The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1901. THE HARBOUR BOARD ELECTION.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXXV, Issue 33, 11 February 1901, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1901. THE HARBOUR BOARD ELECTION.

ISSUES BEFORE THE RATEPAYEES. Ths] burgesses and ratepayers of the oity and district of Nelson will be called upon on Wednesday week to elect their first Barbeur Board, and the duty devolving upon them is of the gravest importance. There are very many candidates, and more than usual interest is being taken in the election by the residents. Whether the plethora of candidates is an advantage or otherwise is a question which need not be considered. There may be a wider range of choice in consequence of so many seeking the honours ; bnt it is beyond doubt that in the final issue the votes may be so distributed as to secure the representation of the minority rather than of the majority. # * * The issues which the electors have to consider in casting their votes are simple enough when divested from their obscuring environments. The Harbour Improvement Act was devised after the Government, by consent of the residents, had procured two reports from competent civil engineers on the best means of making Nelson Haven a permanent harbour capable of receiving large ocean-going vessels, and permitting them to enter and leave the port at any state of the tide. There was an essential difference in the recommendations of the two engineers, but the one who reported on tho conclusions of the other did not say that those conclusions were not feasible. He merely suggested that the entrance in the Boulder Bunk should be at some point other than that recommended, and the reports of the two expe: ta differ from each other just and only just in those detaihvon .which every t« o reports of experts are v bonnd to differ. The Government, then, adopted as the basis of the Act the recommendation of the first engineer appointed, that is to 3ay, Mr Leslie Reynolds. * * # By the nature of the Act, however, the anal decision does not rest with the Government or with the Harbour Board but with the lalepayers. That is to say,' jo far as we can see, the choice is limited v> the adoption or the rejection of Mr Leslie Reynold's scheme as a first step by he consent or otherwise of the burgesses md ratepayers of the three boroughs and ,he county to a proposal to borrow money mfficient to carry out the recommendations. Afterwards, should the vote be dverse to the raising of a loan, the quesion of placing before the ratepayers the >lher scheme, (that of Mr Napier Bell) nay be considered by the Board and Gore nment. But at present it is nndertood that when the poll of ratepayers in egard to raising a loan secured on the c venues of the Harbour Board subeidies arnings and rateage is taken, it will be n the oasis of accepting or rejecting Mr jeslie Seynold'o proposal to cut a chanoU *ome distance west of the Lightouse. to dredge to a greater or less exent. and to depend on the influx of tidal 'ater by the new channel to establish a ' aily scour, reducing to a minimum the j mployment of dredges onoe the prepara- 1 >ry dredging has been done. ' * * * I 1 These issues are not for decision by the I ' arbour Board. They are to be settled I J v the ratepayers, not by the poll to be I ' i,ken ou Wednesday week, but by a vote i a future occasion on the question of a an. The Harbour Board is not being * Beted as a body of civil engineers, but as * i administrative local body to give 1 'ect in the most businesslike and econo- i1 ical way to the recommendations of ex- * rts and to look after tha affairs of the d

arbour just as a Municipal Councils aoks after' the affairs of a borough or rei ounty. The latter body employs ex- pu >crts by whose advice it is gu ; dedinthe onstruofcion of roads, etc. Whenever uch a local body attempts to deviate m rom or tinker with the^plans of engineers of here is generally confusion and trouble, 1 H md it may be said that more than half I tii :he mistakes made in municipal matters ire traceable to such deviation and tinke'ing. The lesson should be taken to gi heart by the Nelson Harbour Board just yi about to be erected into a local body. It ir must not tinker with the plans of harbour iv improvement ultimately to be put into C operation. As a body it can know no- n thing of marine engineering None of c its members will be chosen because of I special qualifications in marine engineer- I ing. Any engineer it may appoint as an a executive officer should also be st ictly a and straitly limited to administration i within the broad lines of the original 1 scheme adopted. This is a very vital c issue of the future — for on this point re- t volve half the troubles and difficulties 1 amid which New Zealand Harbour Boards havo floundered and are still floundering. 1 * * # Finally, it is common falk, in the • country d'stricts at least, that some of the Candida' es, though standing for a Harbour Board, are in reality opposed to any bub the most temporary and inexpensive improvements to the port and its I entrance. In fact, the policy of theso candidates is said to be virtually pledged I to themselves and to their supporters to oppose the levying of any harbour rate involved by the expenditure of a substantial loan. If there be any truth in these rumours, it seems strange lhat men should seek election to a local body with the fixed intention of rendering that body practically inoperative. The ratepayers, of the country at loast, in casting their votes, should bear in mind certain facts in regard to the preeent harbour, and to the circumstances which precipi I ated the passing of the Harbour Improvement Act. The Pilot reported just 2} years ago that the entrance was Bhoaling, and it was well known that vessels of ordinary draft had their keels in silt when nearly finished loading at the wharf. The occasional detention for hours outside of even Buch light-draught vessels as the Union Company send to Nelson is also a serious matter, affeetiDg the general average of prices as between consumer and importer. In fact, the necessity for timing arrivals and departures on the basis of Nelson being a tidal port rather than a harbour has a very markedly adverse effect on trade generally, especially in relation to the distribution of goods retail. The general average on freights is calculated on the consideration of detention, or the timing of arrivals and departures to soit tides. This Lhe importer has to pay in bulk, while it does not greatly affect freights on small consignments to individual consumers. Moreover, the freight on goods ordered retail say from Wellington is usually paid by tho retailer there The result is that many articles can be purchased by local residents by letter from Wellington or elsewhere at prices apparently cheaper than those charged at Nelson. Whether this is a fallacy or not is not the point. The fact remains that a great many orders which should be placed locally go away from the city j and district, and thus there must be a greater or toss diversion of legitimate trade. When one reads in the Nelson Mail of September 1 th, 1874, that "H.MS, Blanche arrived at the outer anchorage last night, and entered the harbour this morning," carrying six guns and a steel ram 18ft in length, and with a tonnage of 1800, and compares that coni dition of tbe harbour with the present, i he is forced to the conclusion that unless something is done, and done very expeditiously and well, there soon may be no harbour or port worth administering by a i Board or any other body. * * * The point then is, not so much that a greatly improved harbour is an essential to the progress of the district, but whether, if inaction carry the day, 1 Nelson will have a port at all in the near " future. To maintain the present entrance in anything like efficiency will cost as much in the lung run, and nothing to show for it, as the most costly permanent harbour improvements. The question, 5 then, for the country residents especially, to decide is whether a policy of inaction is or is not suicidal. For the rest, the electors may be left to do the best for themelves on Wednesday week by choosing 5 men whom thfey can trust to conserve > and promote the interests of the city and 1 district — not as ready-made amateur engineers each with a best aod only harbour improvement scheme in his head, but as the first members of a Haibour j Board on whom will devolve the onerous task of shaping the future destiny of the province.

i Montgomery's Bioscope and Concert Company will appear at the Theatre Royal on Thursday and Friday next. Among the living pictures one in particular is a Spanish bull fight from start to finish. Army life, or how soldiers are ' made, is a series of films taken at the suggestion of the War Office authorities and Sir Evelyn Wood, with a view to encourage enlistment. "Cinderella, or the story of the glass slipper," is shown in twenty-five different scenes and tableaux. Paris Exhibition scenes, films of the 1 ransvaal and China troubles, and a number of miscellaneous subjects, comic and otherwise, are also exhibited, Mr Montgomery, a tenor, will sing patriotic and popular songs, appropriately illustrated, and Mr Harry Hall will give comic songs and sketches. A meeting of the Committee of the Nelson A. and P. Association was held r at Richmond on Saturday evening, the ' President, Mr J. Morrison, presiding The President and Mr W. D. Harkness, i as tbe Association's delegates, gave some > information regarding several subjects ,' dealt with at the late Conference of As- , eociations at Wellington. The President , said that his motion to requost the Government to issue free railway passes to judges had been carried by the Conferi ence, but the Minister for Railways had , intimated that he could not grant the request. Mr Harkness stated that the Conference had decided to approach the Union Company on the question of reducing the charges for carrying stud stook. He had also raoVrfd to the effect that members of any affiliated Association exhibiting at the show of another Association receive ihe privileges of such Association. This motion, however, was opposed and was altered to apply only to prize-winners. Some discussion arose in respect to tbe Noxious •Weeds Act, and Mr Field gave notice to move that at the first general meeting of the Association after the annual meeting the Act be discussed. Some of the members present said that it would cost the Government a vast sum to carry out tho Act in regard to the Crown lands. The Secretary (Mr Glen) submitted a rough draft of the annual ba'ance sheet, wbich showed that the receipts, including a balance of .£452 from tha previous year, amounted to .£1283, and the expenditure to £1111, leaving £172 to the credit of the onrrent account. The assets amount to £871 and the liabilities are nil. The President said that the Associatkn had paid ,£321 in prize money and £34 legal expenses in connection with the purchase of Richmond Park, The Park had earned .£76 during the year, or more than tho interest payable on it. The meeting then terminated. The quarterly meeting of the Loyal Nelaon Lodge, 1.0. G.T., was held in the Foresters' Hall on Friday evening last, The reports of the officers disclosed a prosperous state of affairs. Bro. J, Bartlett, L.D. (assisted by Sisters Agnes Duncan and B. Goodall) installed tbe ■ officers as follows :— Chief Templar, Sis. E. Bartlett: Vice Templar, Sis. Maud i Nock; Secretary, Bro.|G. Hinton.- Finan- i cial "Secretary, Bro, E. Richards; Treasurer, Bro. R. Watson; Chaplain, Sis. Mrs Hinton; 'Superintendent Juvenile ] Temple, Sis. Mrs Muncaster; . Marshal, Bro. A. Hinton ; Guard, Bro. Frere ; « Deputy Marshal, Bis. . ary Nock; Past i Chief Templar, Bro. G. Hinton, senr. ; ] Sentinel, Bro, J. Rankin Bro. T. Vercoe was elected regular representative and Bro. Bartle't alternate representative to Grand Lodge. Bro. Thos. Scott was recommended as Lodge Deputy for the ensuing year. A vote of thanks was passed to Bro. Jackson, who has Ibeen Superintendent of the Juvenile Temple t for some years, and he tvas elected an f< honorary superintendent. A vote of n (hanks to tho press Jfor publishing re- v ports of the meetings concluded the a business. Next Friday a social will be ie held, the refreshments to bo supplied by ;he members. The sacred concert given in the Theatr ast evening by the Deaf and Dumb and 3li nd Entertainers was well attended' Lne entertainment included some vocal re terns, a horn solo, and an exhibition of of he means of communication between the D r ieaf and dumb, £

The Westpoifc Borough Council has eeivod offors of 13 sites for the propos9d iblic abattoirs for that town. A.n address to the ratepayers of Wai ea County, by Mr W. N. Franklyn. one t'.a candidates for a seat on the Nelson arl-onr Board, appears in our adversinj columns to-day. Mra Stott, of the China Inland Mission, Live two addresses in the Baptist Church . rrt' rday. The addresses were full of \^ icident of missionary experience, and , ere listened to with much attention. I •ther addresses will be given, as an- 1 ounced, to-morrow and the two following I n ' venings. A meeting in connection with 1 p he Women's Christian Temperance J ™ Jnion has been arranged for o-morrow, J ,nd on Sunday next Mrs Stott will give * ,n address at Richmond. Mrs Stott, who s a fluent speaker, has written and pubisheil a book dealing with her long jj ixperienco of mission lfe. The publication has had a most successful Bale, it Deing run into three editions. ? It is said in connection with the Har- . bour Board election that a deputation , waited upon a citizen of Scotch extraction, asking him to become a candidate. c . He replied in the back shop as follows : - . "Gentlemen and fellow-citizens — When my country calls me I would fain obey, l but the wife says I maun stay an' mind the shop; eao ye'U jist hae rae try an put up wi' sjmo o' the or'nary sort in ihe ' meantime. I feel prood o' the honor ye hae done yersefs in askiog me to stan' ; but in the meanwhile I maun be content wi' a seat at hame." The universal provider was also of |the same opinion ; and instead of be ng in the turmoil of an election Lock thinks it more important to go on selling go-carts, prams, Atlas sewing machines, all kinds of furniture, crockery, carpets, &c Everyone who wants high-class or ordinary strong furniture rash to L ick's. Thoyknow he has the beat stocks in .Nelson, and they can save money through buying at Lock's. "We ask ourselves,' says Erasmus Wilson, one of the first authorities of tho day, " not what disease will be benefitted by the Vapour BatL, but what disease can resist its powers ? " The "Quaker " Turkish Bath is the most modern and perfect bath cabinet made; price 30s and 355. F. C. Pcttit, V\ aimea Road, agent. — Advt. New Zealpnd's athletes at the front In ci icket, football or the hunt ; He shines in any sport or game, His prowess has a world wide fame, But training has its ustal ills, As over heat that causes chills ; j Then don't delay, but health secure, By taking Woods' Great Peppermint CureWade's Worm Figs, the wonderful Worm Worriers, never fail for adults or children. Price, Is.