THE HARBOUR IMPROVEMENTS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLIII, 8 February 1909, Page 2

THE HARBOUR IMPROVEMENTS.

r ACCOMMODATION OP OCEAN j STEAMERS. WHARFAGE AND DREDGING. \ THE RAILWAY DEPARTMENT „ AND THE BOARD. j In welcoming new members to the [ Harbour Board to-day, Mr Graham, tho 3 Chairman, having first said tbat the har- . hour improvements promised had been f carried out without a rate being levied, i- went on to refer to the question of l dredging the harbour for the accommoi- oation of ocean-going steamers at the r Railway Wharf. Mr Graham said that - the iate Mr Seddon had promised him that ii the Harbour Board carried out e its work the Railway Department would i- carry out its part. But the wharfage im- - provements had be;'n put off and put off. _ and though the extension works had e been Ivgun they were not nearly finishs ed. Big vessels could come ito the harboud, but th<-y could not be bertheil. - The question of .dredging for the accommodation of big steamers at the Railway s Wharf was a very serious question. The I Railwav Department had tried to put s the work in to the Board, but the Board t held that the Railway Department - should do the dredging. In June last f the Board had written to the Govern- *■ ment for a direct answer with regard to - Ihe dredging, but no such answer had been received. An answer evading thc f direct question had come to the Board. >' He brought the matter before Mr HallJones, it being pointed out that on two y occasions the Department had done e dredging at the wharf at a cost of £900. '■ Mr Hall-Jones was satisfied that the (1 Department should do the dredging, and k promised to have the whole matter secy tl.-d, but it appeared that it had been 1C overlooked. At last meeting it was ae- '■ cided that a letter be sent to the Railway e Department, but owin" to the arrival of °" Captains Bone and McDougall to make \ an inspection of the port, the letter was '» not lorwarded. The captains were 111 shown a complete plan of the harbour. ! y They went over thc work, thc Harbour--111 master and his crew being placed at '■? their disposal. Mr Graham met the cap- '* tains later, when they expressed satise faction at what they had seen, and said '? that the actual soundings were even betd ter than shown on the plan. The cap--0 tains further said that their companies' n i steamers could come in even to the pie seut wharf if a certain extent of dredg•J ing was done so that thc vessels could ,J have the whole length of the wharf. ". Even then, the Chairman added, thc y steamers would be 60 feet over thc cud '" of the wliarf. It was the Government's " place to do the required dredging, and '■' not the Board's. The Board had no funds for the purpose, and even if it had, • he repeated that it was not the Board's ® duty to do the work. The Board borrowed money for harbour improvement, '" and not for the wharf. Mr R McKenzie, at a recent meeting, had said that a ' principle was involved in the question of -' the dredging; but the Minister did not '• say what the principle was. Mr Graham s said that the principle was that the Rail- '* way Department had twice done the " dredging at the wharf. If the Board did the dredging required now it would be ' booked for ever to do all the dredging, and that would mean a big undertaking. Some people said that the Board should do the dredging so that ocean-going v -- cels could" come in, and decide on the payment afterwards ; but Mr Graham did not see why the Board should be * expected to do that. The Railway Department got all the revenue from the wharf, aud thc Department should, therefore, do the work. The Premier ." had agreed that as thc Railway Department took the revenue it should spend the money necessary to enable more earnings to be made, and to accommodate all vessels coming into the harbour , Mr Trask said that to do the dredging ' would be one of the worst things the Board could do. There must be a pro- = per and thorough understanding with the Government as to who was to do the work. If tho Board did it it should be paid for it. The Board should not do the work at the request of the Freezing Company and risk getting the money back (1 from the Government. There would not j be much chance of gettiug the money back. He moved that the Chairman go * 0 to Wellington and interview the Minister n of Railways. r Mr Coleman suggested that the MinisII ter be invited to come to Nelson. „ The Chairman acJd tittt the thing was p so plain that thera was no need for the jj Minister to come here. Mr Best seconded the motion, as someu thing must be done. e Mr Talbot said that the first thing to t do was to get an agreement with the e Railway Department with regard to the s work being done. Mr Franklyn considered that the presj sure being brought on the Board to have _ the work done was most unfair. It was e plain that the Department should do the s dredging. Mr Grace could not understand why t the Railway Department demurred. The ,j Department got the profits from the '„ wharf, and should make the wharf and * the surroundings right for the acconimos dation of steamers. The motion was put and carried un- , aniraously. (Mr Millar, the Minister s of Railways, is expected to be in Wel- . lington about the 17th inst.) 1 CAPTAIN BONE'S REPORT. _ The General Manager for New Zea--1 land of the N.Z. Shipping Company has sent the appended letter to the - N'elson Freezing Company convoying tho opinion of thc Company's Marine ■ Superintendent (Captain Bone) on \ tho facilities for berthing ocean ' going steamers at thc Railway Wharf. . Tho letter says: — "Our Marine Su- • perintendent states that the present wharf is 360 feet long, with a depth of 26 feet at low water for two-thirds ■ of its length, shallowing to some 15 feet at tho upper eud, and that it will bo necessary to dredge that portion to a sufficient depth to enable large steamers to lie alongside with safety. . . . Captain Bono does not seo auy very great difficulty iu berthing steamers at the wharf provided care is used and the draft of the steamer is about 18 feet. Steamers will have to be berthed on the last quarter of flood tide, and on no account should this be attempted except under favourable weather conditions. Wo shall be glad if you will see that the dredging reftrred to in Captain Bone 's report is carried out. ' '