DEEPENING OTAGO HARBOR.

Evening Star, Issue 3488, 28 April 1874, Page 3

DEEPENING OTAGO HARBOR.

.A'large meeting wa g fold the Masphic Hall last-evening, te take into consideration the improvement rof ;« tago Harbor, His Worship the-Mayor was in the chair. The C hakrman explained that the meeting was called for the'purpose of giving the citizens am opportunity of expressing their opinions with respect to the proposed im provement- of the harbor. It Was ho new scheme, but on account of the unsettled state ®f Otago for many years, and the death of one of their'best engineers, the matter was delayed. A few months ago a few leading merchants of the City requested him to convene a meeting of citizens to •- consider the question of harbor improvement. That meet-

ing was numerously attended, and a large General Committee was appointed by whom a Sub-committee was chosen, who had certainly earned the thanks of the City., He believed that their duties had been very arduous. : , '1 hey had obtained the ouinions of the very ablest men here, and an excellent report had been.made. ; If the same action had be.en taken years ago, he believed that they would now be landing immigrants, on the jetty in Dunedin. Had the money expended qn the Port Chalmers railway been spent in improving the harbor, Dunedin would now have.bees a second Glasgow. All that was now wanted was the support of the citizens in going to the Legislature to carry out this'scheme.—(Applause.) ■ t .. Mr E. B. Cargill said a good many

meetings- had been held up and . down the city- during the last•: few weeks,; with; the view of trying the strength of parties, and seeing which way the balance of opinion tendedwith regard to certain questions. The business' in hand was altogether of-a different character. - They ;had no - expectation of a division of opinion. ; The object was to solicit .from: -the citizens at large the utmost support they; could/give in carrying out a scheme for the improvement of the Dunedin Harbor, which/they believed carried with it the approval of every citizen.—(Appl^Use.) It was not a question which affected tworthttt class of interest peculiarly, without another gaining at' all; but one in which everyone was equally interested in supporting to the utmost. . The resolution he had to move was :

foster and encourage tbie export trade of the Province in grain, wool, and other'pfdducts, and further to retain and extend the Interproyinoial wholesale trade in Dunedin as a mercantffe centre, it is absolutely necessary that increased facilities be provided for the transit of goods at cheaper rates, , combined with the least possible handling.

The resolution contained nothing more than what might be termed a very self-evident proposition. iV . He apprehended everybody would agree .that it waa of the . utmost importance to trada of every kind, and to those engaged in industrial pursuits, that the utmost facilities.should be, provided for the conveyance of goods by the cheapest and Readiest means, and with the least possible damage. The resolutions .had been drawn by the Committee who had the matter in hand in a maimer which showed them te be men of sound judgment, determined to lay a .w what they were doing. HO hoped that might be taken as a type’ of ®L. thie Forks they reoommended the citizens to have constructed. It was quite elear in this matter of the transit of goods, looking to the future which they believed was before them, that it. was necessary they should do everything which in

them lay to provide facilities of transit Which would keep' them on a:par in all xpspedts with 1 other producing countries; They Had seen very ‘ {considerable change's already ip: Otago' during ' the last year dr two, and even during this year. They all know that so long as they wore merely producing wheat, for instance, for their own wants, it - mattered perhaps in smaller degree whether they sbou’d have the utmost facilities for shipment; but they bad to send wheat to fcuiope to compete with the grain of Adelaide, of • .'alifornia,aiid of other wfaeat-pVoducing countries. They were therefore obliged to have every possible facility, so that there .might’not be one halfpenny of expense more than could be avoided -7-(App!ause). 1 here was one aspect of the matter which should be brought prominently forward, and that Was, that it was not a scheme for benefiting the City of Dunedin exclusively.-—(Hear ) Whenever proposals ; were made for the expenditme of considerable sums of money in Dunedin, and the aid A>t the. Provincial Council : was sought, considerable .jealousy was manifested lest the .City-should* jie favQred as against the connfp,-- M -mi ■ fot

i could arise. It was not a matter of interest only so far as the City was concerned. Dun- ; edm could only benefit by improving the means of cheap transit for goods in exactly : the same degree as those dwelling in the remotest parts of the country ; and, furthermore, those residing in the remoter places were more absolutely dependent for the success of their pursuits upon facilities of the ■ kind than Dunedin. Therefore, this must not go forward as a matter affecting the interests of the City alone. It affected the country at large, and the country more than the city. *o far as deepening the I)arbor and bringing large ships to the City were concerned, he was not quite sure whether it Would be a great benefit to the City. It would interfere somewhat with the quiet i of the town, and would not cause any increase in the trade or expenditure in the City itself of a tangible character. If any benefit accrued to the City, it would enjoy that benefit in common with the country at large. There was one other important re-

spect in which the City of Dunedin would be benefited jin the improvement of-the foreshore, and the facilities which would 'thus

!be afforded for draining off the sewage. That .was a matter which, altogether apart from ; the question of the shipping, should be taken ; up before very (they could go on, with an increasing population, discharging all the drainage upon a half-tide shore,: to: lie' festering -in the sun when the tide went out. To continue that state of things would be to produce deadly disease in the Uity before many years. Therefore, in respect to drainage, it was essentially necessary there should be a proper sea-wall constructed in front of the City, so that the sewerage might be carried into deep water.— (Applause.) Inasmuch as the works which would be necessary for bringing up the ships and providing berthing accommodation opposite the City, would, at the same time, do all that was necessary to facilitate the discharge of the sewage, it was a benefit which the City would derive without any extra cost to the country at large. He was sure that the meeting would do what was required of it in backing up the citizens who took the trouble to prepare the Bill and the able report that had been before them for some time, and would, urge the Provincial Government to take immediate steps to carry out one way or another the improvements there suggested. Mr C. S. Reeves, MiP.C., had great pleasure in seconding the resolution. If they looked back upon the years gone by they must all,condemn themselves for having mis-

appropriated one of, Nature’s greatest gifts. They must bear in mind that Nature designed nothing in vain, The Creator pf the Universe had placed nothing on earth without a use and a purpose. Now, let them ask themselves for what purpose was their harbour bestowed upon them ? . He said, and he did not think any one who had reflected upon the matter would contradict him, that it was jheatowed for the purpose of bringing the shipping up to town.— (Sear, hear, and a laugh). There could be no doubt that if this were done, they might.look for great results, and it should be their determ natiou to see this matter carried through. It would not only have the effect of cheapening goods to every person in the Province, but it would

also have the effect of preventing a second line of railway being constructed to Port .This was one point of view from which this' matter 7 , should 'be looked at. Another thing to be remembered was, that in all shipping of goods there was a certain amount of breakage, and a great de(d could be saved in breakage alone by adopting this scheme. If they had taken the interest manifested by. the meeting before , the Port Chalmers* Pail way was made, be believed that they would now bare the largest ships in port lying at Dunedin. They were warranted in assuming this when they found, on calculations based upon the best scientific opinions obtainable, that it could be done at a reasonable expense, and that it would turn in an absolute profit on all the outlay. They had commenced this agitation, and let them keep to it. Let them put their shoulders to tbe.-.wh^el—united in.heart, in mind, and .in action—and bring the matter to a successful issue.—(Applause). The resolution was put, and unanimously agreed to.

The Chairman then called upon Mr Keith Ramsay to move the nexc resolution. Mr Ramsay said doubtless there were a good many advantages to be gained both by Uanedin-and by. the whole Province in carrying out the proposed harbor improvements. The providing of a and sufficient outlet for the sewage of Dunedin was a matter the importance of which he did not think the citizens could over-estimate. And believing that tlm deepening of the harbor could effect that object, he had great pleasure in proposing the following resolution

yjThat the urgent and, growing requirements of the City of Dunedin in 'the matter of sewerage demand that steps should be immediately taken to deepen the Upper Harbor. . . v As the question of underground drainage had occupied attention for many years, it might not be out of place to say something on the subject. Ten years since the attention of the Provincial Council was directed to the sanitary condition of the City, and the subject was deemed to be of such injportance' that a Sanitary Commission was ap • pointed to inquire into the matter. Af er considering the reports furnished to them by several engineers and medical men, the Commissioners came to the conclusion that tbe only, remedy was,' the construction of underground drainage. To anyone who perused the reports it must seem ;surprinng that the Commissioners should come to that conclusion, as, without a single exception, the engineers and medical men wore of opinion that, in the then condition of the harbor, it would be very unwise, in fact, absolutely dangerous, to drain the City iiltb it. - Although unanimous on that point, they seemed to agree that were the Harbor deepened, and the sewage at once taken into deep water, the danger would be, to a great extent, removed. Mr Balfour, whose sympathies led him to consider.the Ocean Beach as the proper outlet

for tHe sewage, took 'what might ' be deemed to be a practical 'view of the question, namely, that the Harbor of Dunedin would be ultimately the receptacle :of the sewage, and, to use his own words “The sewage would be at once exposed to the action of the tidal currents, and the dissemination and minute subdivision of the sewage matter would render it comparatively innocuous.” Assuming that this opinion was generally concurred in, and with the knowledge that an extensive system of underground drainage had been initiated, it was of the utmost importance to the citizens to use every effort to have the harbor deepened before that system was further extended. Mr Mirams’s report on the system of underground drainage lately initiated, provided not only for the efficient drainage of every street, but also for working into every system of harbor improvement or deepening, that might be suggested they would have achieved a great deal i in the course of a few years they could drain the City into the harbor without injuring anybody. They were all impressed with the importance of Dunedin, and were anxious to make it the most important city in .New Zealand, but they ought to be equally earnest in endeavoring to make it the healthiest city, - (App ause.) Mr Barnes had great pleasure in seconding the resolution. H ad the merchants taken the same active part five or six years ago as ■ hey do now, L2U0,000 would not have been thrown away on railway works. He was I proud of himself when he found some of

j their greatest merchants were now of the opinion he had expressed five years ago.— (Applause.) W hen .they took into consideration the fact that it now costs over L 20.000 a year to send their goods backward and forward by the railway, they must be convinced that it would be far better to spend that money in paying the interest upon the amount /to be borrowed for deepening the harbor. The sooner they had the harbor deepened the b-tter it would be, nob only for Dunedin, but for the Province at large. Let them take the same steps as were taken

in Melbourne, and Dunedin would soon be the finest city in New Zealand. Wby should they not have their ships, their goods, and their immigrants brought up to Dunedin instead of to Port Chalmers ? They must all agree with him that Port Chalmers could never be a town like Dunedin. —(Laughter.) It would cost ten times the amount to make room for warehouses and stores at Port Chalmers—to fill up the harbor and lower the hills—than it would to deepen the channel right up to Dunedin, He had fought for drainage for eight or nine years, and he was glad, that the City Council were now going on with the work. What if this harbor improvement did cost a paltry L 200.000? —(Laughterand applause.) They could spend ;that amount, and save the expenditure of another LIOO.OOO or L 200.000 upon a second railway to Port Chalmers. The resolution was carried unanimously. Mr f*TOOT, M. P.C , then came forward to move the next resolution. He pointed out that the resolutions already passed by the

meeting yv<?uld be meaningless unless the resolution ha was about to propose, or one similar to it, was carried. So far as the first resolution was concerned, it simply meant that the trade of Dunedin should be encouraged. The second resolution meant, briefly,.-;that the people of Dunedin, and he might also say the people of the Province, should look a ter the proper drainage of the City of Dunedin. Then this third resolution which he had to propose pointed out how those two objects were to ,be .carried out, namely, by providing a deep-water channel might be urged against this proposal, and he would try to deal with one or two of them. course, he expected that his friend Mr M'Dernnd would bring forward some strong objection, and he would have a right to reply to them afterwards. First, it may be said, “You have got a railway already; why do you wish to have a deep-water channel—why not use the faci-

litres you have?” In answer to that he would first say, that if the Port Chalmers people had allowed the Port Chalmers railway to be a railway to the Port and nothing else, and did not ask that this railway should be a part of the Grand Northern Trunk Railway, possibly there might be some force m the objection. He believed; it was with the wish of the Port Chalmers people that the railway was made a part of the main trunk line of railway. That the railway could never remain useless, because it was the only connecting link between Dunedin and the northern part of the Province—(hear) —so that wholly disposed of the objection. He thought every person—even those most strongly opposed to this system of harbor improvement—would admit that some dredging is necessary ; so that after all the real quescion was ‘‘How much dredging should be done . (Hear.) With refe/enceto the proposed deep-water channel, anyone who read the report would be of opinion that that was the only system for utilising the harbor of Punedin. Therefore, seeing that the meeting had agreed that the trade of Dunedin should be encouraged in view of the strong efforts now being made by other Provinces ; and that the sewage of the city should be attended to—the only way to carry out those resolutions was to provide a, deep-water channel. All the engineers agreed that the work could be earned out. and at no large coat. Mr Thompson was of opinion that L 70,000 would be sumcient to bring ships drawing 20 or 21 feet up to Dunedin wharf. If that could bo done he did not see why they should not first urge upon the Provincial i Council—although they might ultimately have to go to the General Assembly for borrowing powers the desirability of makmg a deep-water channel up to Dunedin. The resolution was as follows : That the providing of a deep-water channel Up j u J V mecim “ the cheapest, most expeditious and best way of unceasing the facilities for the transit of goods at low rates, while it will at the same time provide for the sewage of Dunedin,

[ I’he rest of our report is held over. ] Mr M'Dermid proposed the following amendment;— ° That, in order to give effect to the first resolution, the Government be requested to brine before the Provincial Council, during the approaching session, the desirability of reducing the freight on the Port Chalmers Railway to Is per ton, or running it free altogether—as, in the opinion of this meeting, this would be providmg for Dunedin the cheapest, the most expeditioue, and the best way of increasing the facilities,for the transfer of goods, and at lower rates.

Mr G. Bell moved and Mr Prosser, seconded the fourth resolution as follows That the bringing of every vessel that enters Otago Heads up to Dunedin to load and discharge, is not only desirable and practicable, but will produce,a revenue which will, from the hrst, more than pay interest on the cost of construction, and will ultimately' repay itself. Mr Larnagh moved and MrR. B. Martin seconded the fifth resolution as under ■

That this meeting endorses generally the recommendations contained in the report of the Committee for deepening the Upper Harbor, and respectfully requests the City Council and the members for the City in the Provincial Uouncil and General Assembly to see to it that immediate steps are taken .to carry out these recommendations, and reappoints the existing bub-uommitt«e to co-operate with them in the matter.

Mr Creighton, M.H.R., moved as the sixth resolution* which'was seconded by Mr R. Wilson, and carried

an influential deputation, to consist of the General Committee and other citizens, be appointed, along with the City members and the Corporation, to wait upon his Honor and the Executive, to urge upon them the desirability ef proceeding with the work at once in order, to save tune; and for this purpese that an appropriation be obtained from the Provincial Council, say of L 50,000 (to be repaid by the Trust, when fully constituted), so that the necessary surveys, plans, and specifications ■may be at once proceeded with, under the ■supervision of an engineer; appointed for the purpose, and that tenders may be called for and accepted without delay. And also to urge that with a view to the money being borrowed on the best terms, the Province borrow and lend it to the Trust on the security of the harbor rates.

Mr Waltbr, in a short speech, moved the sixth resolution:-

That the best thanks of the community are due to the engineers who furnished the Uomt.he, val " able information on which their report is based ; and that the Sub-Corn-mittee who drew up the reports which have been published be also thanked for their services.

Mr H. S. Fish, jun., seconded it, and it was earned nem. con.

A vote of thanks to the Chairman bi ought the proceedings to an end.

At 1.30 this afternoon, the Mayor headed a deputation of over twenty gentlemen, and presented to the Superintendent the resolutions given above. In the course of the discussion that followed, his Honor said that before the Government would be warranted ;in entering upon such a large undertaking, it was necessary thataccurate surveys andbor*

ings should be taken. With that view they would place Ll.Boo on the Estimates to acquire the necessary data. With regard to bringing in a Bill to constitute a Harbor Trust, the Government had decided to submit the whole matter to the Provincial Council, and would be guided by the result of the deliberations of that body on the subject. At one time he was himself inclined to believe in a Trust, but on further reflection he questioned very much whether a Trust would can y on the work with greater facility or so economically as it would be by the Govemm>nt. (he

Works department could not possibly undertake the work of turvey. That the Government would promote in the General Assembly the necessary legislation to borrow the money to carry on the work ; at all events, he would as a member of the Assembly. The boring-rods would be placed at the Committee’s disposal; but the Government could not undertake to have borings taken in time to lay before the Counci this Session. He should say, if the Committee could get'an engineer of standing to make the borings, the Government would be willing to avail themselves of his services.