The Star

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XXXVI, Issue 4284, 20 July 1899, Page 2

The Star

Pdblishbd Dail«

SECOND EDITION.

THURSDAY, JULY 20, 1899.

NEW PLYMOUTH HARBOUR.

At Tuesday's meeting of the New Plymouth Uarbour Board the chairman (Mr E. Maxwell) made a decidedly pessimists statement as to the trade of the port. He quoted figures to show that although the district of Taranaki as a whole was progressing by leaps and bounds, the trade of New Plymouth via the breakwater was cot progressing, that, indeed, it could hardly be said to be holding its own. Referring to pa-t incidents he said the port bad been threatened with a considerable loss of trade, and they were told that if the charges were not lowered New Plymouth business people woull establish branches at Waitara. Then the port charges were reduced #by Is per ton, which was just sufficient to turn the tide in' its favour. Yet things were not satisfactory. The whole trouble could be attributed to the railway. The matter had reached this stage : " We had lowered our port charges, and now, two years later,, we found our trade goiog from us. The gain for the past two quarters was merely trifling, while there was an actual failure in 1899, less tonnage being handled than in the corresponding period of 1896. We had, he said, an excellent port — immensely costly, but a good one. It was, perhaps, the best artificial harbour in New Zealand ; if not, it was certainly next to that at Timaru. It had bee a to a great extent full . of sand ; where oie could, two years ago, walk on dry sand there was now accommodation for two steamers. As a matter of fact, we had enough accommodation for an increased number of coastal steamers, provided they came on convenient days- No damage had be&n sustained by the breakwater for years, and instead of being practically silted up there was a clean harbor ; the rates had been lowered ; and yet we were losing our trade. This was due purely to the railway charges ; the railway was killing the port of New Plymouth. The harbor had, up to the end of last year, cost us in principal and interest and land revenue £430,000 ; yet not a copper towards interest or cost had come from the port. It was being killed by the exorbitant charges of a rai way which cost about £20,000." He wanted the people of New Plymouth to realise the fact that if they desired to maintain this place as a port they had to fight. It was not 8s per ton dead weight that v»'as doing the mischief, but 8s per ton measurement. Under v the Jatter charge the freights were in some instances equivalent to 17s 6d per ton dead weight, and in most cases i ran from 7s to 103 per ton. There was no question of fighting Waitara and Opunake. He was interested in Opunake, some members were interested it) Waitara, and others, perhaps, in Patea, but when they were assembled as a board, it was their duty to fight in the interests of their port, and, if possible, devise

some maans of saving ita ttaae. Goods could be brought from Waitara to New Plymouth as cheaply as from the breakwater to New Plymouth, and it was dead against the interests of the latter place to allow this kind of thing to go on. The people of Bahotu, who helped to pay for this port, could get their goods through from Opunake for 178 per ton less than they could through New Plymouth. The Board discussed the matter in a desultory manner for some timp, but no notion was taken, several members wanting further figures before committing themselves.