HARBOUR BOARD.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVI, Issue 4417, 10 July 1884, Page 4

HARBOUR BOARD.

The Board met on Tuesday afternoon, when there were present: Messrs C. Aickin (chairman), D. 11. McKcnzic, Wink*, Wnddol, Owen, Niccol, Lamb, Devoro, Mackochnic, J. Kcid, J. M. Clark, and C. Mays. Chamjser of Commerce. —A letter from the Secretary nf this body notified the election of Mr.lolui Kcid as Chairman of that body, ilo would represent tho Chamber ill the Harbour Hoard.-Tho letter was received, and the (Chairman expressed his pleasure at racing Mr Uoitl iirenont. Notices tii Maiiinkus. — Notices in refereiifM to New Hebrides Croup and position of wruck of the Duke of Sutherland in Tiinnru harbour were received, and the usual publicity was ordered to bo given. l'.\ssi:rr's t'IiMUAf.T. — The Cenerel (idvernment wrote offering to make n progress payment on the work, but stating that it was impossible; to pay tne full claim as the (Mrtion of tlio contract rofof red towwnot completed. Tlio Chairman said thi.wof the result of an application made by himself. So soon as tho work w.-u? eoniploted.a further payment would bemadc. Si.inu £4,000 would* be payable 4 when tlie work Has completed.—Air l-amb thought implications should bo made for prog-re* payment in terms of the letter. | The Chairman said application had just been made t< the Covernment to till in tho breach in t)><wall, so that no delay might take place iii tlie work.

Kksiuknt Consulting Esuinkku.—Wm. Ware accepted this position, although iomc of the conditions were not .satisfactory. lie suggested moditications in the term?. The principal alteration he asked for in the terms was that salary should commence from the date of appointment. This concession was refused on division, the determination remaining as previously.

Control ok the M.initkac Harbour.— E. Fox, Private Secretary to the Premier, wrote acknowledging letter from the Board on this subject. lie said that aii amendment on the Address-in-Reply to Hi.s Excellency's speech in Parliament having been, prior to that receipt, carritd against the Government, it was not possible to consider tho Harbour Board' 3 application with a viow to giving effect to it. lam to add that Major Atkinson recognises that important interests are probably involved in tho proposal that the control of the Manukau Harbour, its endowments, &c, should be given to the Auckland Harbour Board ; and that they should bo carefully considered by him, should ho be in a position to deal with tho matter after the meeting of the now Parliament."—The letter was received.

Frozen Meat Company's Lease. —Letter from Messrs J. Dacre and George Harper, who were members of the Board when the lease to the Frozen Meat Company was granted, protesting against any concessions in the way of sub-leasing being granted to the Company, as this wag never the intention of tho Board when the original leafce was signed. — Tho Chairman characterised tins as an extraordinary document. He moved that the letter be received, but did not think they could take any action upon it.—Tho Mayor said the writers had lii< sympathy, but they had mistaken tho position.—Mr Mackechnie looked upon the letter in a different light to that in which the Chairman viewed it. — The letter was received.

Lights ox Wharf.—Tho Secretary of the Gas Company wrote stating that arrangements had been made for carrying out the Board's conditions concerning the lighting of lamps on the wharf.—Conditions of detail wore confirmed by the Board.

Discilvrok of Doric—J. Batger wrote in reference to tho discharging of the Doric. He complained that besides the £47 charge for wharfage, he had been charged £12 for clearing the wharf, replacing the deck planking, and otherwise making the tee available for discharging the vessel. He asked for refund of tho £12.—A report from tho Engineer stated that the compensation claimed by Mr Sutherland in consequenco of delay of work was £19, but he considered £l"2 sufficient, and the contractor agreod to accept that amount.—The Chairman said tho wharf would have been made available for tho discharge of the vessel had it not boenroportedby thoagontsthntthe Doric would bo quarantined on arrival.—lt was agreed, on the motion of Mr Clark, that the charge be remitted.

Riimit- of- w.w.—Messrs Dovore and Cooper repeated their application for right-of-way on behalf of Customs-street lessees. —Referred to tho Legal Committee, opinion of solicitor to bo taken in the meantime.

Totaba PILES.—The Hokianga Sawmill Comjiany wrote asking that their contract for supply of totara piles from forty feet to fifty feet be cancelled, owing to the largo number of the piles sent down being condemned. Supplies had also been made by the Company to the Colonial Sugar Company and tho Railway Department.and nonoofthesohnd been condemned.—Referred to Legal Committco. Wooden Docks.—A. R. W. Fulton wrote, forwarding particulars of wooden dry docks,— Thp lpfoqnation was ordered to be placod on the table, and tho writer thanked for his courtesy.

Electric Light.—J. Nearing forwarded estimates of lighting tho wharves with electric light, which he stated woyld_be useful in lighting the whavv^.—The Chairman said the ton,d{mcy of the members had been to wait and wateJ* tho improvements made. For the ss'Mfe of getting at the information, \\q you.id move that tho letter bo voforred tp, the Works and Tariff Committee—,<\gveed. to. Timber. — A Sutherland offered a surplus quantity of tlmbor loft from his contract for sale. The Engineer recommended tK ► tho timber bo taken over at alesa prioo *' 18s 2Jd.-Rcfeired to tho Works and '/".?»• Committco witli power to aot.

Drkdukb.—The m^nagev o{ thp Bank of New Zealand wrote, stntiny thp'cthev had cablegraphio advices that A JwiSrs gjf Q anil Comnany had tondered, at i'^o 500 f r tho supply of a dredger similar to that required by tho Board. -The tender was deohued.

Main Sewer.-The Town Clerk forwuvdod two roports and plans in reference to the diveraiou of tlie main sewer —Referred to tho Special Drainage Committee, thoChairmanstatingthatho would call an early meeting of that Committee. Solicitors.—Messrs Russell and Camp bell notified that Mr J. T. Campbell had joined thoir firm in view of the departure of Mr RubkoU for England in October next WmiKS Committee.—Tho recommendations of this Committee wore as follows •—

Application of the master of the Claribel for refund of pilotage : That under no circumstances a refund bo allowed. Re M r Niceol's application to lay down a slip : The Committc recommend that permission be granted to lay ways for slip, subject to tlio approval of tho Harbour-master, Ho tho petition from watermen for .1 gridiron etc. : It was recommended that the consideration bo deferred until next meeting of Committee, and in the meantime tho Harbour-master to report as to site, and the Engineer as to cost of accommodation required. Re the large dredger, the Committee reported: That this Committee recommend the motion adopted on the 27th May, in reference to ordoring steam dredges, be rescinded, and that a power of attorney be forwarded to Mr J. Darling empowering him to prepare plans and specifications for dredges of tho dimensions agreed to by tho Board, call for tenders, and,after receipt of cablegrams from tho Board authorising him to do so, accept tender for same and enter into contract for dredger, aud tako such other action as ho may consider necessary to protect tho interests of tho Board in relation theretocost of dredger, including outfit for voyage' not to exceed £20,000.—He lotting of sheds on Queen-streetWharf,tlie Committee recommended that tho consideration of the matter be deferred until tho completion of the railway station reclamation, and upon the completion of the reclamation the Board tako the necessary steps to erect large sheds with the view of undertaking the receiving and distributing of all general cargo landed on tho wharves.—The Committee recommended that Mr Dawson's application for bathing machines for Cheltenham Beach be deferred. —Ko carrying horses on ferry steamers • The Committee recommended that rails be erected on the ferry rtaainers, as suggested by the Engineer; that the Harbourmaster's report be adopted; and that tho motion adopted on tho 27th May, as to tiia carrying of horses on the ferry steamers, bo rescinded.— Re now offices: A letter from Mr W. G. Connolly in refer; enco to contract for ofiice buildings having been read, it %vas resolved, "That this Committee recommend that a copy of Mr Connolly's letter be forwarded for tho consideration of the architect, and that ho be directed to furnish the contractor with all the necessary drawings required without furtherdelay ; that the Board do not in any way accept Mr Connolly's estimate of cost of extras, as stated in his letter of July 3rd. Cost of extras cannot be recognised except under certificate from tho architect." —The report was adopted. Frozen Meat Company.—The lettcrfrom this Company re sub-lensing concession was referred to the Legal Committee. Nkjiit Watciiman.— Sixty applications for this position were referred to the Works Committee.

Railway Whabf.—Mr McKenzie moved, " That tho Engineer bo instructed forthwith to fill in between tho rails all tho outer end of Railway Wharf, in order to utilise this wharf to its full extent for shipping, and discharging purposes."—Mr Lamb seconded the motion, which was carried.

Breakwater Road.—lt was agreed, on the motion of Mr McKcnzic, " That the Engineer be instructed to repair at once the roadway on the breakwater."

Port Charges.—Agreed, on the motion of Mr Xiccol, "That by-law No. 34, ro ferring to port charges, bo understood to mean that payment of threepence por ton at any time during the your clears a vessel for six months from date of such payment."

Licenses.— Mr Niccol moved, "That Uy-laws Nog. 74 and 85 remain in abeyance, except as regards watermen."—Negatived. This concluded tho business.

To the Editor: Sir, —I would wish you would use your ablo pen occasionally on a subject that I am sure could be greatly benefited by you so doing. I allude to the frequent annoj'anco of ladies by youths, larrikins, an 1 even seemingly respectable men, in going up Upper Queen-street at night. Ou inoro than one occasion have I been put to mortal terror by some drunken brute almost rolling against mo on the wooden footpath. There is also a plague spot that I am sure is felt by every respectable person to be a burning shame—l mean the houses of ill-fame. It makes my chucks burn when I think of the vice, the loathing immorality, that is almost to be seen flaunting about in this part. The very neighbourhood seems to reek with all that is low and vile, not only unchecked, but one would think winked at by the police.—Yours, &c, A Woman.

A " Citizen " complains that " On a Sunday afternoon, at tho corner of Wyndham and Albert streets, a knot of 'the promising youth ' regularly meet, and not only block up the footpath, but insult every passer-by; and woe be to the inoffensive citizen who accidentally disturbs their pastime, be it 'dumps,' 'king-in-tho-baso,' 'hop-scotch,' or ' to.=3ing pennies.' During the week evenings many of these cenii assemble near the bonded store opposite the Pier Hotel, and take possession of the footpath, to tho annoyance, of the general public. After.a residence of many months in this part of tho town, 1 am sorry to confess that the police are noticeable by their absence.''