Foxton’s Port a Paying Concern

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 7193, 27 June 1933, Page 8

Foxton’s Port a Paying Concern

FIGURES SUBMITTED TO BOARD From Our Own Correspondent. As the outcomo of a discussion at the last meeting of the Foxton Harbour Board, tho secretary submitted to a further meeting of tho boaru held yesterday a financial statement covering tho working of tho port for tne month of May. The figures were given as follow.—Receipts: Pilotage £l4 4s, rnward wharfage £l3l 13s 2d, outward wharfage 5s 9d, ships' wharf dues £4, river lighting £7 10s, storago £-< 1-s, overtime labour £1; total £l6l 4s lid. Payments: Salaries £l4 ss, general maintenance and repairs £o Is lid, office and general expenses £o 7s Id, cargo handling (labour) £4l 13s 4d, miscellaneous 14s 4d, interest and sinking fund charges £SI Is Gd; total £146 3s 2d. The figures disclosed a credit balance on the month’s working of £ls Is 9d. In discussing the position rovealed, it was pointed out that considerably the larger portion of the expenditure for the month was the amount of £Bl Is 3d on account of interest and sinking fund. Mr. J. A. Nash, M.P., said he did not think it was altogether fair to debit the shipping account with the whole of this amount, as a lot of the loan money connected with the charge had been spent at Manawatu Heads. It was pleasing indeed, however, to note that in spite of the fact that this had been tho case, the shipping account showed a profit for tho month of £ls Is 9d. In commenting upon the figures, Mr. H. Osborne said that unless he was mistaken, at the last meoting held in P. merston North, Mr. Kellow (Feilding) had made the remark that the keeping of the port open for shipping was costing the board about £9OO per year. That statement was not exactly correct because part of the interest and sinking fund charges should bo debited to the board’s endowments. "I maintain that shipping is the main source of tho board’s revenue," ho added. Mr. F. C. Raikes (Oroua Downs) considered that it was unfair to charge interest on the loan to the shipping account at all. "The board would have to pay the amounts becoming due on the loan whether there was any shipping using the port or not," he said. The chairman. (Mr. J. Linklater, M.P.) said there must be at least a portion of the charge debited to shipping. However, it was very satisfactory to know that the board was showing a credit balance in one account, and particular!. the shipping account. Mr. Raikes: "If there had been no shipping during May, the board would have been at least £Bl to the bad for the month on account of interest alone."

Mr. Osborne said it should be very gratifying to know that the shipping was paying the board, especially as May had been, a bad month and vessels had suffered considerable delays. He urged the board to continue its policy of giving every assistance and encouragement to shipping using the port. Further discussion on tho matter ended in a derision to go further into the matter of allocating a proportion of the annual interest charges to the board’s other accounts.