HARBOUR BOARDS CONFERENCE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 25, 24 October 1907, Page 9

HARBOUR BOARDS CONFERENCE.

: ■'. MEETING IN WELLINGTON. Tho annual Conference , of ■ tho Harbours lAesociation of New .Zealand was ...com-. moriced -in -.ijthe -City. -Counoil Chamber : yesterday morning.iirThe.HoniiT. 45-Mac-donald presided, and thero were prosent :— Aucklahd-^Meßsrs..A.-ICidd, M.H.1t.,; ,W.-. J. ; Napier, and. J. M.,Brigham,; (secretary) j Bluff—Messrs.' J. .E...Watson, ,R. :: Dunlop, and G; R..qoorge. (secretary).;, Groymouth— Hon.' A.-..R. Guinness and Mr. .J, A. M.urdoch; Lyttelton-rilessrs. ~F.; Waymputh,. A.. Kayo, G. Laurenson, M.H.R., .and ; C. Heod Williatas ,-. (secretary);.', \ Napier—Messrs..,,,J. Vigor Brown, A. : E., Jull, -and. J. P. .Kenny (secretary);,,' Nelson—Mr; ;>,J. Grab anl . M.H.R.; New, Plymouth—Messrs. , J., ,B. Connett; ,ar.d Oamaru— Hon. T.v;:Y's Duncan, iM^H.R...-and.■Mγ.., G. Browniee; Otago—Messrs. J. Robin, G. B. Bullock, J. Rpss.and J. 'Blair'Mason (secretary) ; Patoa—Mr. J; A. 'M'Kenna | Thames — .H. Messrs; J:;jCraigie,/T;:D> Ypung ); ,and W.. J. Bardsley. (secretary) ;! ; Waitara-Mr. ■: M;H.R.; ■ ' Wellington-Hon, 1. 'K.. Macddnald," Messrs: James M Lellan,. H. and. ; ;W, ! rergusori':: (secretary) and.. C, M. Greenland!.(secretary).; /, , ■..;],, : -,:,i.

mELI&iNARY^BTJSINESS:;-:- V, -.■!.■ The Chairman'iextended -a hearty, welceme to theNdelegatoS' from other Boards, and expressed, the opinion tfiat ■> the Conforence wpuld • prove, '■> only iof■••■ general -interest, but of'real and'lasting benefit,':and wpuld be of assistance to ; the Minister -.for. Marine. The Conference'had received! proof copies oh the Harbour Boards Bill for consideration, but the Bill 'had riot yet: been circulated,, and thereforeithe 'deliberations :of> the Conference in regard to it must be strictly cpnfidential, :The annuali-report, which: has ,;becn. pub-, liahed; ■DoMiNiospt,was. -read ,and : ftdepted.. v: ' : ' ■'•'■' •':.•.'<.'' '."•; ■■'i r .■■ .■!(■!.■:.j. . .The following-notices of-i,imotion,.■„ were, o "Thatfthe delegates,be.instructe'd before the Conference, the: question :of giying Harbour-Boards the power .to plant , lupin. to sarid-drift,':and' to have same, doelared. a non : noxipus weedvfor,ithat jpurpose. , —Mr.' J.'B; Connett ! (NewTlymouth). ! : -. , "That the Ipowers- conferred upon ;Mumcipal Corporation's by:Sectien..264 of itho Municipal Corporations; Act,,1900, .be ; alsp conferred upon .harbour, boards; for, the of estabrishing; ; ferry :,wharves."—Mr. Napier, (Auckland). , 1 _ , .-''That .this: Conference, request the„ Goyorn-, ment to purchase,:an,up-to-aa;t;p r dredge which, they may) let.,to iharbour \boards upon payment of. a reasonable ■.rent."—Hon. A. R. Guinness (Greymouth). ' ,wV;

Vα MOTIONS.; jV ;;; It'was' resolved: on' the motion; of, the' chair-' ttani s'econded;by;.Mr.;C6nnett, l "That,in.ad-; ditipn to.tho 1 bprrp>ving(powers which ; harbour bpards- alreadyKpp'ssess .urider.'scotipns 187 to ■200 of the..Harbours'; Government, in !amending, the. Harbours. Acts,, bo, asked to. .provide the. power ,tp,-issue scribed stock-jV-and :the,.pPW.or,by; arrange 7 ment holders,,'to',call:,in either a portion or,-.the ■wb.d{p",pf o a: series .of,'.deben-' tures .already isaued'or to?be,..issued, to substitute inscrihed stock' thorefpr;" '."■ ■■' "That:-the provisions' of, section 37. of tho, Hdrbours ,Act,,lß7B,vb'e'.ehliirgedj'sp; as_td' make:iit:'• clear' 'that'local ; governing ._bouies■ shall supplyjfcopies of ,iolls to ,the;.harh.pur 'board's returningVofficer,"and that the' last roll made -,by': the local bodies • shall bo, held to be in fprcej.and np''chan'ge''be;made." Th'e' metipn was.'.'caffied.''';.'"'-".;, ;•'.'■. : :' ! ."'-V: •.'.",' ."' : It was impved br Otagb i—"That an amendment be ' , spugh't' , in ', the i Hafboui' , s'! i iAct/i;'l878; by repealing ■secti6n'lsl,' i 'aiid by'substituting, the'following', clause m lieur'thereofj-p'The .(TOvernor-iri-CbunWl may' in 1 the name and on behalf of His.Maiesty.'grantto'any,board the Jands wh'icn such 'board '• is. authorised to'-'re-claim frtinv the sea^pr';from\ariy :, 'tavigable' lake or river under'or'by'virtue bftheßarbours Act;;18"8| 'or any amondment'''therepf; of of a special Act' of of a' special,Prder : made' or: granted :'by' ;, the' 'Govern or-in-Council .' " The mover pointed out that'reclamation work may extend''o'ver.-'three' 1 o"r'"four":years'i ; and during that time the : land would. 1 not be under the jurisdiction "of ! the harbourboard. It'was' unfair->.th'at-B policy of great expense shculd be initiated'before the ;landl was invested in the Board. ; ■■' 'v' : , ■.■.'•'■''■»'"~\'-''- .'•'<'' '"'<> ' '■"'■'<

"That the Government , be : asked iii amending the Harbours Abt to make it'.clear that (Section 216 of the; Harbours .'Act/ -1878, -relating to : 'the'harbour, improvement' rato, ; 'is' not limited' in'-its effect >or governed by'section ' was' 'moved! by • the Wellington and Napier-Boards." "■.'•■•:- ':■'■' > ■>■ -.•:-';' Mr. : f ergiis6n ! (Wellington)'said ; this- r was » very, necessary/amendment'so as to" make it quite iclear.vwhp.ishould pay the : 'harbour board rate. ;''i;'ii(. : -::-';- .;.•■. ivifi :!■'" •!:• -■vi'f.-i Indcconding, Mr. J. V. Brown emphasised the uiicertaihty ofj the present position, and suggested that .the amendment might well be , made,retrospective;,,:. •'.:■: •,: ~..:.:;..■.!•.:,:.:..: The Chairman said he was afraid'the Government 1' would ■ not '■ favour i letrospective le-, gislation.-;.': The .motion j was icarried;-'..■:-: :■!. ■ .roRESHORERiGHm I ; : ;;; It was moved by Otago:^-''That Bate sections 8,. U, and 14. of the Harbours Act; Amen'dmenti.'Act,, 1882, 'be l amended; to provide that the: sole.'power, to issue licenses 1 be vested in the •. board having! .jurisdiction l in . the harbour in question.", ...The 'mover stated that , 'his board.!desired >the • foreshore;to be vested' in it;, At preseht.itb 3: Government assued all licenses and derived any:,revenue arising thorefrom. : Theotagb Harbour Board. had.no power, and was not consulted., \ except to be casually askod:ifiit had any objections.■■•: The motion .was seconded,, but several delegates oxpressedsthe, opinion that the Government should.have a certain amount;of,control. . Mr. .Ferguson expressed sympathy with the proposal that foreshore rights should be placed w.ithin the control of the Board, but urged that.it was advisable that the Government should have general supervision of; tho boards, so; as,to know what works, etc.. Were, being carried out. ~._!,. i.-

On Mr..Ferguson's initiative the remit was postponed fdr., discussion. at, a. ; later stage... ■ ' Mr. Bullock (Otago) moved:—"That sectipn. 8 of the'Harbour3 Act : 187& Amendment--Act, 1894, be amended so as to provide that tlie local authority and the board have power to agree as to.the.construction- of streets;fany: dispute to :be settled by the , . Minister; that such agreement- or ' of' the' Minister shall authority'to 1 the Registrar to register leasesj.'that if; the streets' are not constructed within a reasonable time the Minister, havo-power'to direct that such streets'.be, constructed within such-time as he' shall nx;'iand>that: the alreadyenter.ed iuto 'be ratified."—ln supporting the motion Mr.-iiM'lellan (Wellington).-said it' might not be advisable to construct streets years ahead, and the amendment suggested would:meet;the case.- Other delegates supported the'.niotion, which was carried. ... GOVERNMENT. .'AND, HARBOUR : btfiS. It was moved by Otagb—f'That the resolutions of tho conference as agreed upon at the meeting held', in'.Wellington on August 10 1905, be .reaffirmed, and that strong representation be : made to the Government of the desirability of ani'endirig tho Harbours Act in the directions especially sought in resolutions Nos. 2 (repaj-mont of dues by Government), 3 (Governinont to pay storage and for services rendered), and 4 (re vesting of unalienatod lands) on page 3 of the printed notes of proceedings at the 1905 conference.". Messrs.- Murdock,, Maxwell, ; Kayo, and Vigor Brown strongly supported tho motion, especially, in regard to: the payment of Custom duee by the Governmont. .• •■ Mr. J. E.. Watson (Bluff) contended that the' Government ought to pay for services rendered, The Government brought in largo quantities of goods'free of charge, which gavo it an' .unfair advantago over the private trader, and'deprived tho Harbour Boards of tho revenue they,, were, entitled, to. In common honesty, the Government ought to pay. ''' .-. .' .; .' ■: , llr. M'Lellan CWellington) said the Governmont did pay duee'oncoal, but that did not alter tho fact that it ought to pay all the obarges incurred in regard, to any, harbour board. Public departmorite charged each

other, and there was.no reason.why tho Government should not pay tho harbour boards for work dono. ■■' • ! . ('. .i . Mr. Ferguson and Mr. Yoiing (Timaru) supported the motion, which was, carried unanimously. harbour boards and ; benevolence! ;.■;■ -'It was moved by \Vaitora-r''.Tiiat. tho,Government'to requested in any amendment ot the Harbours Acts to insert' a clause enabling harbour boards' to contribute towards ,thc relief of shipwrecked manners in i> ow Zealand." • Tho remit brought forward by Westport was as follows—"Tliaf the Government be requested to amend the Harbour Acts m such a manner as will make it legal for harbour boards to contribute yearly donations where J so desired, limited to a certain ■figure based on each board's annual revonue, to the blupwreck Relief Society of Now Zealand, as it appears that such an expenditure is considered to bo illegal at present. The results were' taken together, and considorablo discussion ensued. ; - . :

Mr' Ferguson suggested that the donations should not bo restricted to one Society. Other, bodies—such' as' the.;Koyiil'HumanoSocietywere deserving of aid. vMr. Kage (Lyttelton) urged that the Board's powers in .this ; direction should, ; be 'considerably: widened. His Board had on sev'oral occasions run the risk of being surcharged In connection with ;the Discovery expeditim," tor- instance, .his, Board was put ,to a considerable amount of expenditure, and was seriously handicapped owing to the restriction. It was absolutely ridiculous that a public body should be expected to entertain, on such an occasion, on a sum or ±pu.-. ino amount ought to bo considerably increased. ;.:; MrMiiapicr (Auckland), said his .Board s accounts were frequently; " tagged■ by the Government, auditor,, because, they wero compelled to disregard: the law: : , ;.. ...'■•.. ' >Mr. Bullock (Otago) spoke culogistically of. the done'by the Shipwreck,'Socioty, but Vcbrjplaifled that ■prpvinoes which received the" most? help" from the:■ Society- contributed 1 tho least. !; ■.''.'•''"',' ..'' .' V Other delegates'.' condemned .the. pros.ent system,' which frequently: compelled, chairmen jto spond, money, out. of their, iown /pockets. '• f . ...,.','; -";'"' ■.;■-.:.'■, ..-.,.,-, ■■, '■■ ' ■ Eventually, the remits withdrawn,' and- it : was resolved, on the motion• or. Air.. Beanchamp, ~'tHat ;an.amendment bo recommended limiting,the expenditure, in any one year,'to not more than lOs.iper cent, on tho. last year's ordinary, revenue^ Jor such purposes as the board may'decide to bo: in the, interests of the port.,,, r , ::,-, -,-, ... ::.-;: '■ ; '' : TOLLS .-....,.;.' / l -it- ; was .moved-bylAVeilihgton-'.'ThatHthe Government be asked.-'in ainmvding the legislation ■ relating, to: harbour boards, to make it. clear'that'harbour boards have the right to: ■levy tolls on'passengers.!'. The mover, Mr. Beauchamp, said it was not intended'to oxercisetbe right /in; -regard-.: to the", larger wharves.';''•■■■;■:- ■■ : ' i; "' ,, ' .'■■ "• ! . ": Mr. ' Napier / (Auckland),, strongly ,con T tinned the proposal .'/which" Would,ho -declared, revive a rplic' of .barbarism. He trusted the day was/not far distant when all' toUs%i human beings': would bo abolished— cspecially at New'"Plymouth wharf.' It would, :boVgreat mistake,to goback to fjho'toll-bar^ system."" '' '"' ',''...;. ~,'■ .-. -..-. ■etr.- Be : aucliamp' was given permission to ■alter the, , motion to read "in respect to inthere ought to be 1 some method pf; collecting 'wharfate or toll-it did not .matter what .it ■was' nailed—from outlying .-wharves. . .Wellington' had recently spent money on! subur-; ibaii-wharVosr'which .wore-not intended, for theipoorer people,' but.for::tho S e who could iafford seasidn.. .residences -; and. such-liko.; Owiieri of propertyialso.had.benefited by the Board's works, and'.it.was only,fiiirtlmt,the : Board, should get spmq, return. ... : . J,.-V. Brown (Napier) condemned the ■pbrfc A >l;.' iTh;^,motion w ( a.3.;lost ; . ~ ...,.-,. ~; .; ;■ CONSOLIDATION, BILL. , ':• •The" , followinp.motion'was carried.:—.".That -the-Ifarbours Consolidation'Bill be referred 'to'a'ijommittee, comprising the whole of tho doegiftes to thisGonfcrcnce, for considera:tion;:the committee .to.hayo power, as, and s 'on bef.alf.of :their'conference tpmake. represontairions::to,;the.Minister,forMannofprthet ■alteration'of amendment, of .any of .the pro, visions of the Bill /and to suggest any, addi- : Sisto the: Bill'which the Committee may 4em 'nacessary. -or,;desirable in the. intere# of the Harbour Boards, And the Committee %> have power and ; .authonty, to ognto its powers ,to.a sub-committee and to.obtain .the ■assistance, .of tho Associ l ition> : solicitor, '.'^■i , OTHER RESOLUTIONS/' ;'• ;^.-

•It 'was' resolved on .the': motion of the Bluff " To' obtain' legislation providing that dredges , shall'te placed in a separate, category m tho" Stopping and Seamon:.s Act, bo' required ,to carry more than, one nayigat.mate,.as.the, c^e:may.•bo-wlien:working, ini-the [.vicini. y of .harbours,- administered .; by the,, board to .which thcy.belon'g.";.;..■ i. ; .- ,■ ■, / 'v ; 'V "Tliat a universal,set of contract condi-tions'for-the Uso of all harbour boards, be -preparedly, the. Harbours / Association,, and, thafwhon any Act; or Acts are.passed.affect-, ■iiiir' such'- conditions,, (the Association -immediately apprise ,the various harbour boards thSeof," This' was moved, by. the Napier flftlpifatcs■ and carried. ..■ ■■:■■..-. -~-. ':':.