HARBOUR REGULATIONS.

Auckland Star, Volume XX, Issue 102, 1 May 1889, Page 2

HARBOUR REGULATIONS.

(To the Editor.)

SlK,—Kindly favour me with space through the medium of this widely-circulated journal to call the attention of the harbour authorities to the necessity of keeping a clear passage open for the Birkenhead and Northcote terry steamers at night time. Many readers will no doubt remember that some months ago, a cutter lying close to and just off the ferry tee straight in the roadway was run into and sunk, fortunately without loss of life at that time. Shall we wait, may I ask, until another catastrophe of this sort occurs, which, on some future occasion, might result in terrible loss of life, before we have an alteration of the by-laws preventing occurrences of this kind ? Might I add that if a ferryboat runs into the wharf, how soon do we find the Harbour Board on the alert for damages? and yet we find them allowing persons to break the by - laws with impunity. Frequently, and quite recently, in coming across in the ferry steamers afc night time it seemed almost impossible to averb collision with some unseen vessels lying at anchor without lights, through the carelessness of masters of vessels anchoring straight in the ferry roadway, and neglecting to exhibit lights, though dark and stormy. I would-aaggest that the:hafbourauthori-

ties define a lino of course for these ferry steamers which ply regularly at night time, say from Northcote Point to ferry tee, Auckland, and draft a by-law compelling masters of vessels to anchor clear of bbab line. In conclusion, I would add that the introduction of legislation for the above would, in my opinion, prove more essential for public safeby than the abolition of steam whistles—that necessary adjunct to the shipping which is, easily tolerated through all the Southern ports of this colony.—l am, etc., S. 0. Loftus.