THE HARBOUR BOARD AND A FISH TRADE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVI, Issue 9452, 24 August 1889, Page 3

THE HARBOUR BOARD AND A FISH TRADE.

TO THE EDITOR, Sir,—ln looking over the Harbour; Boards Act I. find that section 132 provides, thafcall vessels engaged in the fisheries will ,Jbe exempt from harbour does. . No doubbdb was the intention of the framers of the Act to encourage the fishing'* industry of New Zealand ; out we find our local Harbour Board imposing unjust and oppressive regulations to compel fishermen to pay excessive landing charges, and also compel them to land ib all at one placethe so-called market. ■ There is no proviskrniin the tariff for the proposed chargeSy.and J question the power of the Board unenforce it if they ever attempt to do so. There ■should be no charge for the landing of fresh fish, nor should there-he any xestrfotion as to' where the fish is landed, .whether fresh or cured; cured fish to pay the' same ra.e of wharfage as any othergoods. Appointing a manager is another absurdity. What will he have to do 1 The proper way would be to lease the market on certain • conditions. The lessee could then let the skills to fish retailers, where the public may go and choose their fish. The jetty is altogether unsuitable for small boats, the piles being- too far apart and the structure>too small. Ido nob mention this as a reflection on " the foreman /-of works, for in this particular case he was restricted to cost. The first cost was to >be £400, but the Board found that that would not* do, and'they doled out a little more, but not-enough to enable the foreman of works to make a suitable jetty for fishing boats., How different is the expenditure when the Board is providing jetties for companies, for instance the North Shore Ferry Company's tee and N0..2 jetty or wharf in connection with the Eight Honrs 5 Mill where the money was lavishly wasted in thousands. The Fish Market is simply forth© accommodation of those who may choose to go to ifrto dispose of their produce. 'The attempt to compel the fishermen to land all their fresh fish at the market, puts me in mind of the proposed regulations or by-la for the Auckland Market when it was built some years ago. All the farmers were to be compelled to go to the market and sell their produce there; heavy fees to be paid, also heavy license fees for their carts, bub the farmers did nob go to the market, they sold their produce wherever they chose, and the City Council did not attempt to enforce their by-laws. Neither will the Harbour Board dare to prevent fish being landed wherever it is most convenient for the fishermen to land their fish. The fisherman has just as good a right to dispose of his fish in any way he-may choose, as the farmer that comes from the country has to dispose of his farm produce.—l am, etc., D. If! McKekzie.