THE Temuka Leader. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1892. TIMARU HARBOR BOARD.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2436, 10 December 1892, Page 2

THE Temuka Leader. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1892. TIMARU HARBOR BOARD.

To show the extent to which conceit can carry a person, and the dangers which it involves, iEsopp gave us the fable of the frog and the ox. In his overweening vanitjq and conceit, the frog thought that by blowing himself out he would grow to the same size as the ox, with the result that he burst and killed himself. Unless a merciful Providence interposes, Messrs Acton and Tescheraaker, of the Timaru Harbor Board, will be brought to some untimely end by their own conceit and vanity like the frog. Mr Teschemaker said that to wait until after the next election would amount to handing themselves over to the mercy of the “ untutored and the uneducated,” and Mr Acton said that nine-tenths of the ratepayers knew no more about the harbor works than they knew of navigating a ship to Sydney. No doubt the House of Lords thinks the majority of British electors know very little about the political questions submitted to them, but at the same time, when the majority declare in favour of anything, the House of Lords bows to the decision. But what are Lords, Dukes, and Earls, compared with Messrs Acton and Teschemaker ? Byron said that “ Nature made one perfect man

And broke the die in framing Sheridan. r But Messrs Acton and Teschemaker disagree with Byron in this. They believe the die was not broken until they themselves were framed and that the world never produced their own equals, or can produce anything like them again. They would not be guided by the example of the House of Lords ; “ not we, the people, but I, the King ” is more in their line. They based their right to proceed on the ground that they are only carrying out the recommendations of the engineers. That is exactly what they are not doing. The engineers recommended the shifting of the shingle from the south side of the mole, but the vessel which the board ordered last Wednesday will not do that. It could not even lift a single pebble of it, yet, as Mr Flatraan stated, the high-toned, “tutored’’man of “ cultchaw,” Mr Tescheraaker, did not scruple to tell a lie on this point to a person whom he desired to bring to his side. We are justified in saying this because when Mr Flatraan, at the last meeting of the board, accused him of having told a lie he did not deny it. We venture to think that there are very few of the “ untutored and the uneducated” for whom Mr Teschemaker has such contempt, who would not feel ashamed of themselves if “ bowled out ” like that.

But the great point is, we are now committed to an expenditure of £15,650, together with other expenses which will add another £SOO to it, but the vessel we shall get for that will not move an ounce of shingle. In addition to this we shall have to provide a plant for shifting the shingle across the break-water, so that £20,000 will not complete the scheme. That is what people have to think of, and that is what they have submitted to, but as the people are willing to bow down in abject submission, there is nothing more that we can do. We have pointed out to them that the action of the board illegal. We have suggested means of staying the hands of the board, but nothing i has been done, and consequently we ■'■'t do more. We pointed out the ?, i 1 uil ‘ ' •"•evious actions of the illegality of p. - u j(a(1 board, with the result , We to begin the thing over again. therefore caused a delay of about three months. If our advice were now taken, the whole thing could be upset. but there is no one inclined to move, and the thing is therefore settled. We wish, however, to say that it is not the recommendations of the experts the board is carrying out now, but a different tiling altogether, so the board need not talk about being backed by expert evidence. One tiling is certain. the shingle will not be shifted at any rate until the harbor is properly sheltered. A new set of men will go in next election who will work on a different system.