HARBOUR BOARD.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 17861, 6 September 1923, Page 14

HARBOUR BOARD.

MONTHLY MEETING.

The Lyttelton Harbour Board met yesterday. Present: Messrs F. Horrell (chairman), "W. K. McAlpine, J. Storry, R. Gslbraith, VT. J. Walter, H. T. Armstrong, H. Holland, R. Macartney, M. J. Miller, T. A. Blackley, Geo. Scott, Hon. E. Moore, and Captain Monro. Dredging. The engineer reported that the dredge Canterbury was engaged in the outer channel and in the open parts of the inner harbour, whence she lifted the following quantities: —From the outer channel, 103,427 tons; from the inner harbour, 2730 tons; total, 106,157 tons; the whole of which quantitv was pumped-''into the reclamation area, with the exception of 7280 tons taken to sea while repairs were being made to the mud wall holding in the dredgings. Finance. The treasurer reported that since the la3t meeting, and up to August <Jlst, following ordinary receipts were paid the harbour fund account: —Wharfage, £3156 1-s 4d: pilotage, £IO3B 5s 9d; port charges, £983 14s Id; berthage, £825 Os Od; towage, warps, fenders, and electric liffht. -*465 lis, deck and slip, nil; storage and cold storage, £1442 9s Id; rents, £57 8s 10d; hise of electric cranes, £152 8s 9d; refunds and sundry receipts, £214 4s *d; total, £8335 14s 8d; as compared with £14,354 8s lOd for the corresponding period of 1922, which did not include hire of electric cranes, but included £2761 9s 3d harbour improvement rate, which was then in force. The harbour fnnd irtis in credit £10,896 9s 2d, and the unpaid accounts to be passed for payment 1 amounted to £1530 18s Bd, the payment of which ' would leave the account in credit £»365 10s Gd. Imperial Conference. An application was received from the secretary of the British Empire League f° r - a donation to the special fund set up by the League for the purpose of entertaining the Prime Minister and other delegates attending the Imperial Conference this year. The chairman Baid the Board was a member of the Empire League. „ Mr Miller moved, and. Mr Holland seconded, that a grant of £5 5s should be made. Mr Moore said the Board should certainly help the movement, and would be quito justified in voting £5 ss. Mr Walter: X am- opposed to it. • , Mr Armstrong said the Prime Ministers ■were being entertained by the Imperial government, and that Government was really the only Empire .League. . ' The Board decided to gTant the five guineas. Sea Action. A letter was received from the secretary of the Institute of Civil Engineers asking the Board's assistance towards providing funds for the continuation for another five years of the work of the committee of. the Institute "on deterioration of structures exposed to sea action." The committee had been conducting its observations since l 9!". and the necessary funds to. enable >t_ to carry on had -been provided by grants from the British Government. That Government was now only granting a subsidy of £ for IJE and it was. estimated that £1250 per [annum would be required for the next five I years, so that £625 per annum must be provided by collected funds. All bodies or persons who had to do. with structures in the sea were interested in the report. The chairman said the Board might well assist the work, which would have such an important bearing on- the life of the Board s material. . An annual grant of £3 3s might said' the Board would -be quite justified in making a grant. The engineer said that the research work and tests were being conducted at Colombo, Auckland, and Halifax. The results were, printed and forwarded to Harbour Boards. The Board decided to vote £5 5s for the current year. ..