HARBOUR MATTERS.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume II, Issue 30, 18 January 1912, Page 4

HARBOUR MATTERS.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—The articles appearing in the “Hawke’s Ray Herald’’ are too silly to be worthy of criticism. What the board should do without further,delay- was advised by a meeting of workers at Westshore a year ago.— Buy a Dredge. It is amusing to notice how sure some members of the Harbour Board are that they would have bought the wrong type unless they -had experimented with the Whakarire. If Mr. George ’Nelson’s advice had been asked he is far too well informed and too thorough to make any such silly mistake—but the board persists in ig- ■ nt-ring his value, 'because, presumably- some members are afraid of what a section of the public may say if he is engaged as engineer. He is not a good judge of men, but as an engineer he will prove himself to be. brilliant. The position which .must be dinned into the “Herald” and the “Telegraph” until they fear to pretend to be blind is this: Whichever liarbmir is proceeded with, the Inner Harbour has to be maintained because the Breakwater, even if completed, could not accommodate all the shipping now going to the Inner Harbour, and the larger vessels in addition. The present method of maintenance is typical of the. ignorant pigheadedness of the old Breakwater party led by Mr. J. Vigor Brown. The river silt is allowed to be discharged right into the fair way, and thousands of pounds have been spent, in the employment of the J.D.O. digging it out. A proper plant is required to build an embankment to direct its deposits to effectively remove existing deposits to open the channel which the old board scandalously allowed to (remain closed, to dredge out the Breakwater harbour,, which is continually’silting up, and- to complete the improvement of removing the patch in a permanent manner. Small ports like Poverty- Bay call afford to buy a proper plant, yet the illustrious editor of the “Hawke’s Bay Herald” deliberately sets himself to pre vent the Napier Board from doing what is so conspicuously the correct thing, and in bis littleness he refers to the confusion of thought of members of the board. Why does he not take by the hand and help to the front the young party who gave such excellent advice a year ago.--I am, etc., THE N.Z. LABOUR PARTY. Westshore, Jan. 18, 1912.