HARBOUR BOARD.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 303, 13 April 1877, Page 2

HARBOUR BOARD.

The fortnightly m-oting of the Board was held this aftenr n. Present : Messrs. G. Sumpter(c!iainm :). Steward. Shrimski', H-adland, Rei.l, .':'uck, Mcnlove, and Lemon. MINFTKS. The minute of one general and one special meeting were read and confirmed. STANIUNf! COMMITTEE. The report of the Starv.bncr Commute? was read'and Tic first portion t'uivof. t<> the effect t'mfc the upper mad, where Captain Haiti met liis deit'i. be f "oed. was adopted, on the m<>tto:j of Mr. Sur:tM>Ki. Tit-- other p.>ni' >n of the report dealt with t!;.- f..!N»v:iiV.; nritt ,-is -.—That the railway authorities be writi -n to, stating that the Hoard int tided planking the on the line if t : >eiv was no obj >etion. Tliat it bo an in-tr:tetion to t'.ie iiirbotir Master ihn\ v.-;-.e:i a s-.iiin r v.-ss I is required to »ive plae- at the wharf to a steamer, no 'dr.es' to i>e char.'-'d during the interval between the v.-s;-i's rem <\\t! an I being re-b;>r:h;.d. Thar a n--w strain crane be purchased f»r t'n- wharf, capable of lifting or !•>wiring d..;:'>le tie :v.\i >u:it now lifted. That t : :o'" , co-f»peraM'i!i of the _ railwav ant' oritu s he invited for the obtaining of a siding from t!te railway lines, to join on the liins in Harbour-street and l»-hiud the Loan and Mercantile Store. Tliat Mr. M'tJivgor be insirncied to call for tenders for tw<> seven-to:i steam cranes. That the oiler of Messrs. Ward an 1 Williams to do the fencin- along the upper road be accepted, and t!ie work proceeded with at once. Tiie report also dealt with other matters. The report was adopted. outwa m> coi: r.KspoxDE>'t'K. The outward correspondence was read and app.ovc I. KEFI'XH. Tlie following letter was read : ('ustoms Department, Marine Branch, Wellington. sth April, 1577. Sir, receipt of a letter from the Secretary to your Hoard, dated the 23rd ultimo, addressed to the Honorable the Coloni d Secretary, in winch he asks that eleven months* rent of Hun Xo. li;u be paid to the credit of the Oamarn JLrhottr B iard. and in reply to state that it was known at Use time the Oamarn Harbour Board Act, I.STIj, was passed that the rent in. f|ttestion was paid in advance : and had the Legislature infant the Board to receive what they now claim, it would have been expressly stated in the Act, without which the fJovcrnient have no power to comply with the Board'** request. —I am. &c, Geo. M'LeaN". The Chairman Oamarn Harbour Board, Oamarn. On the motion of Mr. Stewaiu>, seconded by Mr. Keu>, it was decided tint the members of the House of Tvepresentatives be requested to get a sum placed upon the Estimates to refund the amount t<» the JJoard. siir.vriN'i; of tk.ains. The following letter was read : Oamarn, 4th April, 1877. Dear Sir,—l beg to draw your attention to the present state" of affairs on the Harbour Board tramway, at lea-it, as far as my use of the line goes. At present, when in the middle of unloading a truck, an engine (by whose instructions I do not know) frequently, without the slightest notice, pushes up a number of trucks, thereby displacing the truck I am unloading, which has to be brought back at immense'labor and loss of time. This displacement has occurred three times in the course of unloading one truck ; this nuisance j has become quite intolerable. I do not say anything as t<» the great risk of life or limb j bv having a train of trucks, suddenly set in motion, without warning, by an engine which, owing to the curve in the line, is invisible from any store. I trust something may be done to remedy this over-crowtling of the tramway opposite my stores, and up to the points. It is evident that there ought to be some place where loaded or empty trucks can he until wanted, instead of being shunted on to thi3 short piece of line, thereby preventing the Har-

hour. Board -tenants from getting on with work, and occasioning a complete block. I remain, yours faithfully. I A. H. Maude. T. Forrester, Esq., Secretary to the Harbour Board, Oamaru. WHARF DUES. Mr. James Mills wrote, asking that the rate charged to steamers might be reduced to one charge per week. Mr. Headland suggested that the Steam Company should be asked to reduce the rate of freight. If that were done, they might then take the matter of reducing "the charges of the wharf into consideration. Mr. Steward agreed with the remarks of the previous speaker, and .pointed out that the company charged just as much for freight to Oamaru as it did to Timaru, although the distance was much less. The letter was ordered to lie on the table. COMMISSION. Mr. M-'Gregor wrote asking that a progress payment of £6OO be made on his account. After consideration, it was agreed to comply with the request. otematata station. Messrs. Paissell, Ritchie, and Co., on behalf of Messrs. Teschemaker and Co., the owners of the Otematata Station, which had b?en set aside as an endowment to the Board, wrote asking whether the Board were willing to negotiate with Messrs. Teschemaker and Co. for the sale of the freehold of the run to them. Mr. Stkward moved—"That in the opinion of the Board it is desirable that, if possible, legislation should be obtained in t!:e General Assembly, providing that endowment reserves shall not at any time be open for sale, and that if possible the power to deal with the land by way of lease should be secured to the Board itself, in blocks of not exc3eding a certain maximum S'ze, and for periods of not exceeding a fixed maximum number of years; and that the Chairman, Mr. Shrimski, and the mover be appointed a Committee to report as to what steps can be taken towards securing the carrying out of the wishes of the Board/' Mr. Ekid seconded the motion, which was carried. inn loan. Mr. Herdman wrote, informing the Board that the Union Bank had succeeded in floating the loan at an average of LIOO 17s. It was decided to acknowledge Mr. Herdman's letter. WALKEM and peyman's claims. The following letter v. as read from Messrs. Walhem and Peyman : To iho Chairman an I Members of the ILubour Board. flenMemen, —There are csrtain claim? dii2 In us. which wo enclose, and respect-'ully request you to submit the same to arbitration. U'u arc, inc., V.'alkicm & Peyman. Alter some discussion, Mr. Steward moved, "That seein? the matters referred to in Messrs. Vv'alkem and Peyman's Litter have already been considered and decided by the Board, the Board being of opinion that there were no moneys justly <\wi to Messrs. Walkom and PeynMTi, and the Board has seen no reason to alter its opinion, resolved that the matter be referred to some neutral party to decide whether any, and if so, w: at sum is justly due to them ; always provided that such reference can be made without disturbing the final settlement of contract already entered into or extending beyond the nmttc-is specially referred." Seconded by Mr. Shrimski. Mr. Headland moved as an amendment, " That the Board is of opinion that all matters in connection with the construction of the Breakwater works by Messrs. Walkem and Peyman having been finally settled, decline to re-open any matter relating thereto." Seconded by Mr. Meek. On the question being put, the amendment was declared carried. Mr. Headland proposed—"That the Oamaru Harbour Board take the opportunity of the completion of Messrs. Walkem and Peyman/s contract for the construction of the first portion of the Oamaru Breakwater, to express to those gentlemen the entire satisfaction the Board have experienced at the conscientious and substantial manner in which the works have been carried out, notwithstanding the fact that when the Breakwater was commenced the system of construction adopted, and the mechanical power required for lifting and placing concrete blocks of 30 tons weight, were alike of a novel character. The -Board, therefore, in officially severing a connection, which they hope and believe has been profitable both'to the contractors and to the Oamaru district, beg to cordially thank those gentlemen, not only for the manner in which they have carried out their contracts during the time, now nearly six years, in which they have been occupied in this great work, but also for the cordial manner in which all tiie suggestions of their Engineer have been attended to ; and the Board further decides that an engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to each of those gentlemen, the expense for the same being defrayed by the members of the Board." Seconded by Mr. Steward, and carried . HOUR OF MEETING. On the motion of Mr. Shrimski, it was resolved that in future the hour of meeting was fixed at 11 a.m. accounts. The wages and a number of accounts were passed for payment. contracts. The new contracts in connection with the extension of the Breakwater and the two Wharves were then duly signed. . The meeting then terminated.