Hawkes Bay Herald. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1879. COMSTITUTION OF THE HARBOR BOARD.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5520, 24 October 1879, Page 2

Hawkes Bay Herald. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1879. COMSTITUTION OF THE HARBOR BOARD.

There are many in Napier who trace, with more or less reason, tke present position of our Harbor Board to its peculiar constitution* Tkere are three members nominated by the Government, five are elected by the governing bodies in the country districts, three by .tke Borough Council, and the Mayor is an ex-officio member. The nominated or country members may be very good men, but on the other hand they are just as likely to be good-natured gentlemen, understanding the growth, of wool very much better than the management of bar harbor^, and knowing very little of the real requirements of shipping. One or tYrO practical men generally come from outside, but as a rule Boards constituted in this manner always fail to give satisfaction in their working. The vagaries of the Dunediu Harbor Board are known of all men, and our Napier Board will soon, unless some change occurs, acquire an equal notoriety by being compelled to seek public aid in some shape to get out of its difficulty.

We believe it would be "best lor the interests of the town and of the province if tlie present Harbor Board were abolished altogether, and the management of llie harbor handed over to the Borough Council, every member of which is elective. If the townpeople had really controlled tlie harbor affairs, we do not believe that we should now have been in such sorry plight. It was virtually the country members who caused between £60,000 and £70,000 to be spent on the present useless works ; through, these works we are landed in our present difficulty. These who arc responsible for this expenditure say that tlie harbor works fulfil all that was expected of them. If so, it was the height of extravagance to spend so much money on securing such a small result. They might be excused for an error of judgment, but there is no excuse for the recklessness which would spend £60>000 over works which are little better than nothing, and cause almost prohibitive harbor dues to be imposed in order to pay for these works. The burgesses of Napier arc chiefly interested in getting a pi'acticable harbor here, and with a wholly elective Board they would be able to make their will felt. Feeling that the management of the harbor was really vested in their hands they would take a more active interest in the proceedings of their representatives, and this would, we feel sure, lead to better administration.

By vesting the management of the harbor in the Borough Council there would be a great saving in the cost of administration. Our Borough officials could in many cases take upon themselves the work for which separate officers are now paid handsome salaries, and, though something must in fairness be paid for the increased work thrown upon our town officials, there would still be a considerable saving. We believe also that our Councillors would, instead of sitting with crossed hands and seeing the remnant of the loan vanish in current expenses, ascertain whether it could not be used in improving the harbor reserves so that they might produce something more than the present miserable revenue.

The chief objection to the proposal to take the harbor into our hands is that if the town had the sole management, it would also have to bear the whole deficit in the yearly expenditure. This is a tangible objection which would undoubtedly secure considerable opposition to the plan ; but it should be considered whether there is really any necessity for this deficit — whether, in fact, the receipts might not be made to cover expenses. We are not alone in believing "that this might be accomplished. At first no material increase of revenue could be expected, but half of the money still left in the bank might, if properly expended, produce a heavy rental from the Board's reserves. The other half could bear the loss on the annual working of the harbor xintil the expenditure on the reserves gave a substantial return. If half the Whare-o-maraenui reserve could be made a little less subject to floods than at present it would, cut into small sections, bring in a considerable revenue. A few years might see £1000 a year realised from this source, instead of the £100 which the reserve now brings in. In other ways, doubtless, proper management would result in increased receipts, and economy in administration might save the balanco of the yearly discrepancy between the receipts and expenditure now reported. But even if the town had to bear something of the cost we believe that it would be wise to take over the harbor, for in other ways it could be made to give an indirect if not a direct return for this expenditure.