HARBOUR BOARDS

Greymouth Evening Star, 5 March 1926, Page 8

HARBOUR BOARDS

CONFERENCE REMITS (Per Press Association.) DUNEDIN, March 4. The tenth conference of the New Zealand Harbours’ Association opened this morning, Mr. Loudon (Otago Board) presiding in the absence of the President, Mr. M. Cohen, through illness. The following remits were dealt with: — Dumping of Refuse etc. (Auckland). That sections 236 and 239 of the Harbours Act be amended to provide for "the master or owner of the ship being responsible for the action of any member of the crew.—Adopted. . Garbage shutes on vessels (Auckland): That section 226 (7) of the Harbours Act be amended to provide for the sealing up of garbage shutes on vessels as well as of ash ejectors. —Adopted, « Regulations re accidents and collisions (Auckland): (1) That the words “must sound steam whistle frequently” be deleted in Clause 32, Page 13, of the General Harbour Regulations — Adopted. (2) That the words “licensed ferry” in the second line and “ferry” in the fourth line of Clause 34, Page 13, of the General Harbour Regulations be deleted. —Adopted. (4) That the words “or owner” be added to the word “master” in Clause 36, Page 13, of the General Harbour Regulations.— Adopted. Regulation re motor and other boats (Auckland): That Clause 1 be deleted on Page 25, General Harbour Regulations, No. I.—Adopted.

Inspection and survey of hulks, lighters, etc. (Wanganui): That in the opinion of this conference the Government should undertake the duty of the inspection and survey of ballast boats, tank boats, cargo store, ships and hulks .used within the limits of any harbours, and all barges used in the roadstead of ports for the purpose of conveying cargo to and from vessels lying in the roadstead. —Adopted. Harbour Regulations (Wellington): That the time has arrived when the General Harbour Regulations and the various Government regulations refering to petroleum, explosives, etc., on wharves should be modernised and consolidated, and that the Minister be urged to have this work put in hand —Adopted. Railage on goods (Auckland): That provision be made in Section 226 of the Harbours Act empowering Harbour Boards to make charges for the haulage of goods by rail.—Adopted. , Computation of dues on ships (Napier): That Section 61 of the Harbours Act, 1923, be amended so as to make it clear that the charges imposed on vessels may be computed on the net or gross register tonnage at the option of the Harbour Board., and it is suggested that the following words be added to Clause 61: (1) ‘And it shall be at the option of the Harbour Board to levy, under by-law, all dues on ships upon the net or gross register tonnage,” making the Section read thus: Where any ship is registered at a porjj, in the United Kingdom or any British possession, the amount of tonnage specified in the certificate of

such registry shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be the tonnage of such ship, and it shall be at the option of the Harbour Board to levy, under by-law, all dues on ships upon the net or gross register tonnage. —Rejected. That the Harbour Boards of New Zealand take into consideration the question of all of them adopting the gross tonnage as the basis upon which

to compute charges on ships.—Adopted. * Dues on fishing vessels (Napier) • That Section 78 (E) of the Harbours Act, 1923, be repealed. The section referred to is as follows: Any vessel employed in fishing, sealing, or oyster dragging, and not conveying goods for hire.—Adopted. Collection of Harbour rates (Napier): That after the word “col - lected” in the second line of Section 87 of the Harbours Act, the following words be added: “Or in twelve equal monthly instalments of the total levy or claim made under Clause 85 (1) of the Act, the first instalment to be paid over to the board within thirty (30) days «f the date of the claim above referred to.”—Withdrawn. Collection of Harbour rates (Napier): That all the words after “retain” in the fourth line of Section 87 of the Harbours Act be deleted, and the following words substituted therefor: “A sum not exceeding two and one half per centum only from each monthly instalment of the levy or claim made under Clause 85 (1).”— Adopted. Limitation of Dues on Ships (Napier): That the fifth schedule to the Harbours Act, 1923, be amended

by increasing the limits to which Harbour Masters’ fees, port charges, and pilotage may be raised.—Adopted. Re the Customs Act, 1913, and Labour on Under Cargo (Napier): That Section 22 (1) the Customs Act, 1913, be amended by striking out the first three words in the third line, the words referred to being “the receiption or.”—Withdrawn. Dues on Government Goods (Tauranga): That this Association considers that all Government Departments should be required to pay a portion of harbour dues on goods passed over

the wharves of harbour boards, and especially goods passing over wharves which have not been subsidised to any material extent by Government funds and that the Harbours Act be amended accordingly.—Withdrawn. Declaration re Exceptions from Dues (Wellington): That the proviso to Sub-section 1 (A) of Section 78 of the Harbours Act, 1923, providing for statutory declarations where exemptions are claimed from harbour dues under this sub-section, be made to apply generally to the exemption provisions of this section.—Adopted.