HARBOUR BOARDS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1248, 5 October 1911, Page 2

HARBOUR BOARDS.

FIFTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE. COST OF ELECTIONS. DISCUSSIONS AND RESOLUTIONS. The fifth annual conference of delegate; lo the. Harbour Boards' Association oi Now Zealand was opened yesterday in (he Council Chamber in tho Town Hall. Tho following delegates were present:Auckland: Messrs. G. Bagloy, ,1. S. 13oml : and 11. B. Burnett. Bluff: Messrs. A Bain, J. Fleming, and G. 1!. George. Foxtou: Mr. Jf. J. Hcnuoxsy. Gisborne Captain Tucker, M.L.C., and Mr. \V. D S. M'Donald, II.P. Greyniouth: Sir Aγ thur Guinnoss and Mr. J. A. Murdoch. Hokitika: Mr. T. IS. V. Seddon, M.1. , Lyttelton: Messrs. If. Fricdlnnder, _C Hood Williams, and Albert Kayo. Napier: Messrs. A. E. Jull, J. J. Niven, am! J. I'. Kenny. Nelson: Mr. .lohn Graham M.P. New Plymouth: Messrs. .!. !!. Council; and E. -Maxwell. Oamaru: Mr. t'. A. La Roche. Otago: Messrs. W. Belcher, J. Loudon, 11. Wilkinson, and H, E. Moll-er. Thames: Hon. Janice M'Gowan, M.L.C., and Mr. Albert Bruce. Timaru: Messrs. D. C. Turnbull, F. J. Rolleston, and W. J. Bardsley. Waitara: Messrs. W. T. Jennings, M.P., and J. B, Hiue, M.P. Wanganui: Mr. .1. B. Jhirray. Whangarei: Mr. F. Mander, M.P Wellington: Messrs. R. Fletcher, J. G Harknoss, C. W. Jones, and H. C. Tews ley. Wcstport: Messrs. G. Griffiths and C. N. Greenland. Delegates V/ckomed. The chairman extended a hearty welcome to visiting delegates. Although Hit order paper was a formidable one, it would be found that there was not' on it a great number of important questions. The most important, in his opinion, concorned the cost of elections unner the new Act. Ifo had not' tho figures for other boards in the Dominion, but last election had cost the Wellington Harbour Board JJlOflO. Delegates should Rivo serious consideration to tho proposals concerninc it, in order to come to a conclusion which would prevent' waste in future. He iiopcd the result of the deliberations of the conference would help to promote Ihe interests of harbour boards throughout the Dominion. Executive Report. Tho Executive Committee reported th-it during the year the membership of the association had undergone no change. There .were twenty-two boards affiliated. The statement of accounts for tho year (ending September 30, 1SU0) showed (he receipts (£llO 175.) exceeded the expenditure (JJG2 Gs. Id.) by the sum of £r,7 10s. lid., thus increasing' the association's credit balance at the bank to .£144 ].'><. Against this there were outstanding liabilities, mainly law expenses and printins, amounting to S:6i Ss. Id. The accounts for the year ending September, 1911, showed that the net surplus of assets had increased by .£3l to ,£llO 'Js. Difficulty had been experienced during the vcar in petting a quorum at meetings of the executive, and it was recommended to the conference so to arrange the personnel of the nsw, executive as (o ensure far greater certainty in securing a quorum for meetings. This could bo done by reverting to tho old practice of electing at least three permanent residents of Wellington. The Public Revenues Act, 1910, tho Bill introduced to consolidate nnd amend the. law relating to public revenues, contained the old clause limiting the expenditure of a harbour board, no matter what the magnitude of it? operations, to a sum not exceeding ,£SO for purposes not otherwise specifically authorised. The aliention of the Minister in charge was directed to the association's requests that'this clause r.honld be made more clastic in its provisions, and the executive were nliimateiy successful in securing an amendment. The alteration did not go quilo so far as the resolutions of tho third and fourth conferences asked, but it now limited such unauthorised expenditure at a sum equivalent to one per cent, of .i board's revenue for the year, excluding loan money, with the maximum limit of .£250 in puy one financial year. The report was adopted without discussion. Travelling Expenses, Considerable discussion followed a proposil made by Mr. C. N. Greenland, on behalf of the Wcstpart Harbour Board, relating to tho payment of travelling expanses to mem-ors. The motion was: "That Section -ID of tho Harbours Act Iμ amended as follows, namely, that tho words 'actually occurred' be omitted, and the words 'allowed and passed bv tho board" Iμ inserted in lieu thereof. It was urged in support of tlie proposal that tlio Apt did not empower the payment of more than mere travelling expenses, which did not include hotel expenses. Sir Arthur Guinness moved the following amendment: "That Section 10 of the Harbours Act bo amended as follows, namely, by inserting after the words 'actually incurred' the' words 'as allowed and passed by tho board.'" This would make the. hoard the solo judge as to what travelling expenses had been prc-pcrly incurred. It was pointed out by several members that tho Act now allowed the boards power to authorise payment of hotel expenses. Mr. C. A. Bagley (Auckland) thought that the motion would opcm the door to fraud. Others thought that incmImps of boards ought not to look for paymenit of any moro than actual expfiflrcs. The Hon. .Tnraes M'Gownn remarked that there wero "boards and boards." Both raption and amendment wero lost on the. voices. Goods on Wharves. Mr. John Loudon (Otago) moved that the Harbours Act should bo amended by providing that harbour boards should i have power to charge storage on any goods allowed to remain in any shed or on any wharf or approach thereto for a longer term than was allowed by the bylaws of the board. As W2S explained bv Air. Loudon and Mr. Belcher, his colleague, it was the custom of certain merchants in Dunodin to dump tons of coal and piles of timber on the wharves in defiance of the board, and they refused to pay storage. The Otago Board asked that they be empowered to charge storage on all goods allowed to remain oa their wharves. Tho remit was carried. Recovery of Damages, The Otago Harbour Board's remit that Clause 91 of the Harbours Act relating to the recovery of damages for any injury done to tho wharf, by the addition of the words:—"And such damages may bo recovered by tht board by action in any Court of competent jurisdiction." Tho section at present does not provido for the recovery of tho damages. The remit was carried. Longer Leases. The remit, also from tho Otago 'Board, urging an amondment of tho Act to extend tho limit of lease from three to soven years in the caso of buildings or prts of buildings of a harbour board, lease for any purpose other than Iho storage of goods, was carried. Defining Wharves. The Otago Board moved for an amendment of the Act to include- in tho definition of a wharf all adjacent lands belonging to tho board. —Tho motion was carried. The Public Works Act. ' Section IG3 of the Harbour Act empowers a board to take land under the J , ' lie Works Act for any harbour works which such board is authorised to undertake. The Otago Board submitted a remit in favour of an amendment, empowering tho board, if jt deemed it expedient so to do, to acquire or take under tho Public Works Act moro kind than was required for the purpose of any of the objects of the board, and to dispose by sale of any lands not so required. Tho motion was earned without discussion by 17 votes to U. The same, board asked for an amendment of the same section, or of that portion of it which requires a s)wcial Act to authorise- certain work-*. Mr. Belcher moved a remit that authority should bo given by Ordc-r-in-Council merely. Tho Hon. James M'Gownn pointed out that the proposal was a dangerous one. in that it. gave boards, with the sanction of tho Executive, power to deal with private property. The remit was adopted by 17 votes lo 1.1. Pilotage Rates. • Tho Otago Board moved that Sfch'on 207 of the Act, defining the powers of

boards to make by-laws to regulato the position, mooring, and government of ■ships within the harbour, lie amended by the insertion of the pilohigo rates as inferred lo in the fifth schedule of the Act. These rates are:—A sum not exceeding fid. per tun for sailing vessels, id. per ton for steamers inwards or outwards, and 20.-;. i>cr dny for every clay Hint a pilot was detained on board any vessel under quarantine , , or by any act of tho master. I'lio remit was carried. Dividing Rating Districts. A New Plymouth remit that Section 30 of the flarnours Act, repealed in 1910, bo re-enucted, was carried. The section gave power to beards, under authority from the tiovernor-in-Coimcil, to divide rating districts into wards. Towing Rafts. In Auckland there nro a number of sawmillers up and down tho coast and along tho harbour foreshore, and it is tho custom for .small steamers to bo used for tho lowngo of rafts of logs iu tho harbour. The Auckland Board, Mr. Bennett, said, had discovered that it had no power to license tugs for this work, and ho moved that Section 207 of tho Act bo amended to give boards this power. The motion was carried. Registration of Boats. Mr. Belcher, moving on behalf of Otugo that the Harbours Act be amended to allow lwards to enact by-laws providing for tho registration of all small boats, which used the wharves and other convenience, provided and maintained by Uio board, at <i fee net exceeding ss. per year, said there was a large llotilla of small boats in Otago which so used the wharves anil appliances, and tho board thought some small fee should bo charged. He did not mean to charge fishing boats or toate used by their owners for the purpose of earning a livelihood. Mr. A. B. Jull (Napier) said they should not try to register everything that iloatod on the water, or even on the mudbanks of Otago. What would happen in. say, Oriental Bay if all tho boys round ihJbro had to pay a fee for their tiny pleasirre boats? The president: We would not charge them. Mr. Jull: I kiK#v you would not, bceauso you are a man of tho people, but tho means k> do ill deeds makes ill deeds done. The remit was adopted. Trustees. Mr. V> 7 . M'cher (Otago) moved that a clause l>6 inserted in tho Harbours Act empowering Harbour Boards to appoint fresh trustees to fill vacancies in boards of trustees appointed to control lauds set ;u-;ide for saiiors , rests. He stated that in Diineilin a piece of l.aud, then part of the harbour, had been vested in tho board for this purpose, but now that it was become useful one of fclio trustees was dead, mv.l t lie other had not power fo hand over tlir- lonid to the board. The remit was carried. Alternative Constitutions. A remit from New Plymouth suggesting that alternative forms of constitution for boards Iμ permitted was rejected after discut'ion. it was suggested that such boards as preferred to remain under the Amendment Act, with, such modification as to representation os they might require, should Ire permitted to do so, and that the others who preferred (o do so might remain under uie old Act. The Country pranchisD. The Tiniaru delegates submitted the following motion: '"ihat the fronuhiso , bo amended to provide that country coustituei.'its hi placed on the same footing as town loiiiirituents." It war; urg-d i> support of <;lio motion that in c-aies where counties and towns were grouped into one diw-riot lor tho purpcie ol » Harbour Hoard flection, the country doctors ivero at a disadvantage, in that the iranchiso in tho town was practically manhood suffrage, find in the counties it was a ratepaying franchise. Tor this reason tho boroiighs could olten swamp tho conuiic?. 'lho chairman suggested that what was really needed was an amendment of the Counties Aot. Tho motion was lost. Uniform Scale of Wages, Mr. A. Kayo (Lyttclton) moved: "That the ciuestion of adopting a uniform scale, ol salaries and allowances for tho respective clashes of Harbour Board employees within the. Dominion of New Zealand be taken into consideration; also that tho question of adopting a uniform set of regulations for sick leave or in case of accident or for periodical general leavo during oach year, be considercfi and reported on." He stated that very different rates wcro paid by tho various boards of the Dominkn, and the time was fast approaching when the settlement of wages would bo entirely in tho hands of the Arbitration Court. Tho I work was practically Uie &amo everywhere and the wages should be on oil fours. Several members spoke for and against tho motion, which was lost after discussion by 18 votes to 12. Gold Duty Act. Mr. Albert Bruco (Thames) moved for an amendment of tho Gold Duty Act so us to include Harbour Boards in lho schedule of local bodies entitled to receive gold duty on all gold dredged from foreslior&j and gold recovered from trailings on foreshores. J!r. Jull (Napier) seconding the motion, said that ho didn't see. any reason why anyone should get gold duty, but if ouyono was to 'got it, he thought Harbour Boards should havo a cut in. The motion was carried. A similar resolution from Thames that KoUliiclds revenue obtained from leases on tho foreshore bo paid to Harbour Boards was also carried. Another Thames remit—that provision be made for exempting foreshores in tho occupation of Harbour Boards from rating where lho local body's boundary is fixed at low-water mark—was also carried. Boatsheds and Skids. On the motion of Mr. 11. C. Tewsley it was decided t'o recommend an alteration in (ho Harbours Act to give power to boards lo grant foreshore licenses to lay down boatsheds and skids of a fixed limited size for pleasure purposes without tho necessity of obtaining tho approval of the Governor-in-Council. Tho conferenco will resumo at 10 a.m. to-duy. All the remits pertaining to elections wcro referred to a special committee which will report to tho conference to-day.