THE AKAROA WHARF.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 666, 1 December 1882, Page 2

THE AKAROA WHARF.

To the Editor

Sir,—Tho Borough Council having passed the new schedule of wharfage rates, as given in your issue of Oct. 27., and recommended it to the Governor for gazetting, I propose to point out altera tions from the present tariff uhicli certainly are not improvements. In the first place, we will take the Wharf Committee. These gentlemen know nothing about the management of tho wharf, and the difficulties of collecting some £120 a year in twop'mces, and they think it beneath them, I suppose, to make any inquiries of the wharfinger. They, therefore, s it down and alter tho rates at their own sweet will, without any thought or care as to what

the effect may be on the revenue. For example, the minimum till within the last few months, had for some 14 years been 2d. This period was long enough for the wharfingers to find that such a fraction' was useless as regarded helping the revenue, and was but a source of annoyance to both wharfinger and consignees. The latter mostly treated as a joke tho being asked for such a sum, and generally managed not to have it about them, or rendered such a coin in payment as made it not worth the collector's while to change it, as a consequence, the payment stood over till a more convenient season, which oftentimes never arrived. Six months ago, in the tariff then brought into force, 6d was made the minimum, with, as tho wharfage book will show, considerable benefit to the jetty's receipts. This has worked extremely well, being readily paid, and with no complaints ; everyone, oddly enough, always having 6d about them, whilst under the old system they could never find 2d. The worst part of this twopenny story remains to be toid. The old 2d was payable only on inwards cargo, but under the new tariff this is to be extended to exports as well. Consequently, whenever a footstep is heard on the jetty, the wharfinger will have to rush out with his book, enter particulars of tho 2d that ought to be paid—but which in many cases won't be —and then, when the time comes for settling up with the Council he will have to pay not only all the twopences that he has collected, but also those he has not. Another item showing the care bestowed by the Committee on their report is the rate for calves under one year old, sheep, lambs, goats, and pigs, per score 3s 4d ; do minimum charge each 6d. Thus 20 of these animals pay 3s 4d, but 19 are chargeable 9d 6d. In Lyttelton they manage these things bettor, and say simply " per score 2s 6d, minimum 2s 6d." Why the Council cannot adopt the exact wording of the Lyttelton tariff has always been a wonder to me. It is carefully drawn up, has been revised by their solicitor, and the only alteration necessary is that of the rates to suit our local requirements. Instead of following this simple plan, our Council have taken their tariff, cut out a few words here and there, and thus managed to introduce such absurdities as that given above, and in addition made the whole thing incomplete. It may be thought that I fail to speak with the respect due to my employers, so I may explain that I have written requesting to be relieved of tbe duties of wharfinger at the Council's earliest convenience. But I have no respect for a Wharf Committee which not only pays no attention to the important duties entrusted to its charge, but some of the members of which abuse their position. For example, Councillor Black keeps his yacht's ballast on the jetty by the twelvemonth at a time, whilst Councillor Bruce has constituted the jetty a store for tho launch's coal, where he has a permanent stack close to the crane. It was at the latter's hands that the jetty shed suffered the grossest abuse to which it was ever subjected, having for twelve or eighteen months been made the Pioneer's coal store. When, however, in June last storage charges were placed on the shed, the main coal depot was removed to Barry's Bay jetty, which acts as the feeder of a temporary supply of about a ton kept on the Akaroa jetty. The truth is the Borough Council is not fit to be entrusted with the wharves. Some are too pettyminded to be able to take a comprehensive view of their general management, whilst others never open their mouths, but simply vote, and that at the bidding of some outsider. My letter, like the weather, is warm, but if any good is to be clone it is by plain speaking, and not by mincing matters. I have tried for years past to get a generally improved system introduced, and hoped it was a question of time when the Council took them ove/. It has too truly proved a matter of lime, since it took them twelve months to introduce a new tariff; six months later they started another, and now they have got a third, which will prove unworkable.—Yours, etc., W. 11. HENNING.