The Harbour Board and the Government.

Evening Post, Volume XXXVII, Issue 15, 18 January 1889, Page 2

The Harbour Board and the Government.

Further oorresoondence between the Harbour Board and the Government relative to the Board's protost againßt the letting of three allotments facing Waterloo-quay, was submitted to the Board yesterday afternoon. The Secretary of tho Board wrote to the Premier about three week's ago, pointing out that the present accommodation at the foot of the Railway Wharf i 3 insufficient to provide for tho summer traffic in the oxport of wool and flax, and further storage buildings must shortly be provided in order to deal with the present and prospective inoreaae in rail-borne goods tor export. As the sections which it was proposed to let were tho most suitable for the purpose, he asked that none of tho tenders received should be accepted, and that the sites in quf Btion should be granted to the Board at a peppercorn rental. To this the Premier replied that the allotments referred to wore undoubtedly required for railway purposes, and could not therefore be handed over to the Board. The land was proposed to bo leased with tho object of getting extended room for goods and storage purposes. The Chairman (Captain Rose) said that, after receiving tho reply, he and Mr. Ferguson had interviewed the Premier on the subject, and he seemed inclined to agree with their views, only that Ministers have so arranged matters that the Premier does not interfere with the work ot departments not under his control. Mr. Mitchelson, however, came into the room, and at once put matters off by stating that the question was a large one, and if Wellington were granted this concession other places would apply for the same thing, mentioning as an instance that he had had to refuse a similar request on the part of Auckland. In answer to this he (the Chairman) pointed out that Wellington and Auckland were altogether different places, because in Auokland the Harbour Board did not undertake work in connection with the railway, as the Wellington Board did, and that as a matter of fact the Wellington Board was doing all the terminal work of the railways. For this very reason_ they needed inoreased shed accommodation, and could only provide it by petting more land. Mr. Mitchelson said that it was intended to let the land in question to merchants for railway storage purposes, but since then he (the Chairman) had been very much astonished to find that it was leased, not to merchants, but tor the purposes of a foundry, whioh would not assist the railway in any way whatever. Mr. S. Brown— Well, they have simply been stating to you what was not true. One might use a stronger term perhaps. The Chairman said the Ministers pointed out that the Board still had the section let for a yard. That, however, was unsuitable. The Secretary then read the written reply sent by the Ministor for Public Works since the interview. It stated tbat the exceptionally convenient and commanding site granted to the Board for wooleheds in 1881 had been partly alienated from this purpose by leasing it to the Refrigerating Company. The writer pointed out that while the wool and flax business of Wellington does not exceed that of Lyttelton, the floor area of the Wellington wool shed is moro than 50 per cont. larger than that of Lyttelton, and it might be worth inquiring whether the present shed situation is not capable of accommodating a very much larger business than there seems at present to be any prospeot of. The Government regretted that it had no further aites available. It was not desired to part with the lot adjoining those recently lot, and it seemed desirable that the Board should fully utilise the sites already placed at its disposal for wool-sheds, which would dispose of any difficulty for a great number of years. The Chairman said that in answer to this letter the Board could point oat to the Government that Lyttelton was in an altogether different position from that of Wellington. There the bulk of the wool went into private sheds for dumping, and not into either the Harbour Board's or the railway ¦beds, whereas here the Harbour Board received everything. That fact waß not taken into account in the letter Mr. Heaton remarked that the Government could not have had any oertainty that merchants and not speculators would apply for the sections in question. In his opinion, the whole difficulty was due to the shipping companies not arranging to have enough vessels here to take the wool away. The Chairman said that the grant to the Freezing Company waß made with the consent of the Government at the time when the freezing industry was coming into note, both the Government and the Board being anxious to encourage the new works. The Secretary advised that the matter should still be agitated. The Board mnst obtain increased accommodation to meet the expanding trade of the port. It was agreed that the Chairman and Secretary should again interview the Minister for Publio Works with the view of obtaining some other sections still available, and report on Monday next.