THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 1877.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2578, 12 April 1877, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 1877.

A special meeting pf the Thames Harbor Board has been convened for tomorrow night to hear from the Chairman the result of his interview with the Hon. F. Whitakcr. So far as the result has been made public it simply amounts to this, that the Attorney-General holds out no, hopes of the Government subsidising the Harbor Board, as requested, even if they cannot make the harbor pay its way. It appears from the estimate of income and expenditure furnished' to the Board by the Harbor Master that the cost of maintenance of Harbor staff and works would be £1229 annually, and the income from tolls, pilotage, and port charges £415 13s lOd, leaving a deficiency of £813 6s 2d. If these figures represented the trne position of the Harbor Board we

certainly should not adviso that body to continue in. office; but it is understood to be the intention of the Government to hand over the foreshore, and from that alone a considerable rental could be obtained at once, with a prospective increase, and a probability of being able to raise a loan on the security of the foreshore to improve tho harbor and the wharves. We refer to this matter because we have heard it stated that the Chairman of the Harbor Board intends to recommend to his colleagues their resignation in a body, leaving the management of our harbor as it is at present, in the hands of the Government. This abrogation of powers of local government on such an important matteras the harbor would be suicidal. In the estimates to which we have referred reductions, we believe, could be made to bring tho expenditure nearer to the revenue. We are assured that a considerable saving could be effected by removing the wreck of Tararu wharf. This would give a supply of timber for repairing the other wharves, and the item " lightkeeper, Tararu wharf," could bo struck out. We have no wish to go further into this matter, but we have shown sufficient to prove that even under present circumstances, and with no probability of help from the Government, the " ways and means " of the Harbor Board could be more evenly balanced, and we hope the members will pause before committing themselves to the sacrifice of the Board, or until they have fairly tried to fulfil the conditions ■under which they were elected.

Scaecely a ma.l or telegraph summary arrives but we hear something further of the introduction of small-pox.' Now it is by the Suez mail, then by the 'Frisco route, and anon a steamer arrives by Torres Straits with the disease on board. Immigrant vessels from the old country have it on : board> and lately several-have arrived at different ports of the Australasian group, including New Zealand, with cases of virulent disease amongst crews and passengers. When it was introduced to Auckland some years ago, the authorities in the South and in Australia were not slow to invoke the quarantine laws in regard to mail steamers and other vessels from Auckland, but the "scare" which arose at that time finds ho equal at the present..... It is true that these vessels now arriving with variola on board are in most cases strictly quarantined, but we do not hear any demand for quarantining vessels arriving from ports in which the, infected vessels lie. The disease, by last advices, was on the increase at home, and precautions were being taken to prevent its spread ; and it would be only rational to insist upon rigid measures in New Zealand ports to prevent the introduction of this dreaded disease, ithe numerous cases of which of late seem to have familiarised people with hearing of it to such an extent that it has ceased to be looked upon as a scourge to be kept without our borders.