THE HARBOR BOARD.

Evening Star, Issue 7367, 12 November 1887, Page 1

THE HARBOR BOARD.

The Acting-chairman. of the Harbor Board (Mr J. B. Thomson) delivered an excellent address at the meeting on was the last of the present Board, although the personal constitution is not likely to“beT much altered, the Government having re* appointed their nominees. It was a gOO|i'. idea of Mr Thomson to give a brief retrospect of the work done by the sucefsaiye’ bodies in whom have been vested theTtfnc-" tions of harbor improvements; and the Clear explanation of the objects of such improvement was particularly, happy. “The Urdf-' nance passed by the Provincial Council in 1874 expressly declared the purpose of the then constituted Harbor, Trust, in accordance with the repoft of the Select Committee appointed to consider the question, who stated their conviction the “the pro- “ posal to bring every ship and vessel up to. “Dunedin to load and discharge was not “only desirable but practicable, 1 * and could be accomplished “at a cost remarkably einall “ as compared with the “ to be derived from it, and the direct “and indirect, which will accroe..td /the “whole Province by its accomplishment.*’. This was the definite object of; ; (the original Trust, and has been property, so considered up to this time; in some 1 degree, it is true, it has been thwarted, by a section of the members, who have been so biassed by local influences as entirely to misunderstand tljeir Despite all opposition, however, and-4he> many difficulties—especially those raised by a hostile Government—with which "the) Board have of late years bad to contend, the works have been most successfully prosecuted, with the result that the ships and the intercolonial steamers-now-discharge and the load at the Dunedin wharves, thus' saving time and money to the commercial community, and indirectly benefiting all classes of the community in the Oity and,* pn?-j vincial district. It is especially gratifying to learn from the acting Chairman that there remains sufficient money from the last loan to complete all the works on i hand or to which the Board are committ^d c r The present revenue, however,, is. only* “almost equal,” says Mr ' Thomson to the amount required to meet the permanent charges on the debt, and ibr the maintenance of absolute staff requirements. We must hope that with great care and economy an equilibrium of revenue and expendituxe may be maintained, and thatJti may not be necessary to increase the port charges in any degree. The policy of the Board with regard to new works, as'Mr : Thomson says, must needs be “quiet rest” until the advent of more prosperous times enables the valuable endowments to be utilised for revenue.

There are two or three points alluded to by, the acting Chairman in respect to the wotktt accomplished to which it may be desirable to direct attention, demonstrating, as they do, that in carrying Cut the main purpose, the scope of improvement has necessarily included the Lower as well as the Upper Harbor. Not only has the Victoria channel been made available for vessels of large draught, and the wharfage and shed accommodation at Dunedin extended, but" much has been done at Port Chalraerd! in order to enable the direct steamers jtef . come alongside the wharves. The bulkof. the expenditure during the last few yearshas been in connection with increasing' the depth of water on the bar and maintaining a clear passage at all times of tides, ’ The training wall at the North Head is lit , such fair process of construction that, the contract for the last section 1 of the staging is completed, and this is now out to 4,028 ft, as measured to the . centre of the extreme pier. The rock work • is still to do, and it is estimated will, occupy eight or nine months, at a cost of - about £12,000. The state of the bar has been already favorably affected, and it is confidently hoped there will be farther marked improvement as-the-waltis filledjip. There. is no question front’ these patent nets,' and from the figures by Mr Th6mso»T that the Board have done their work nbtonly well but economically, the cost of the office staff not having been more than 1$ per cent, on the aggregate moneys expended, including revenue and loan. It is especially notable that every penny of the borrowed money has been expended in new worksrepairs, interest, exchange, and all departmental expenses, other than those qou-‘, nected with works having been met out of revenue account.