OPEN COLUMN.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume I, Issue 10, 28 November 1857, Page 3

OPEN COLUMN.

To the Editor of the Hawke's Bay Herald. Sir,— You will greatly oblige a subscriber by inserting the following from one : who has no personal interest to serve, but i who really has the progress of Ahuriri at • heart. i Much has been said about improving our harbor, but very little written that I am aware of, and as yet nothing done worthy of ; mention. We have, for some time past, ; occasionally heard persons express themselves to this effect : — "We want our hari bor improved ; we want to change the ; courses of the Ngaruroro and Meanee ; we want a dredging machine; we want the "Iron Pot" deepened and widened, and the bar removed, that large vessels may enter."

We with others, much desire to see some improvements made, and a commencement at once set about, but we have yet to learn where it is p. op; ).sed to begin. Some have expressed themselves pretty freely, but we xear rather i iterestedly, and seek for improvements where a very large outlay would be required to eft'ect any good result. We would have some compassion on the vessels' copper, which it is not likely will become thicker by getting continually scraped in passing in and out of the "Iron Pot," and neither will the character of our harbor be improved thereby. It has of late become quite fashionable to anchor here ; in fact, it would appear as if some bewitching influence was exercised to entice them ; and to it they submit — regardless alike of tea; - ing their copper and breaking their ropes. The "Pot" was first entered, by Captain Blair, in the "Esther," if we mistake not, with a view to the greater accommodation of the settlers, which had, prior to that time, met with little consideration from either the ''Salopian" or "Shepherdess" ; and the larger number of the settlers, to prove their appreciation of this accommodating spirit, gave to the good ship 'Esther' their business. Now, however, as nearly every vessel discharges there, the inducement to him no longer exists, and the sooner he, or some one else, points the way to what is really the proper anchorage, the better — that opposite Mr. Torr's. If Jilair adopts this course there would be less danger to the ' scales" of his "Serpe.it." But with reference to improving our Harbor : conduct the waters of the "Meanee" into the channels near Mr. Munn's and confine to that course. Then, if the "Iron Pot" is to be a harbor, it would have to be converted into a "still dock," which would require a very large outlay to effect ; a dredging machine would be needed, and the channels between "Gough Island" and the Pah, aid between the Pah and "Battery Point," would require to be blocked up. Then, a piece from "Guugh Island," and to extend opposite the end of the 'Spit,' which we would suggest should be lined with piles and walled with stones, taken from the "Mussel Bank" outside the entrance. Another piece should extend along in front of Mr. Newton's and the Custom House to the reserve on which Mr. Curling's house stands. It should have two "sluice gates," and these would form a "Lock." Two similar gates would be required at "Battery Point," to admit of the conveyance of goods etc. from that part of the town. The lagoon to the northward of the dock could be partly filled up with what came out of it, and, eventually, a large space might be added to our town ; and one too which we think would be an immense improvement. We fear, however, that our suggestions relative to this part of our harbor will not be deemed worthy of much consideration at the present, but more likely to be worth attention some quarter of a century hence, when the Province of Ahuriri will be able to afford such an outlay, we trust, as would be required. We think the proper harbor of Napier could be improved at a comparatively small expense, simply by running a long wharf, or a series of what may be termed T wharves, from Mr. Torr's hotel to the Zinc house, and about 40 yards out from high water mark. By this means vessels at high water would have about 8 feet, and 5 feet low. Four mooring buoys complete for off mooring would be required to keep vessels from the wharf and to haul them into the stream by ; and when sufficient means could be spared, and our trade required it, a channel could be made through the sand ridges between the "pumice stone house" and the mud flats. This done, a fleet might anchor between Mr. Alexander's and Captain Carter's. It might also be worthy of consideration whether a channel could not be cut through the "bar" (which banks up in winter and deepens in summer) by means of a harrow, or something of the kind, with bent claws, attached to a steam tug to work it in and out, to loosen the stones and sand, which the current might then possibly remove. These channels once made, the current would always keep them open. I am, etc., Neptukf.