THE WAIMATE ADVERTISER. THURSDAY. JUNE 15. 1899.
."> there is one subject of vitil ttci^fc to tho ratepayers of this u-Trlfi at the preseat moment it i tho lamentable condition ot" the 'im.ira harbour. It will probably oiK-h tho ratepayers on a tonder poL — thoir i p:ket— to the time of ]o,v\ lotting up to tho respectble sum of £L(K>,OOO. Diving \v) month of May List, for some 111 or 17 days a very severe storm .k'-'I on the coast, with the result 0 the Timarn breakwater thai .luiigloin husfe masses was thrown nor it, and that the depth of the liarbour entrance was diaiiaished be the drifting shingle. Tin-.] w \< brought p wilfully before the oyc.-i oi: those who have helped to juv i"or the present struct are by rlu refusal of the stcxtner Wnlia\vu (w'lich Was coining to load i\vz^n ar>ar), to attempt to enter llu Ihu-boar. Mr Maxwell, the i\> iraitinj aAgineer io the B ) uvl, luis boon culloll in and rccomlae.ids an extension of the present inolb by means of a rubble wall from tlio end of its straight portion, for a distance of ',) )'M)it., al an estimated Co3t of £10J,0«)v.), tlr sum to he rai3?d by a loan after it i=» voted by tha ratepiyars oi the harboar district. MrMaxweH's report 1113 first to go 'before n Royal Commisbion of two nnrhie engineers. If they sanction the proposal Parliamjnt will ba asked to pass a P>ill empowering the Board to take the vote. Through the courtesy of the secret ivy to the Board, Mr Tennaut, we have perused the document ilrt is to accompany the Loan !3dl, copies of which lie at the Co.irlhonse in Tiniarn and from i hit we have githcrei the following information: the Board at V.e^ent. posa«3ses an excess oi wi^iti over liabilities oC some illo'i,(V2() ; the revenue for 18.)8, not counting the rate of L'JOOi), m, L 12,552; and the total ex- \) y\ lit are, including m lintsnanee o: hivl)oar, dredging and repairs wis L'.)2i3. In each of the years J m 3 and IBS 3 a loan of L10J,00>) w i-i raised at 5 per cent, the total i:iL>i\3St thereon now biing Ll> ),(),)!), While the Board has |)>'v r er to raie the district to the fa' l amount of interest pay- »• m, the rates for tlte last four yuiM having "been, roughly, l/> ) ) ) per annum. Tne e^timate'd r.< / j,i le for this yeu* is L14,0(X), <\\l the espen liture L"!,sJ.'\ I'ui'ig L7;>)> to be raised by Ik r itos : in ths second amount is 1 i'j ib I Ll-k) ), payment for the Yv'e'.jnn pump. Theseareafewof tiit ii elemontary statistics aud we havo q loted them for our reiders' iaiorantion. Waat is the port worth, to rosidants of South Gan-te'-'jjry, it may be asked. It is c Uimated that LI per ton would be paid for railige to Lyttelton if tii» harbour did not esist r and
this year's trade would cost the district the sum of LlOO,OOO, The harbour rote being £b'OOO, and the wharfage fees paid in rimaru being £3000 in excels o? rhowo iv Lyttelton, we subtract £9000, leaving a profit of £01,01)1). Tlii-* is the argument \ued in j favour of the maintenance of the harbour, and it may be accepted as proved thai the cost of floods must; be reduced by its maintenance, but on that question we will have something to say on a future occasion. The whole question will probably be submitted to the ratepayers— if they are prepared to f ice the proposed loan of £100,1)00, at, say, 4 per cent, interest or at an annual expense of £i'UO. Tliia wii,l make £14,00) the total interest payable on the loans. As to the history of the present breakwater, a few words may be added. Old residents will remember landing in the surf boats in the sixties, and the attempt that was mule (o form a jetty of concrete blocks which were practically all swept a Way by a few heavy .seas. The Government had advahced L3J,OJO for this purpoM j , and latei on the Provincial Government voted L 100,000 for harbour works, provided Sir John Coode reported favourably thereon. Sir John's asnihtant, Mr Elliot, after seveu months careful study of the drift, io reported to have said that the construction of a solid wall would result in its being overwhelmed with shingle drifting from the pouth. Now, Sir John Coodc bears oat this statement regarding Mr Klliot? for he advised that a viaduct 1000 feet lonjj;' should be built, and the breoktfater proper would begin there. This was to allow the shingle to drift northwards, and not bank itself up on the mole. The Board, unfortunately for the harbour and the district, rejected the engineer's report, called for competitive plans, accepted Mr ! Grooddll's, and started the present structure. It avds said tbe shingle would do no harm, ami this was persisted in, though Sir John Ooode "visited Timaru, and warned the people of .their mistake. It is no longer possible for anyone to ridicule the danger, and after over £33V)00 have been bunk in the erection of the present structures, it is a seiioas question to tig tin come to tb.3 harbour di trict, aud ask for the sum men- . tioned. Wo propose to refer to , ihto subject on a later date, wliojl we will give our readers a re3um£, of Mr Maxwell's scheme — -also the points raised more paiticucularly by our own representative, Mr Manchester — in favour of dredging, instead of smkingall the moiiej' in a mole.
!Butai:i is inswung upon the luuiuv.u of the Gmuese Governor f»fc Kwichan fox' uot arre,itxTi{j tlje in i si); 3 utor of the murder of tiu ui:s3iouai'^ , Air Fiein-
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Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume II, Issue 8, 15 June 1899, Page 3
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955THE WAIMATE ADVERTISER. THURSDAY. JUNE 15. 1899. Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume II, Issue 8, 15 June 1899, Page 3
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