AUCKLAND HARBOUR BOARD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7785, 3 November 1886, Page 6

AUCKLAND HARBOUR BOARD.

The regular meeting of the Harbour Board was held yesterday. Present :— Messrs. Waddel (Mayor of Auckland, chairman), Messrs. Devore, Winks, Nicool, Henderson, Lamb, Clark, Mays, Owen, Mc~ Kenzie, and Morrin. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed, and list of letters sent sinoe last meeting of the Board was submitted and headings read.

The Stark Commission Inquiry.—Mr. J. P. Kennedy, secretary of the Stark Purchase Commission, thanked the Board for the use of their room, and for the courteous manner in which the Board had studied the wants of the Commissioners. The letter was received.

Boat Shed-at Judge's Bay.—Mr. Roskruge applied for permission to build a boat shed at Judge's Bay, guaranteeing to remove the same when required by the Board to do so. Granted, subject to these conditions and the harbour-master's approval. Towage of Silt. — Arthur Tribe and Co. wrote that when they tendered for towage and discharging of silt punts the number averaged lour a day, and on this the tender was based. Sinoa the contract commenced, the punts filled had only averaged two a day, and the dredge had since been under repair for several days, causing a further consider* able loss. Under the circumstances they requested a return of the deposit which they forfeited on the first tender, the same being miscalculated, owing to their being away from Auckland, and not having opportunity to make the proper enquiries as to the expenses. Mr Lamb moved, "That the £5 deposit be granted," but this was not seconded, and the matter was referred to the Finance and Legal Committee. Pilot Service. The following letter was received from Mr W. Compton in regard to the pilot service, under date 22ud October :

—" Dsar Sir, ln reply to yours of the 20th instant, I beg to state that as contractor for the pilot service the agreement was entered into on the understanding tbat I, as contractor, should take the place of the Board in providing the only pilots for this port, and as 21 days of this month have elapsed, and other pilots appointed by and holding the license of the Board still continue to act in competition with me, this makes it necessary for me to say that, not having been placed in the position contemplated by the agreement, 1 do not consider myself bound by the conditions thereof.—lam,&c, W. Compton." Messrs. Cardinel Sainty and Daniel Robert Cooper wrote under date October 26 ; — "ln sequence to our letter of the 4th, we beg to inform you that we have been carrying on a pilot service at this port, and feel that such service has been done to the entire satisfaction of the nautical public and of your Board. Learning that the service carried on by Mr. Compton has been discontinued, we would ask your Board to, in terms of our letter above referred to, sanction our service by placing us under reasonable bonds for the future fulfilment of the service. We would, however, ask your Board to allow us some small subsidy for the trouble of piloting mail steamers and other vessels that, according to the usage of the port and the pilot regulations, may be exempt from pilotage. We would ask your Board to grant us the use of the pilot sohooner Vindex, for as low a rental as possible, with a purchasing clause, as the vessel we have at present is unsuitable for carrying on the pilot service in an efficient manner." A second letter from the same applicants, dated October 27, was as follows;— ''We have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 20th instant, re pilot certificates, and beg to state tbat we await further communication from your Board in reference thereto." A letter from Captain Cooper, dated October 25, acknowledged receipt of letter, and thanking the Board for granting him use of house for a month rent free. The Mayor said that the matter was of importance, and required attention. The present state of affairs should not be allowed to continue, and he moved, " That the whole matter be referred to the Works and Tariff Committee." Mr Devore seconded the motion, and asked that Messrs. Sainty and Cooper be requested to attend.'

Dues at Devonport.— Wells Brothers, receiving and forwarding agents, applied to be appointed collectors of dues at the Victoria Wharf. — Referred to the Works and Tariff Committee.

Frozen Meat and Storage Company.— The secretary of this company, under date Ist of November, wrote : " Referring to our letter dated the 25th of June last, accepting the Board's offer of the cost of reclamation, I have the honour to state that at a meeting of our directors it was considered desirable that steps should be taken at an early date to settle the amount of the coat of reclamation."—Referred to the Legal Committee on the motion of the Mayor, seconded by Mr. Lamb.

Birkenhead Wharf. — The petitioners wrote in reply to the resolution of the Board that the proposals made were unsatisfactory, and urged that the wharf which they suggested, although long, would lead to a good grade road. Referred to the Works and Tariff Committee, the engineer to submit a rough estimate of the oost of the work.

The New Dredger Dirtmoney.— P. Millar and Thos. Sharpe, engine-fitters, who had been employed on board the dredger, complained of the engineer refusing to allow them Is per day "dirtmoney," which was a common recognised custom in the trade. They claimed for that and overtime £3 6s 4d each. The Chairman said he would like to see this master settled, and moved that it be referred to the Works and Tariff Committee. This was agreed to.

Calliope Dock. —The engineer, Mr. W. Erring ton, C.E., reported that, taking into consideration the unfavourable weather during the last fortnight fair progress had been made with works generally. Reports from the inspectors of works, which were satisfactory, were enclosed. The reports received.

Storage on Goods.—G. S. Cammell and six others, forwarding agents, wrote, asking the Board to reconsider their decision re charging storage on goods detained by the Customs authorities either for examination, gauging, or other purposes. They were informed that storage was not charged by any other Harbour Board under such circumstances, and considered it hard to pay storage when they could not help themselves. The direct and others steamers discharged so rapidly that it was impossible to examine and send away all the goods landed in the time allowed, "and the only concession they required was an extension of time for tour days. The time allowed at present, it transpired, was 48 hours. Referred to the Works and Tariff Committee.

Vindex jchooner. —On the motion of Mr. Niccol, the sale of the pilot schooner was deferred.

! Works and Tariff Committee.— report of this committee was brought up. In answer to an application from the Postal Department, the committee recommended that a site be granted in the bay westward of Calliope Dock for a fumigating house. Re machinery for Calliope Dock, the committee recommended that Mr. Darling be instructed to inform Messrs. Watt and Co. that the Board will pay wages of man now in Sydney during the erection of the machinery, Messrs. Watt and Co. to pay all passage money. In regard to Messrs. Jickell and Co.'s complaint that their contract for ironwork having been read, the committee recommended that Messrs. Jickell and Co. be informed that no ground of complaint had been found, but that tenders would be invited for iron castings, brass, and copper work, contract to terminate on the 30th June, 1887. In regard to wharfage on coal, the committee recommended that the wharfage on coal other than that produced within the provincial district of Auckland be increased to 2s per ton. It was also agreed to inform the Kamo Coal Company that the Board had no need of barges at present. In regard to the letter from the storekeeper, dated 18 October in reference to inconvenience caused by shed having to be closed at four p.m., the committee recommended that an application be made to the Customs department to extend the time for closing sheds on wharves to five p.m. on account of the inconvenience caused by locking up at four p.m., as the sheds are more required when bonds are closed than at any other time. The adoption of the report was moved by the Chairman, but on the motion of Mr. McKenzie the clauses of the report were considered seriatim. The motion re the wharfage on coal was discussed, Captain McKenzie contending that it was not good policy to make this differential rate,' even if they had power to do it. The increase in revenue would be very small, and would neither keep away the imported coal nor increase the output here of the coal pro- \ prietors. The seoretary explained that the increase would mean £341 in revenue if J this rate was levied, but if the rate for local !

coal was reduced to gd loss of £150. Mr. Snail ould *•*« « amendment. "That ttSSj?!? 4 " »» and that other than local coal «« » ***•*. and that the wharfage n%£s V*Z duced to 6d per ton." The «2 f* 1 b 5 lost and the clause of the report w„ m ' nt *»* th ,i he addition of the word. W*! S* tri »d, should not take effect until aft«ri That it 1887." The report as amend 1 as a whole. WM *<loptes Finance and Lkgai, Commit report of this committee submitted the statement of m co ' " I* for payment. In regard to,!!" pUa «* Sir P. Whitaker inWence ft *°» Company's right to water frontal lip o * man's Bay, the committee JeSm Fre «« that the suggestion in the memo beT bat that the road be made wit? ° lM years in place of two years anHiS thr< * Board undertake to excavate the r *£> pany's land for filling for Freeman? n C ° m " such a manner as shown on nl. 7'" approved by the engineer of theßn J tob(S company undertaking ,U respon.Tbfi ?« slipping of earth or damage that » 7 for caused by excavation. The comm-« 7b * recommended that proceedings T * 1,(l forthwith for the recovery of all tllten rent due to the Board.—Th n . 81ri °' adopted. ne re Portw Financial Statement.— st of finances was submitted as foil n * Pavment of Accounts : General « " £575 15s Id, Statement of Fund, T ° m ' account—balance to debit £8060* ii ner *l cash on hand, £54 12s 'ed ■ £BfW« t 4 '' accounts to be paid as above £57* {? ?' ! £8582 0. Id advance from l o , n i ld -' £5000; balance debit, £13,582 0* Id ?**• Account: Balance debit, £11560 7 « balance credit— advanced to eenei-.l . ' £5900 ; on fixed deposit Bank of fc nt ' land, £48,000 : £53,000. atw «* Ferry Jetty.— The Engineer snK lM plans and estimate of cost for the nil "v jetty, 170 feet long and 40 feet S *7 constructed at No. 1 buttress off o street. The chairman said that' in hi„rT 7 vi.it to Sydney he observed that the W at the North Shore there were er V m "\' narrower, and there was a very much srTfc. service to carry on there, and he did* I think so much expenditure was required here. Mr. Niocol pointed out that th M were private wharves. Mr. Mava m j "That the plan be adopted, and teS called for" The chairman pointed out tt this would be anticipating the 1o»q n wished that to be understood ' l?.' Mays said that was understood, but this w » one of the works which could be anticipated «™*J C ?v. eDZe ?° Ve u Maa ame °<lment "That the tenders be not called for until the Board was in a position to do so." Then was no necessity for doing this work in a hurry, until they were in a position to pay to it. Hemoved "That no tenders be called until funds are available. " Mr. Niccoi pointed out that shortly the new boats of the rival com. pariy would be running, and they would require accommodation, tie said there was no necessity for postponing this matter, as the loan would be floated in January. It was finally agreed that the engineer should prepare specifications to be submitted to the Works and Tariff Committee, and ii ap, proved, tenders to be called for.

Channel in Shoal Bay.—The engineer Mr. McGregor, forwarded plans and a report showing how a channel could be dredged leading up to Barry's Wharf, suitable for steamers of a light draft. There wu no engineering difficulty in the line laid down, and the direction was all that could be desired for navigation purposes. A chart was submitted showing the proposed channel. He estimated the cost at £12,000, including a new wharf at Barry's Point, Mr. Mayß moved, "That copieß of the report be forwarded to the Waitemata County Council and the Takapuna County Counoil.' This was agreed to.

Leases.— The seal of the Board wm affixed to certain leases to Mr. J. C. Firth and to the Kamo Coal Company. Steps for Small Boats.— Chairman moved, " That the engineer be instructed to report as to the best sites at Qaeenitreet Wharf for the erection of two or more acts of eteps for the use of small boats." Th« was seconded by Mr. Mays and carried.