PATEA HARBOR BOARD.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXII, Issue LXII, 5 May 1911, Page 6

PATEA HARBOR BOARD.

MONTHLY MEETING

The first monthly meeting of the Patea Harbor Board as at present constituted was held on Thursday. Present: Messrs. G. V. Pearce, M.P., E. L. Barton, McKenna, and Captain Johnston. Apologies for absence were received from Mr Bennett and Mr Corrigan. The Chairman explained why the meeting had been postponed. Last Monday Mr Corrigan was in the South Island, and it was hoped that there would be time for his report on the -dredge to reach the Board to be dealt with that day, but Mr Corrigan had been unable to land upon arrival, and now, though his report had been posted, it had not yet reached the Board. Another reason why the meeting was postponed was to give a gentleman who wished to. interview them in connection with ironsand an opportunity to be present.

Mr McKenna entered a protest against the meetings being continually postponed, to the inconvenience of those members who had other meetings to attend to.

Captain Johnston proposed that Mr Pearce be appointed chairman for the ensuing- year.

Mr McKenna said he would second the Jaaotion, but if either Mr Bennett or Mr Christensen were present he would have supported one of . these gentlemen as chairman. In the first

place Mr Pearce lived some distance away, and then he was a member of Parliament. For these reasons he was not able to give that attention to the

details of the Board's business which

was necessary. If the meeting had been held on Monday both Mr Christensen and Mr Bennett would have been present. The motion was put and carried. Mr Pearce, in accepting, said he did so with mixed feelings, for though he took .a deep interest in the Harbor Board, and was prepared to devote a good ideal'of his time to it, he was, as Suggested by Mr McKenna, sometimes fully occupied with his Parliamentary duties, "and had Mr Bennett

been present he would have been prepared, .to support his nomination, .^though he would oppose Mr Christen- ' f ?n, who was the Government nominee. If at some future time Mr Bennett .";■ Svas willing to take the chairmanship he would support him. He pointed out that during the time he had.held office as chairman the exports had in^ creased from £37,000 to £657,000. ~:.'.' Mr McKenna: You don't take all the.credit for that, do you? The Chairman: No. It was to be attributed mainly to'the prosperity of ' - the district, but he did take some credit for the fact that during the time he, had been chairman the port had, progressed more than for any , other period. • ' - WHARFAGE CHARGES* : ' The following report was presented by the committee which interviewed the ■; Minister of Railways on the qwestimi 'of •■■■..; wharfage: ''Ycur committee interviewed the-Minister on April, 25 and met with a . .Conciliatory reception^ the Minister,; in> "spite of the telegrams, agreeing at;.once . to continue working ships as usual and collectml; wharf age on. weights subject ~to a slight 'advance in charges' for. landr ;.f^;;ifig cargo into- the shed. On it being" sug'i gested to him that it would .save the

trouble if he'would agree ';^;;to;the.Board collecting its owr*wharfage agents tf the ships* the Itepart-. r'^Mi'eht agreemg to allow such wharfage ; jrfco.;-be; added on each' consignment, to- ; ■g'ether^ with .freights, the Minister ; . thought it would suit-very well,, but de- "■ cidecl to withhold his>final decision until . he'; discovered if such a course would be ;:- ; jjn consistent with the . general arrange- }.-.' M'eiits of the Department, whicli was asvseated to and a final answer promised vSjfc-on.-- The chief clerk seemed to be un- /■ der'the impression that £hecourse ..of ■:; collecting by weight had been iri'vogue at £atea for a long time, but it was ■ pro^jpd and pointed out. from the De-: • .partment's returns that such was not the case, and ..he. then stated that it was .." evidently an error on the part of the Patea officials, but this was also disproved from instructions given to the stationmaster some six months ago to in future collect wharfages by weight, but which action was not officially notified to the Board. Your committee then cj-Q-' sider that the main wishes of the Board have^Jjeen more than satisfied, especi- , ally if the measurement system be main'tained'thus: (1) Saving the Department ! ■ trouble ;"• (2) saving the Board altering the by-laws which would be somewhat detrimental and open to disa-greements: (3t) placing the auditor in a better position in checking accounts.—Adopted. ACCESS TO »A RESERVE. ! The Railway Department wrote with reference to the erection of an overbridge'at a locality understood to be between thelß3f and 184 milfe pegs. The approximate cost of a bridge. 15 feet wide, would-be £306, which the Board would, of course, have to pay. If the Board was agreeable levels would be taken at the site and the matter gone -into more definitely. The Chairman said that the Department had made a cutting through the road and upon being approached recently it was stated that they had had j>osf.ession for 20 years and were not responsible. The present position was due to the laxity of the Board in the past and the Board, because of its negligence, had deprived itself of means for legal redress. Owing to this road being cut off one of the Board's endowments, which it served, could only be let to the adjoining owner. ; The whole matter had been placed before the Minister when the deputation was in Wellington recently, and he agreed to assist the Board in getting a £1 for £1 subsidy, ..which was very satisfactory. The Secretary said there was another road giving access to the Board's property. The Chairman doubted, this. and. said the map did not show any such road. It could., however^ be looked, into. THE IRON INDUSTRY.Mr H. V. Bayfield, representing certain gentlemen in the Old Country who are negotiating with the B6ard for the lease of certain lands for the purpose of manufacturing iron, waited cJn the Board. The Board had already prepared an agreement setting forth the condition upon which it would be prepared to lease the areas desired, and M'r Bayfield's object was to get these conditions, in certain particulars, modified. In the first place Mr Bayfield stated he wanted' an option over the iron sands in the district. He Avas not there as a company ■ promoter, but merely to investigate and see what terms could be obtained from the Board. If they were satisfactory an ■engineer would be sent to investigate and report. The conditions from his ■ .point cf view were a .little on the harsh' .-"'■ side,, and lie felt that every encourage- • ment should be given to those \rh:; we're wiHinp; to launch out and spend a con^ side ruble sura of money in establishing the industry. First there was the que£ tion of rent. The Board fi:wd this at -C2OO per annum and he would suggest th_at it be on a sliding scale, starting at £/o ami rising to £175 in seven years, after which it would remain at that

figure. The Board had a lease on the south side of the river and it was desirable that in any agreement entered into when re-letting this land that the iron sands be excluded. Of course he did did not wish to interfere with surface rights, but he suggested that the whole of the foreshore should be leased to his company and in letting the lands on the south side he not only wished all sands to be excluded, but that the terms of the lease should be such as not to interfere with the industry or become a source of offence to it in any way. There was one important clause affecting the future, and the Board would see the possibility of some little difficulty. What he. wanted was that in the event of any extended powers being granted to the Board by future legislation that such legislation would always be subject to the agreement entered into.

The Chairman said the Board could not guarantee against future legislation, but it had been grante dpower to lease, and it was hardly likely that any legislation • would be passed , affecting vested interests.

Proceeding, Mr Bayfield asked that access be given to the wharf and railway,, either by train or cart road, so that there would be no likelihood of them being cut off.

The Chairman said they would have to go the Railway Department for acca'ss to the Railway.

Mr Bayfield said they did not tjrink of constructing a wharf, the present intention being to use that in existence, but he had no authority to speak on this. Taking next the clause relating to "operative activity," he said that those he represented were willing to spend a large amount, but they did not wish, if the industry did not pay, to be bound down to continue operations. •

The Chairman said that by the old agreement a certain sum of money must be spent or the lease forfeited. Mr Bayfield agreed to this. The restriction that the manufactured article must be exported from the Patea wharf was unjust. Naturally the greater part of the manufactures would be shipped from Patea, but in the case of rails, for instance, they would sometimes have to go by the railway. They asked that this requirement should not be made absolute. The figures fixing the minimum output were reasonable enough,- and if the? business was to pay they' wouffi have to do a great deal more than the Board asked. The clause fixing'the wharfage rate at Is per ton should have reconsideration, as this was too much on a manufactured article;. Then with regard to the .increase of rental in the case of renewal. The agreement provided for 100 per cent., arid that was a bit stiff. He submitted that 50 per cent, was a fair thing. The stipulation that £2000 should be spent within two years was reasonable enough, and they were prepared to go beyond' that within the first year. Coming to the crucial point of option, he asked for an bptio.n ~of five months, with one month added if at the end of five months his'people notified the Board that they were prepared to sign the agreement and commence work; Concluding, he urged that, every fair inducement ishould be; given to those who were willing -if necessary to spend a • considerable amount of money in establishing the industry. He asked the Board to come to an early decision on the points;;he had -placed before them, so that he ccfuld "advise his principals by the first mail.

The Chairman said that the matters dealt with would require a lot of .consideration, but he might say at once, as" a general principle; the Board were willing to make liberal concessions* in order to get the industry: started. At 'the. same' time they could not come to "decision at once, as legal advice iCwoiild ■;' have to be obtained, but the Boar,d would no doubt pass a general .resolution if this would meet.the.case; 'Mr ■Bayfield said ho supposed ■- he : would:;have to be satisfied with, that.

"Mr Barton was willing to make some . sacrifices to get the industry established, but he would likeV some assur-ance;-that the. gentlemen with whom they were negotiating would be able to placo the industry on a proper footing.. They should find out who these people were and what capital they had. They did not want a firm or company , with little capital keeping someone else ■ with adequate capital out. . . ■ . .»■,: ,'Tb.e Chairman moved that in the event :of the bona fides of the principals'being satisfactory that the rent be -as suggested, by Mr Baiyfield, the wh^fage to be Island that £2000 ibe suent within two years, or the, lease to'ibe- forfeited, the other matters, referred to to the • favorable consid'eja? taori.^:,.^ ■ . ' ■■ ' ' -. .".. X'■'-',■' o?he Secretary said that they -'were ■ngw;-receiving £25 for the-leases. .Mr Barton said he did not want to , obstruct, and was anxious to help the firm.'but while it was desirable that tho.rent should be.as low as possible at ■first-provision should be made for raising'it should the industry, which would have 13 or 14 miles of sand to deal with, become very profitable. Captain Johnston seconded the motion.

Mr McKenna said that the Board would not only benefit by the rent, but -by-the-increase in imports as well as exports. He believed in maintaining the.1 wharfage charges at Is per ton, and he objected to allowing two years for-the expenditure of £2000/ holding that a certain amount, say £5.00,. should be spent within twelve months; The Chairman ; said that it would take some time to get a start, and at least twelve months should be allowed. He; amended resolution to provide for the expenditure of £2000 within eighteen months from the date the lease is signed, the company to have an option for-'six months, and renewals of leases to be submitted to arbitration. The motion was carried^*REPORTS. The foreman reported the erection of an additional 10 feet to the eastern breakwater, making the total length 410 feet. Only 10 feet had to be added to bring the breakwater to the point recommended by Mr Holmes. It would then be necessary to have- some protection work done, also the remainder ot the concrete bag work on the river side of the wall and the erection of a^ concrete monolith in the end of the wall to better enable it to be distinguished at night. As the supply of stone had given out, up. the river, it would be necessary to make some arrangements for the supply-"of the 250 ' worl- yardS yet needed to complete the The foreman was instructed to make the best arrangements he could for obtaining stone for the completion' of the wall, and the "report was then adopted. The pilot reported as follows:—The channel over the bar is straight bearing S.W. by S. | S. from the lighthouse by compass- with about 12 feet at high water spring tides, and 9 feet at nean tides. The harbor had been sounded three times during the month and the same depth of water found as for Juie two previous months, but on the 2nd of May it was found that a shallow bank had formed inside the v.-alls -about 200 feet from the bar en user] by the flood in the river on April 28 scouring the bank away from abreast of the tide guaee and lodging between the two Avails. With the heavy sea, at the time it had no chance scour out. In the channel from this in-) nr-tMnsc less than lift 6in with 10ft ■showing at the tide guage had been round. There had been 20 arrivals and 21 departures since last report*

and six had gone out on the lights. The Chairman^ in moving the adoption of the report, said that what he ' had expected in connection with the bank of sand had happened. He expressed a doubt whether dredging could be satisfactorily carried out, seeing that they would have to work outside.—The report was adopted. The wharfinger reported everything to be in good order. He asked, permission to remove an old wire fence which was of no further use to the Board, and offered £1 10s for the material. Permission was granted to remove the fence, and the report was adopted.