PORT OF WELLINGTON.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1215, 25 August 1911, Page 5

PORT OF WELLINGTON.

REDUCED CHARGES. SUGGESTED AT lIARI3OTJB BOARD, Tho I'alinerston North representative on the Wellington Harbour Hoard, Mr. 11. Cohen, who has been devoting considerable attention to tho financial uffairs of the board, on Wednesday evening, at tho moutlily meeting, proposed a resolution of which notico had been given. Tho resolution was published a 1/Civ days ago. It proposes means of "substantially reducing the charges recently and allegedly temporarily imposed"; an alteration iu tho manner of writing oil the sums lor depreciation; tUat new works involving an expenditure oi large sums bo constructed entirely out of luan money; and certain proposals in regard to a mamtenancu account,

In the courses oi iv detailed explanation of his suggestions, Mr. Cohen dealt at length witu tlie board's present method of assessing depreciation, and ho said that tho time Had arrived when the. whole system should bo altered, made moro conclusive, and brought thoroughly up-to-date. It would bo proper, it a depreciation fund were worthy oi the miiiie, that a draif should bo made upon it as wutild accomplish tho reuewr.l oi a structure, seeing that yew by year it had provided lor such contingency. Tho Queen's Wharf afforded a salient example. It was touud that a comparatively largo sum was required to put , it into a proper state, of repair. 11 might come to tho samo thing in tho long run— whether the means lor the worit wcro supplied by loan moneys, or from a special fund ready and available for tho purpose. But , it appeared to him that the nrst-named met nod was apt to give tho public a wrong impression. It was a roundabout explanation to mako that this contingency had boon anticipaled, and that a steadily increasing depreciation, iund had duly provided for it, but had been expended in tho board's affairs in another direction. lio could not sea what bett'er method there could bo than of having a particular iund established fnr tho particular purpose. Why, continued Mr. Cohen, should a depreciation fund bo utilised ior the pur* poso of any extension of the board's appointments or assets? I,oau money snomd be used for that purpose. Their sinkin? mud, as a matter ot iact, was going to provide a sum in about forty years that would wipo out their indebtedness, and thora was no reason why succeeding generations should not fnco some of (he burdens of progress, This brought him to a vital point. They had no right to exact any more from their several classis of contributors than would enable them to administer their trust with ease. This had been done, in the past, with tho result that they had accumulated assets of a round sum of .£400,000. They had also a substantial sinking fund, all 'of which has been exacted from tha board's contributors—and this had been done on a lower standard of charges than existed to-day. The question was, were they right in exploiting the present generation unduly for tho purpose of absolving posterity from debt—at the expense of the present contributors? Ho also pointed out that tho future generations would have tho valuable assets in 'lands which were now being accumulated. To his mind, therefore, a readjustment, and a lessoning of the provision for tho future, would afford that relief,which could be well utilised in lessoning tho burden of rates and charges at tho present time. It would place tho port of Wellington in an unassailable position to combat competition. It was time, therefore, that the board took into consideration tho advisability of readjusting the rates recently imposed under abnormal conditions (which no longer oxisted), and he was glad to learn that it was the chairman's intention to sorioutily address himself to this aspect of tho question.

Tho matter.was Teferred to a sub-com-mittee, consisting of Messrs. J. G. Harkness, Towsley, the chairman (Mr, R, Fletcher), and tho mover;". • •