HARBOUR BOARD CHAIRMANSHIP.

Evening Star, Issue 22343, 20 May 1936, Page 8

HARBOUR BOARD CHAIRMANSHIP.

Although there has been a ieeling among at least some members of the Otago Harbour Board that the chairmanship should be a rolling office, there are strong reasons for hoping that tomorrow night, the occasion of the election of the chairman for the ensuing year, the majority will decide that no change should be made at the present stage of the board’s existence. For the record of Mr J. B. Waters in the chair reveals him as a man thoroughly fitted for the position and one who should be given the opportunity to complete any work he may have in mind for the near future. Wholehearted support for the re-election of Mr Waters need not bo interpreted as a slight on anybody who believes himself entitled to an honour higher than mere membership. The fact is that the time for a change is not propitious. There are still problems facing the board which are best handled under the guidance of a man like Mr Waters, who, being unfettered by any other public activity, is able to bring to bear on board administration a directness of action and concentration that are the best conditions for success. In his capacity as a city business man the present chairman is intimately concerned with shipping, and members of the general public who are conversant with his progressive Harbour Board policy during the past year are entitled to expect that, if it is necessary to record a vote to-morrow night, their wish—almost certainly a plea for the status quo —will be considered. After all, the board is not a private concern, whose operations affect only a small section of the community. Its business, although many may not realise it, is of vital interest not only.to the city, but also to the whole province. As evidence of what has been accomplished under the regime of Mr Waters, who has been ably assisted through the confident cooperation of his fellow-members, it is necessary to refer only to the progress made with the works on the Leith and improvements planned for P.ort Chalmers. An outstanding event in the history of the board, however, was the adoption of the chairman’s comprehensive scheme for bringing into uniformity various charges made on goods and ships coming up to the Dunedin wharves. This step, which must have involved much detailed investigation, with due regard to future revenue, promises to have a satisfactory outcome. It provides ample proof that the board as at present constituted is capable of wise administration..