New Zealand Times. SATURDAY, JUNE 27, 1874.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4140, 27 June 1874, Page 2

New Zealand Times. SATURDAY, JUNE 27, 1874.

»~_ It is tho opinion of some persons entitled to speak with authority, that tho further wharf accommodation required for the port of Wellington would be best secured by dredging the ground from the present wharf to the end of Mr. Mill's Lion Foundry; and tho idea certainly seems ■worthy of consideration. More especially should it receive this at the present time, whilst there is a proposition before the Council and the Provincial Government for erecting a stage in front of tho breastwork which already forms a wharf for a fleot of schooners engaged to carry the pipes intended for the water-raco on the West Coast goldfields. The project, if it were feasible, carries one strong recommendation on its very face. Such a quay, if constructed, would be a noble one, and would compare favorably with any in the world. In no other way could such a splendid structure be obtained. To think of constructing a wooden wharf equal to it is utterly out of the question at the present time, and will remain so. But beside the question of cost there is to be considered that of taste and appearance. A wharf, constructed of timber, running out into the sea with a T head, always presents rather an unsightly appearance. On the contrary, a quay is an ornament to a town. And, moreover, the wooden structures continually require repair, whereas a solid quay would be of but trifling expense to keep in order. Also the fact will not be lost sight of that the land which has boon reclaimod in front of the Provincial Government Buildings, and which forms a portion of tho proposed quay, would be immensely more valuable if thero woro deep water in front of it, in which largo vessels would be moored. It would bo required for warehouses and other purposes. There would be none so valuable as it in Wellington. This consideration naturally leads to what is really the question at issue. Granted that there is no comparison whatovor between a wooden jetty and a solid quay, the cost must bo taken into account. Tho advocates of the quay contend that it can bo constructed for a mere tithe of what would be the cost of a new wooden wharf, or of oxtonding tho present one into deep water. They art;uo, and with considerable force, that the price of the dredge would be tho main portion of tho outlay involved were this procured. The work could be proceeded with gradually, at an expense that would scarcely bo felt. Moreover, tho question may bo considered in rolatioa to the reclamation of tho Te Aro foreshore. Wo take for granted that the City Council,

although it has power to reclaim seventyone acres, a portion of which is in deep water, will not be likely to inflict what might prove an injury to the harbor, by taking from it ground in which a large ship might be moored. But if the Council possessed a dredge there would be no reason why, in the process of time, there should not be a quay around the foreshore as far as the baths. It will be evident that if this were so the land yet to be reclaimed would be immensely more valuable than if there were but a few feet of water in front of it. Ships could then talce shelter alongside the quay from any wind that blows in the harbor. They might discharge cargo into any street in the City, and thus the traffic would be divided. The San Francisco mail boats, instead of being compelled to lie out in the stream for wane of a berth, as is_ at present the case, would steam alongside the quay and both discharge and take in cargo there. Wo are informed that the bottom, almost close up to the breastwork in front of the land that has been reclaimed, is a soft bluo clay, that might he dredged to almost any depth at a very moderate cost. There is no ap prehension entertained that the proposed quay would be silted up, as the depth of water at the wharf has remained unchanged ior several years. There remains another view of the case to be considered. In any public works that are undertaken for the benefit of Wellington, the future New Zealand has assuredly before it should be remembered. A time should be looked forward to when the commerce of the Colony will be as that of older countrias, and it shall become the Greater Britain of the South —when ships carrying the New Zealand flag shall be found in all waters. To do this, it is requisite that tho abundant materials we possess for manufacturing energy to be expended upon shall be utilised. With this magnificent climate, in which Europeans can work as readily as they could in England —one so different from the soft and enervating atmosphere that prevails in tho Soutli Sea Islands—manufactures ought to flourish. There, nature does all for man that he requires, whilst he listlessly looks on and lives a dreamy happy life. A visitor said of the Natives, "They have got their grub hanging over their heads on tho breadfruit trees ; and there is under their feet water teeming with fishes, which they can catch whenever they choose." Why, it may well be asked, should such people work. But in those fertile isles cotton may well be grown, and brought to New Zealand to be manufactured. White planters can obtain coolie labor in abundance, and there exists every requisite for turning their produce to tho best account in this Colony. It is for those in authority to take these facts and probabilities into their consideration when they decide upon wharf or quay accommodation for the town. Without being committod to any one scheme that may be submitted, it is certainly advisable to weigh the claims of all, so that tho one which promises to confer the greatest advantage, and to be the most recuperative, may be decided upon. There are other points to be urged in favor of dredging the harbor, so that there may be a quay with deep water to it, but wo have merely touched upon a few of the most prominent ones.