OUR HARBOR DUES.

Evening Star, Issue 7160, 14 March 1887, Page 3

OUR HARBOR DUES.

TO THE EDITOR.

Sir,—l am often astonished at the way some of our worthy, and what ar 3 called " leading men," ore hurried away into false prem'-acs by interested and sometimes interesting cries. My friend Mr A. 3. Bums presents a notable example of the class referred to. With an entire absence of that judicial phaso of mind which it might have been expected ho would have by this time, he rushes into print, swallows the bait presenteel without as much as asking or ascertaining whether or not there was any hidden hook under it, pens a diatribe against the Harbor Board, of which he was once, I believe, an illustrious, bright,_ and shining light, and oxhausts himself with a panegyric on the far-seeiug acuteuesß of our Wellington friends in having bribed or coerced nature to bestow upon them a harbor that can be more cheaply worked than Otago Harbor. En, passant, I dare say Otago has advantag-B over Wellington in other ways which could easily be set forth, but that would extend this letter to too great a length. To the point at issue at present, viz, the assertion that the Doric and Tongariro pass this port on their present trip, and that the com panies represented by them intend to make Wellington their head quarters, because of the high pilotage, port charges, and towage. I bave taken the trouble to ascertain facts, and present them to Mr Burns for his study and informaton of the public generally. The Tongariro being a mail steamer, no pilotage or port charges are payable at first port of call; therefore none were paid. - On the 20th June ult. she earae into Port ChalnSrs; the towage paid was L 23 6s 2d, and she landed 346 tons cargo and thirty passengers and transhipped 330 tens, shipping 170 banes ef wool and 4 tons cargo and no passengers. On the 4th November ult. she called off the Heads, and landed 12A passengers and their luggage, etc., at a cost of L 52 17s 6d. Had these been distributed from Wellington, it would have oest, say, cargo 10s per to*, ami passengers (at a low estimate), say, L2 per head.

Now for the Doric. Last trip she paid: Pil ,tage, LlO2 7s 4d; pert charges, L 76 15s 6d; towage, L2C 12s Bd. Total, L 305 15s 6d. She landed 173 tons cargo and thirty-three passengers; and shipped—general, 10 tons ; wool, 401 bales; carcasses, 7,325; passengers, none. Now, first, if she had not come here she would not hare got freight on 7,325 carcasses; and second, she would have had to pay on distribution and collection account 10s per ton fer cargo, and L2 per head for passengers. I leave your readers to work out the balance of profit and lots account. The reason for pasting the Port and centralising at Well'ngten must be looked for further afield, and future proceedings, both out and in Parliament, will most probably furnish the key to the change in front. In the meantime the cause of tho Doric and Tongariro passing on this occasion is simply because, I believe, there are no freights for them, merchants and others finding that, like our railways, linked with our public debt, direct steamers are not an unmixed blesiins:: in fact, that they are moie ideal than real. When there are sufficient freights the steamers will call, or others will be found that will do so, and only let merchants decline to have their goods sent by ships, steam or sailing, that will not land them on the wharves at Dunedin, and at once a remedy for what fa complained of will be found. If the Harbor Board can reduce the charges, good and well, and if they could only get their endowment land, now ready to lease, taken up at any thing like fair rentals, I have no doubt they would, but ways and means must be found, and if ships and ship-owners be relieved of a reasonable share of the expenditure of the harbor, then an increase must bo iffade in the charges on goods. Again, if charges are reduced to the direct steamers, then the law requires they- must be made the same to all others, when the Union Steam Ship Company and all other ship-owners would participate. In this letter I perhaps have said enough to suggest matters for thinking over and pondering well, so will not prosecute it further at present, but may, with your permission, return to it. —I am, etc.. OtagO. Dunedin, March 12.