender received under No. 2 proposal, 1 estimate at £BOOO here in working order. lam of opinion that such a plant as this would be easily capable of doing all the shingle-carrying and dredging work of the port without aid from the Taniwha. I estimate the annual cost of working this plant at £I9OO, including £4OO insurance and renewal fund. To this must be added £260 for working cost of Priestman crane on breakwater, making a total cost of £2160 per annum for shingle-shifting j and all dredging work.

" Consideration of foregoing proposals, —My reasons for proposing to continue the use of the Priestman crane for removing the shingle instead of adopting the shingle pump as recommended by the eommissioners requires explanation. We have this srane in hand, and it is fully capable of lifting all the shingle required in a very satisfactory and economical manner. The experience gained during the experimental working at the shingle-shifting has led me to entertain grave doubts of the practicability of connecting the large, heavy suction pipe of the pump on a vessel afloat, and ranging about at the wharf, on to the fixed pipe attached to the breakwater, even if flexible and telescopic joints were interposed; and also i how the suction pipe would fare whon exposed to the break of the waves on the

shingle beach, as it must of necessity be. Irrespective of these difficulties with the suction pipe, I believe a Welman pump would be very effective and economical for the purpose. I know there are no difficulties in the way of using the Priestman crane for the work required, and I do not choose to accept the slightest risk or responsibility of any difficulty arising in connection with the shingle pump when used as recommended by the commissioners. lam perfectly willing to use the pump on the responsibility of the board and tli3 commissioners it appointed, and may perhaps in practical working overcome the difficulties I now foresee, but cannot take any risk in the matter. If proposals No. 2 or 3 were adopted we could easily and at small expense, comparatively speaking, make a trial which system, the Priestman or pump, would be the roost effective and economical.

" For the \vork of sand dredging, within or without the harbor, I take all responsibility for highly recommending the use of the Welman pump. The prinqiple of pump dredging when dealing with sand has of late years worked its way into'tho most deserved favor throughout the world. Rumours are rife concerning the defects in this class of machine.

Some I have seen are absolutely worthless for the class of Tfork they have been set to do. The Welman pump has been specially designed for the work, and a re-perusal of my report on this machine will afford evidence of fa ejftci.

ency. The Priestman dredger is not at all efficient when working in dense sand, of j which we shall have to remove a great deal in the future; for silt, and the excavation of large rocks in the harbor it is a most effective machine. The Welman pump and Priestman dredger, working together on the same vessel, or in combination on two separate boats, I consider too be the most suitable for this port. "My opinion is that in ihe near X future the board will have to do a much greater amount of dredging than heretofore, in order to provide for the expansion of trade and for maintenance of depths. Of late years the sand-drift on this part of the coast has become very heavy. Considerable quantities of sand are swept over the breakwater during storms. Hardly any of this has been removed as yet, but as soon as it begins to shoal the navigation water it must be dredged away. It may also be that in future sailing) vessels may be almost altogether superseded by steamers, so much so that that it might not be desirable to maintain a special tug for their use. Jf this should * evor come to pass a powerful boat such H as described in proposal No. 3 should be of great service for the towage of any chance sailing vessel. " The board must now of necessity add to its plant for the maintenance of the harbour. This being so I have set out the necessities and probabilities of the case as fully as possible, in order that when the addition is being made, the* future requirements and possibilities may not be overlooked. " Given due weight then to all the facts set forth herein, I am of opinion that the board should adopt No. 3 proposal. If such aplant should be obtained she must be kept wholly for the major duties required. Minor services, such as overhaul of moorings, and the many odd jobs now performed by the Taniwha, I should look upon as simple waste of her valuable time, and these must be performed by some other means The board may, however, decide to proceed under No. 1 proposal, on account of the less first cost involved, and in doing so may say that it is desired to j deal with the shingle question only at r present; that extra dredging appliances are not immediately required, but when necessary they could be added to the barge described under No. 1 proposal. It is true they could be so added, but it would cost a very much larger sum to add hereafter, and would not be so workable and satisfactory as if they formed part and parcel of the original machine. It may also be said that the board, having the Taniwha, should not cast her aside or sell her, but should work additional plant in combination. " The Taniwha now costs £ISOO per annum, including £250 insurance and renewal fund. By adopting No. 3, proposal the whole of the shingle-shifting and dredging work could be performed by the consolidated plant for £660 per annum more than the Taniwha now costs, for a capital expenditure of £BOOO for such. "By adopting No. 1 proposal the cost m of working the shingle-shifting and dredging would be £llOO greater than present, for a capital expenditure of £4OOO for plant. By adopting No. 2 proposal, the cost of working the shingle shifting and a much larger amount of dredging than under No. 1 proposal woul<hy be £I4OO per annum more than at presens for a capital expenditure £6OOO. In further consideration of No. 2 proposal a very mnch larger amount of dredging would be performed than by the Taniwha alone, and we should also have the latter for overhaul of moorings, etc. Were it not for the extra cost of working the two boats under proposal No. 2. I should recommend this to the board. " I ask the board to look at this question of more powerful plant as being not for to-day only, but that such appliances should be obtained as would put the future maintenance of the harbor inside and out, beyond suspicion. This I believe proposal No. 3 can accomplish, and that in the most economical manner, and I therefore will not take the responsibility of recommending any other course. If the board should adopt No. 3 and therefore supersede the Taniwha, she, if not sold, would bo most useful at odd jobs of the harbor as occasion r3^ t quired. Taking her value at, say, £3OOO, this amount would be wiped out in a few years by the annual saving effected under No. 3 proposal. "F. W. Marchant." The report having bean read Mr Teschemaker said thtjy should postpone dealing with it for a month, so as to give time to grasp the various proposals made, and next month ha would be prepared to make a definite proposition.. Any discussion now would be waste of ~j4f time.

' Mr Morris concurred. : > Mr Flatman expressed his s.itisfactiqn 1 that the expense of the plant had been 3 very much cut down. What he had 5 feared was that the board might buy a lot " of expensive plant and find it useless, and > then have it left on their hands unsaleable. 1 Some time ago there was an offer made ' to purchase the plant, and on hearing the • report it occurred to him that this offer ! might be taken into consideration. If, ' as Mr Marchant said, the bigger plant be • recommended would do the towing and also the dredging, it would ha possible to sell the tug, and possibly for a very little addition to the proceeds they could get a plant to accomplish all that they required! He approved of delay. There was necessity for rushing into the business, there was plenty of time to look round and consider the matter in all its bearings. Mr Evans was pleased to see that Mr Maroha.nt's ideas were much smaller than they had been. The chairman and other members said that was not so ; it was the commissioners who made the estimate. Mr Evans moved that the report be read that day six months. This was amended to " That the report be not considered till this day six months/' and Mr Hill seconded it. Some objection was made to the motion being accepted, and the chairman ruled it out of order,but Mr Talbot explained that it was in order and it was accepted. "V Mr Evans in speaking to the motionr said that any reasonable man after seeing the results of the last storm on the south side of the mole, could only look upon the proposal to remove shingle #- as an act of folly, and say with him that the present embankment of shingle was the greatest protection to the port. Mr Talbot at the last meeting said, he was in "

favor ofjatoppuig the shingle where it is, or was (for it had receded backward since then). Had he been present during the storm and seen for himself how the shingle bank protected the shipping inside, he was confident Mr Talbot would change his mind. And he would go further, and say that had Mr O'Connor and his fellow engineers \>een present they never would again report in favor of the removal of the shingle. He was very sorry indeed to observe that not one of the country members of the board was present during the two days the storm lasted, and could only presume their reasons weire similar to those given by Mr Manchester at a former meeting, viz., j that they did not want to see for themselves, and were quite willing to leave the whole working of the board's business to the engineer and other officials. During the 48 hours the storm lasted a stretch of beach was cleared away, inland, for miles between Pareora river and the breakwater, and some scores of tons of shingle were thrown over the breakwater itself. Notwithstanding all tliis occular information, the self-constituted majority, who did not take the trouble to see for themselves the action of the elements on the shingle upon the occasion alluded to, now reiterated their intention of saddling the public with a useless and costly plant for removing the best protection to the breakwater it could possibly have, and this in the face of energetic protests from their constituents. He repeated, and his opinion was borne out by an intelligent public, that the furtiier the shingle embankment goes out the safer the harbor will be, and the only proper course to adopt for the preservation of the harbor is to cany out the mole another 300 or 400 feet, when necessity requires the extension, but not until then. Let them save any money on hand in the meantime, and let the dredge be kept continually at work clearing the silt from the inner harbor. He was fully aware he was in a minority on the board, but he represented a big majority outside, and he hoped the board would not carry a resolution they -would be sorry for. At all eveuts he had done his best to warn them.

Mr Gibson moved and Mr Morris seconded as an amendment that consideration of the report be deferred till the next ordinary meeting. Mr Talbot concurred; there was nothing else to be done. He hoped that the report would be published in full, and now that f o much interest has been aroused in the shingle question people would no doubt read it. Evidently the

public had not read what had gone before, or they would not be so easily led away by misrepresentations, or talk such nonsense about it as they did.

Mr Wilson referred to the misrepresentations made at the meeting of the Mackenzie County Council as to the amount of the harbor rate. He did not say that people made misstatements intentionally, but they should take care to obtain information and not make inaccurate statements. It seemed popular to condemn the shingle shifting, and that was thought to solve the difficulty, but it still remained, and the board had to face it.

Mr Hill hoped Mr Evans' motion would be earned. The lohger time they had to consider the matter and watch the progress of the shingle the better position they would be in to deal with the matter when the time arrived; for action. A new theory had now arisen, that the dredging plant was not sufficient to cope with the silt in the harbour. In six months, if they kept the dredge steadily at work, they would be able to see if it could maintain the proper depths. The harbour might have silted up in one or two places, but they must remember that the dredge had been kept from its work for some months shifting shingle, and for other long periods getting half loads of rock a day at the Moody wharf. That was a perfect waste as far as dredging the harbour waa concerned. The assertion that the harbour was silting up was unfounded; there was no evidence at all to support it. They should keep the dredge at work, and he believed it would be found a waste of money to spend it on more dredging appliances. The Taniwha cost £4OOO, and she was to be set aside, as there was no sale for her. As to the shingle, he believed Mr Goodall was correct; that there was not much shingle coming; that it would not go out in a tongue, but would stop when it came at right angles with the waves and fill up to the south, to the rifle range, and instead of filling up in a few years it would take longer to go to the end that it took to reach where it was now. He was surprised to hear that the Taniwha was not able to cope with the silt coming into the harbour, especially when they had been told she could shift more shingle than came along the beach. He supported the six months' delay; it would soon slip by, and then they could adopt the engineer's proposals with better confidence than now.

Mr Flatman supported Mr Evans because there was no hurry; the shingle would not trouble them as prophesied by some. He was certainly astonished to see in Mr Gibson's letter that the harbour was shoaling up. If so, they should use the means they had to keep it clear, and he believed the Taniwha was quite able to do it. Mr Flatman went on to speak of the losses on sales of the old plant, instancing the Titan, for which ' they asked £IOOO and got less than £2OO. It would be the same with the Taniwha if they gave her a bad name. Let them take plenty of time, and give the whole matter full consideration. Mr Teschemaker wanted to know how much time thoy wanted. They had been considering the matter for years, and it looked as if the other side were going to , ive on delay. Mr Stumbles supported the delay of six months, as there was no reason for haste. Ttiey had been told to wait until the next big gale came and they would Bee where the shingle would get to. The big gale had come, and the shingle had been driven back instead of forward. There would be no danger in six months' delay, nor was there any reason for rushing into the purchase of expensive machinery. The Taniwha could keep the harbor clear if kept constantly at work, and he would not agree to go in for more expensive machinery at present. The late gale had shown that the shingle would be the salvation of the port, , Every skipper would tejl them sq." He had spoken tq many of them, and they »l\ eaid ; " Surely you are not going to be,

so silly as to shift it, when it is going to make your harbor ?" Let them go out with the work, catch the shingle, and they would have a fine safe harbor in a few years. Mr Gibson's amendment for postponing consideration of the report till next meeting was put and carried, Messrs Evans, Hill, Stumbles, and Flatman dissenting. ACCOUNTS. The railway reported the wharfage collected for the four weeks ended January 2nd at £417 98. Accounts amounting to £856 13s Id were passed for payment, and the board rose at 2.40 p.m.