HEAVY LIFTS

Evening Post, Volume LXXXV, Issue 49, 27 February 1913, Page 3

HEAVY LIFTS

'A. LITTLE FRICTION. A 'heavy lift from the steamer Turakina of a boiler weighing eighteen tons caused some 'discussion' a,t the Harbour Board last evening. The ship berthed at the Queen's Wharf, but moved to the -Railway Wharf to land the boiler. A- question arose out of correspondence called for by Mr. Hildreth as to who was 'responsible — the ship or the board? The Harbourmaster, it seems, has some discretion under the bylaws in such matters and he charged half the fees for the two removals 'of the vessel. The shipping company claimed that the ship was moved for the convenience of the board and, therefore, it was not liable for the fees, some £22 8s sd. The Chairman said there was no question about the matter. There w&s in Wellington, as at any other port in the world, a certain place and certain appliances set apart for the landing of certain cargo, and when ships moved to such berths they went there at their own expense. But the- matter came before the Wharves and Accounts Committee and" that body had remitted the charges for removal, £22 8s sd. He held that this matter should have taken the form of a recommendation to the whole board. He was astonished at the committee's action. Accordingly, he had given notice to the committee to rescind the motion, referred to. In its correspondence on the matter the New ( Zealand Shipping Company wrote stating that before the arrival of the Turakina it advised tho Harbourmaster of the heavy ' boiler, but this the Harbourmaster did not admit. The company also stated that it had to employ tugs costing £11 to assist in the removal of the vessel. This, the Harbourmaster pointed ont, was because of an accident to the Turakina's machinery. "It was," he added, "purely the will of the company to remove the vessel, and I see no reason to justify t^tie re-

mission of the charge made. At .the same time I consider it a matter for the board's decision and not mine." The Chairman strongly contended that the ship was removed for her own convenience and not for the board's. The matter was one affecting the revenue of the board, and it should not have been interfered with. Mr. t Jones objected to the chairman making ex parte statements. He had not put the matter before the board intelligently The Chairman requested Mr. Jones to resume His seat. He did not ask for his opinion as to whether he had expressed himself intelligently or not. He would himself have gone into the matter fully at the right time when it came before the board, should his motion to rescind be carried. Mr. Cohen wondered, if the ship was not removed for the convenience of the board, why half the removal fee had been charged or rather why half had been remitted. It seemed to him that the usual fees should be charged or not be charged— one or the other. The Chairman thought there was no hurry. The whole thing could be brought up at the next meeting of the board. He cited an instance of a New Zealand Shipping Company's ship which attempted to land a heavy lift with her own gear; but the lift "(also a boiler) went down the ship's side and the board had to render assistance with its own cranes. Mr. Fitzgerald expressed surprise that business done in committees should not come before the whole board. It certainly, should, in his opinion. Further consideration of the matter was deferred.