THE FERRY SERVICE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 157, 27 March 1908, Page 8

THE FERRY SERVICE.

u DISCUSSION. BY THE HARBOUR * BOARD. ' r-: MR. WILFORD PROPOUNDS A SCHEME. r' : , a MATTER REFERRED TO THE BOARD'S 3 . OFFICERS.' 1 ' ■ . . " ■ f. Tho question of improved oonncction be- " twoen. tho railway - and the Wellington- '■ Lyttelton' forry steamers was.tile subject of t" an' interesting discussion at- yesterday's ineet- ) ing of the' Harbour Board. The matter was | introduced by; the 'following' letter from tho Postmaster-General (Sir, Joseph .Ward)-:— i /" 1 March 14, 1908. ' Sir,—l have. the. honour to request ■' that you will .bring under the notico of •; your .Board that serious inconvenience is, 'being caused to this Department by the frequent berthing of the Maori in sucli a ' position as to mako it'impossible to take . ' quick . delivery. of mails from tho mail room provided on the steamor. I venture to submit for consideration the propriety, of providing'special accommodation for tho steamers ' engaged in the ferry ser-V vice. ,'.jl ami confident .that your Board is fully. . possessed, of. the necessity for affording -'special'facilities'for the prompt : tranship-.-merit : of 'mails arriving from the south. . So jnajiy , occasions already , • occur .on which; .owing to!.causes beyond control, the mails fail to connect with tho express trains' 1 -from Wellington that-it is very desirablo no failure should arise ' from any preventiblo caiiso, such as, the . ■. tho Maori at wharves Nos. 4 1 and 6.' Tlio remedy, however, appears to be . tho provision of - a special berth for ■ the ferry- steamers.- . . ; • I liavo the honour to be, ; Your obedient servant; J. G. WARD, ' \ ''.v.,:',.Postmaster-General. , i '.' THE'CHAIRMAN EXPLAINS. ! W,Chairman? (Mr.' T. : M. .Wilford, M.P.) .said'tliat,' as' they"a]l ! 'lcrie\ij,' -it was expected, according;'to tno G'overmnenit Engineer's report,l. that through connection on tho'Main -Trunk Railway, would be , available during the' present' year;: on--the - completion of tho Makatote Viaicluct.. ' It; naturally, followed 'that the : ;questi6n of/the .through servico for passengers,r.luggage,; and-mails bccame of im-. mense-' importance to - tho whole Dominion. The 'purchase of: theManawatu. Railway by the. Government; Hvas also now a' fact, and would be.- comploted-iyery shortly, and - this constituted, anotlier reason for' placing before -members of the Board..; the Dominion and 'the city ' the necessity ; for" quick. munication' and . . quick'- I ',transhipment. For some ■ timo past the .Board's ■ Engineerhad realised, that theirbr.was great congestion on the Queen's Wharf, and it was a. matter, for . the .Board - to considor-- whether,, the Queen's Wharf-should'not bo reserved for the import : "ind -. 'export "'steamers, and- whethijr' the' ferry!'steamers';sh'puld riot have a wharf for, themselves. .;Tho ;Lirger steaihers would .have to bo kept, to tlio Queen's Wharf on ,of thoV,proximity !of .the Cu6t6ms, office; and ' Other, facilities, but 1 the :'Board.might consider/whether...or' not it would bo 'adyisablq ~to. shift . the, fqrry _ servico from the ! Queen's. . |\yharf, or.f. to .shift ether 'vessels rfrom ' it. The -question of 'whore the now passenger-.station, and "goods station : would bo must bo considered in this connection. Ha :,was_j*iven to understand that it'was the, !iriteritiori"of- ; thb-'Goverriment that all goods' arriying/ffom-'either vthe' East or the West. should' be'discharged at the Manawatu station, arid that j the "present maintenance '.works. thore ! sh6iild /bo'shifted' to the' tipper : Hiitt'; to' the" land: recently purchased by the Government, 'while t-hb present' Government' station ; should/become the passenger station for-b'oth'lines. The Board's present Engineer considered 'that such an', arrangement 'would notr-be a'good one.- v 'He thought the' pas'song<jrs should be-dealt with at the Manawatu and tho: goods at the.Thomdon station.; Ho; did linow whether the Board would take tlie-.same view as the Goverri-' rhent,/but. he. Ventured,..to. donbt It. The question for. the -Board, was, if' the Government. adherrxl. to. its intentions, what facili- [ ties- (should' bo provided for N the trains; to bo. run on tho .wharves built,by th'b Board. The King's„Wharf was well under way; it was idle to talk ■ of..reconstructing tho Qiict-ii.s Wharf ; and'the plans of the' Pipitea Wharf did riot providei .for .the class of'facilities in .question. But it'might be wise to consider' iwhether a wharf with !the requisite! railway facilities ' should bo built in" placo of/the Pipitea Wharf as plartned, or -whether the . matter should'bo postponed until'the erection of another wharf beyond tho Pipitea Wharf. He'suggested that'the wharf (which- should be built/for. the ferry steamers should carry two lines of railway; and if tlJoso lines came from now stood, they would pass/over • property, acquired .by'-tho' Gover'riniorit ; adjacent to the' Manawatu ;station, : and then oyer,an area bolonging ,io the Board; so that there , would be no, need to acquire land for tho purpose of running .trains from the station .to tno wharf. ' The Board's - engineer .(Mr. :, Cachemaille) , had him plans in . this connection, and lie (the Chairman) - - thought. the scheme Was reasible. With the, .two; lines of railway running on to the, wharf, there should be a huge orectioiij- allowing plenty of room for the disembarkation of passengers who were riot going' beyond Wellington. \Tlic ends of the building should bo open to allow trains -to rim through, and it "should have a gallery right .round'it communicating by steps :with a central railway -platform, so -that .'.passengers could come ' straight from tho stoamers into the gallery, and thence down to the platform;'from Which tho trains would leave on the right hand sido for the East Coast and; on the-left for tho West Coast. In cither case tho through passengers would travel over: tho Manawatu .line. Such a 'schcmo would be of .great advantage to passengers. , Thore was also tlio question of tho transit of luggage. ■ It would be good from tho point of view of- the Boa.rd if tho Government would establish a check system in re-gard-to luggage-from.punedin to be,shipped to Auckland,: so', tliat a' passengcr could book through all luggago not required for personal uso-on .the voyage... Mr. Jones: Tho-railways \yon't'do it; , Tho Chairman: This.is merely a suggestion, and I hope tho Department -will- accept it: Therewas' also the matter of. tho. unpunctual'running of the ferry steamers. But there was-no reason' why the through trains should 1 not .be run 'at. increased, speed - or I'start , earlier, and-thus.:provide for closer! connection-between boats. At the present , time ho admitted it -could not bo done. Ho would proposo:—

That with a view 'to; arranging better facilities-for .the. rapid transfer of mails and.passengers, and, their luggage to and from tho railways 'ami the wharf a letter bo written to the Right Hon. the Prime Minister, suggesting a conference bo-' ' -' tween the Postmaster-General, tho Minister for Railways, and : Chairman and ' Engineer, of .tho Harbour Board, and any members of the latter whom they might appoint. ' ■ i- ■ 'W . • The Chairman said.'th'ia would not commit tho Board to anything,, and yet it would be making a. start. .The question was' of importance to the whole, Dominion, though it might tako somo.years .before being brought to a conclusion. . The question was raised whether a'motion could be taken;.without notice having been given. Mr. Wilford explained that his suggestion: was merely to ask,for a conference in reply to the, Postmaster-General's letter. As some., of the members objected to a motion on these lines boing taken without notice, i the Chairman's proposal was barred Jiom being; treated as a motion.

Mr. Jones suggested the discussion bo in committee, and moved in that direction. NOT A NEW PROPOSAL. Tho Hon. T. .Kennedy Macdonald recalled that the subject was an old ono. The delay had rested with the Government, and for tho Board now to suggest a conference would bo to place thorn in a false position. They had 10 right to ask for a conference. They had been seeking in vain to have this matter put right. When tho Board's Engineer designed the King's Wharf ho over and over again waited upon tho ■■ Gorernnient with a view of having tho trains run down to the wharf. It was in justice to Mr. Ferguson that he pointed this out. "It must not be looked unon now as some new discovery." Mr. Wilford: I don't proposo that -it should be. Tho Hon. Mr. Macdonald said tho Post-master-General was right in asking for quick transfer for tho mails. But they should say to tho Minister for Railways, "You must make provision for tlio comfort of tho people travelling north and south,' and you must arrange that tho Main Trunk carriages shall go down on to tho wharves the samo as at Lyttelton." It was for the Government first' to arrange with the Minister -for Railways for the trains to run direct on to tho wharf. The motion to go into committee lapsed for want of a seconder. fHE UP-COUNTRY POINT OF VIEW. Mr. Cohen said Mr. Macdonald had stated that the Chairman's proposal was not new. Well, the Chairman had not said it was.

(The Chairman: Oh, no!) The matter, they learnt, had bech brought up before, and it was not gone on with because somebody was in. fault. Hon. T. K. Miicdoiiald: The Government was in fault. Mr. Cohen, proceeding, said that,universal inconvenience'was now imposed on through passengers. Ho spoke on behalf of a district whoso residents suffered that inconvenience. There was no necessity. for the Board to stand on its dignity. Tho Post-master-General had written from the point of view of his Department, and probably it was not his place to refer to,-passenger traffic, but lie could not concoive that tho Premier would not bo ready to assist any effort to benefit the community. Ho saw no objection to meeting the letter in the spirit in which'it was written and, to agreeing to a conference. . Mr. Daniell said tho question was eminently one for practical riion. Ho moved: — !' That the Government be asked to .direct its -engineers to confer with tlio i Board's engineers in regard ,to connecting the railway with thej wharf." This was not seconded. WHO WILL PAY?-

'■ Mr. Bolton said the time was opportune for reopening the question in connection with the letter from tho Postmaster-General, who was also tho Prime Minister. He saw no reason why a conference should not be held. There were, however, two things which he ; would like to know something about. Would the : running of the proposod railway track : through the Board's property injure it, from the point of view of subdivision or leasing in the'future? . And 'who was to pay for the station and gallery proposed to bo. erected on the wharf? Would tho Board.pay for it, or only provide tho space? Ho did not think this was a matter which should be discussed in committee. (Mr. Flotcher: Hear, hear.) If the shipping interests to mako any representations .on the subject, they could do so openly. He was inclined to agreo with the Chairman's proposal, provided that _ it •;would' not lead to the Board being com-' mitted to' ariy finaricial liability, at the present'time. , ".

THE MAORI. Mr. Jones said tho proposal. to give a special wharf to the ferry servico was going to throw tho whole of the scrvic'o into tho Union Company's hands. Tho wharf would not bo' the Queen's Wharf,' but a spccial ferry wharf.. And why? Because the Maori was.an unhandy boat to manoeuvre. 1

•: Mr. Fletcher, said: that if. the Maori were ,berthed at , No. 1 on every occasion there would not be half the trouble that was now I experienced. The 'Maori was an awkward; boat to handlo, and, tlio Premier's letter merely askcil for special facilities t'o be provided for berthing, that particular boat. Ho took a differont view from that of. the .Chair-1 :man.'. Tho time, was very near when they would have .to take all'.the direct export aiul import steaihers to Thorridon, and leave Queen's Wharf altogether to coastal and 111jtorcolouial Tho coastal trade had in'creasod marvellously of late ryears, and there was not enough' accommodation for it under present condraons on tho 'Queen's .Wharf;; Mr. Ferguson devoloped a fine scheme,, but the trouble was-that'-they could get no satisfaction froni .the railway authorities wlicro the passenger . and : goods station were to be; Tho 'Chairman: "But Mr. Coom wroto and said tho : schoriie was'iriipracticable.'"" ' Mr.'Flctcher went ,'on to, say'that, if, tlio Government adhered to- tho -intention, as stated by the Chairman; of having the passenger. station at Thorndoji and tho goods, station at the ■ Manawatu • Station site, they would be going about'tho matter ;in a very impracticable way. They had to consider tho trado of tho port, and if they were going to have /special, wharves for special ships, that trade would 'be hampered. All that the Postmaster-General wanted, apparently, was 'an improvement of tho facilities for ■ the transhipments-'of -mails, but if the'.mail-vaii were run . along to. the head of the Queen's Wharf the ;mails would bo transferred 1 much more quickly than at present. ; He would like to have some timo to consider 4ho Chair-man's-scheme, as-he looked upon-the trade of: the port as-far more important than the. ferry service. .- ■ INFORMATION WANTED. Mr. Harkness said tlio Postmaster-Gene-ral's'letter'was exceedingly ambiguous. It made special reference to the Maori.' Mr. Fletcher: "It takes three-quaiters of an hour, to . berth lier.' 1^" Mr. Harkness, proceeding, said that in his opinion tho difficulty was not so much one of berthing, but the need of a bettor class of steamers. .They had bpen given to understand, that tho Maori was the very best of steaniers, and could do the trip , in oight hours.. ;If she: could do it in eight or nine hours there-should bo amplo timo for the transhipment of tho mails to either the Rimutaka or tho Manawatu line. Before tho Board-approached the Minister, would it not bo well to ask their officers whether there was this' difficulty .in connection with the Maori, whero she was bortlied, and what were the causes of tho delay?.. Before he could support tho Chairman's proposal, which would be practically putting the matter out of its own hands, he would r'equird to have,more information. It should bo pointed out in what-way tho Board had-failed in its duty. Ho was inclined to think that tho failure lay with tho class of steamer concerried. As for tho Board's dignity, he did not think tho Board had stood : on its dignity , in the past, or intended to do so in tlio future. Tho object of tho members was to do their best for the port. The Hon. T. K. Macdonald said that as there was no motion before tho meeting, he would move:—

That the letter of the PostmasterGeneral be reform! to the' secretary with a view to getting a .special report on the subject from the officers of the Board. THE CHAIRMAN'S REPLY. Tho Chairman, said he did not want to tako credit for any now idea. Ho wanted tho wholo Board to have tho credit of tho proposal. .'He would be sorry to assist any mo- 1 tion that would benefit any particular class of steamers. Tho letter from the Printo Minister had given him an opportunity of putting beforo tho 'Board .what bo believed would eventually conic to pass. Ho did not for ono moment suggest that tho Board had failed in their duty. They had dono all they wero roquired to' do. As to whether tho Maori could manoeuvre or not would not alfect the Board. Tho Board was not going to spend large sums of money because 0110 particular steamer could not ■ manoeuvre, if siich woro the caso: Ho had not moved any motion, howevor, simply suggesting that a letter, bo written to' tho Primo Minister asking for a conference. , . The. Hon. T. K. Macdonald's motion was carried. • '

Mr.; M'Ewan said he hoped the matter would be persevered with. The Chairman promised prompt attention.