SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 302, 18 December 1912, Page 8

SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS.

CAUSE OF RESIGNATIONS. - PiaXTB OS PBOPBSIOHAI BEPTJTATIOIr T AJT3J COUNTER CRITICISM.. WABM TAI<X AT THE BOARD. Several hoars were occupied by the Harbour Board yesterday afternoon in ■ discussing the various works in hand, and tie resignation of the two aeeistant Messrs. Powell and McKay, some candid opinions being exchanged between members holding conflicting views. A report of the committee which, inspected all the works laet week: set the ball rolling. This report stated that "the reclamation works. both. at j Mechanics' Bay and Freem.an';> Bar, j ■sere inspected, substantial progress jbeing evident, not only in connection with I jadamation work itself, but also in con- ] nection with the embankments and*j .breastworks at the various sites. A j eatis-factory start has been made with i -she renewal of a portion of tie north | ■wall, as the engineer lias previously re-: ported, debris h.as been removed, and the j ■work will be brought to completion j ■without d-elay. There will be no delay in connection with the portion of the \ redamadon required by the City Coon- j c 2 for the continuation of Beaumont Street, as arranged with, the Council, i He recently-completed works of Quay' Street jetty No. 4. and the eastern and j western sections of Queen Street wharf, j were also visited, and with the latter, ' a*-with the foregoing, satisfactory progress has been made. With the work j on. Qneen Street wharf now so well in ] land, its completion within reasonable time is assured. In matters of smaller ! detail, in the opinion of your committee, j "progress is satisfactory." ifr. Bradney. M.P., said he was given to understand that matters were not in the satisfactory state" that the com- | mittee reported them to be in. E.umour3 ] "were insistent that everything was not ] right. Aβ a matter of iact, it was hia \ opinion that the Freeman"s Bay reclama- j lion was in a very unsatisfactory etate, and there was not a job along the waterfront which was not open to criticism. 2lr. Bradney was proceeding to criticise the verandahs on the shed at the Queen Street wharf, when Mr. Virtue rose to a point of order, arguing that he skould i confine himself to the north -wall and Freeman's Bay. The chairman ruled that the speaker was in order. Mr. Virtue: It is a pity he listens to so much rumour. Mr. Bradney: -TVeU. we shall see/ Going on to speak of the north wall ie declared they had absolute proof that the material irom the dredges .. J°t [d , EOC sta 7 there, even with a wall to back it, yet they were now emptying TV there without any wall at all "He considered it to be nis duty, painful a≤ ■IB was, to protest against" the gross waste of money going on all the time ie proceeded to comment on the fact tflat a channel had been kept dredged up to the wall at an immense waste" ot time, omng to the silt running back having nothing to retain it. "la fast *a\l\Z-TV> 1 " nderet ««* this north Mr AT I yr taer ing tiJe Tho°l bjeCted to " Mr ViTO * I^" *£■« the instructions I quired ofrT T^ in demurr and inquired or the chairman how some of the other large works were erogressin- par facularly Queen Street wharf. P -The Chairman said it was a most extraordinary thing that Mr was tie only member to attack the works of the Board, while he was the only . ber whom he as chairman could not -et ; to accompany him or the committee °to - inspect the Board's works. He as chair- • man had asked him 15 or 16 times to - "Visit the works, yet not once had he done ! . 60, either with the committee or with ' . himself and the engineer. It came, there- i fore, wjth very bad grace for him to : -criticise in the way he did, seeing he himself neglected his duties by never 1 ■•visiting the works. Speaking of the 1 -north wall, the chairman stated that it ; .; would not have been profitable to re-erect j ,it sooner. A further section had been ' ;;completed, as members who visited the! knew. The whole thing had been /carefully planned, and the very best had ' been done in the interests of the Board--It would have been" of no advantage to : have completed the wall 12 or IS months ago. The spoil had not been going out j of the reclamation through pups in the I .■wall. Banks had been put up. and had i "done splendid service, and the whole' "work had been carried out with rigid j ;; economy. The debris had been all re-1 amoved, the pile-driving was nearly com- | plewjd, and a trench was in progress, j Afterwards a stone wall would be put j into the trench. In fact, he expected tbe 1 •whole would be completed in four or five I months. As far as the Queen Street ■charf and other works were concerned, ' the shed on the wharf should be completed | in about two months' time. As to the •srhaif itself, it was very difficult to say when it would be completed, but if ■ xoisonablc- progress were made the work would probably be completed in abouc i . 15'jrjonth.s' time. I : Bradney, rising to a personal ex- ] planation, cltallenged the chairman to I turn up a record in which he would not ! find that lie ( Mr Bradney i had been one i of the most regular attendants at the j Board. He had attend?d to his duties Very elosily, and had spent a Jot of time going into the work of the departments. l<. was not part of his duty, if ho had ! coafiuencfc in tke to go round " ; W ,llng tl,e Works - The '-hairman had ''-tht"J- * and the report was