OAMARU HARBOR BOARD.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXIX, Issue 10779, 30 May 1911, Page 4

OAMARU HARBOR BOARD.

. . AIONTHLY; MEETING. iiTho ordinary'.inoiithly meeting of the Oamaru Harbor Board was held "this morning. Present: Messrs Afilligan (Chairman), Haves, Dovey, Brown, ;M'Culloch, Williams, Mackay, Sutherland,'Gardiner, Livingstone, White, and Lane. '_ -. The Afanager of the National Bank, Oamaru, wrote that up to 31st Alarch .dast, 1879,10 an bonds for £68,300 had 'been presented for payment. The bank ..manager asked for ...instruction, as to the •payment of bonds with certain coupons missing.—Received. It was decided to •tttlyise 1 the bondholders interested that proof must fefurliislied in terms of the Act, tiie Board to ho indemnified, and the., expense of t making the declaration iie'bdi'ne by the bondholders.

The Secretary of the Lyttelton Harbotf'Bfard enquiring whether the Board contemplated purchasing the hopper;; dredge Manchester;, particulars of which were recently - ' forwarded —Revived ; the; Lyttelton .Harbor Board; to bVinTor'iricrt tflat theTlocal Board would not be requiring the dredge. : ~Tbe : of the A.M.P. Society, Wellington, asked the Board to arrange with its bankers in Sydney to pay interest on the loan on ..receipt .of a formal, acknowledgment of th-3 >am« instead or requiring the coupons handed to them. —It was decided that the:request ! be acceded t<>. The Secretary of the North Otago

Agricultural and Pastoral Association wrote pony eying ..the intention of the Association' to call a' meeting of its members and of shareholders of the jChrfsteliurch Meat Company at an early date to discuss the question: of /the''closing down.of the local Freezing Works. A later letter stated that it •Iliad fboeii decided that four representatives sire to be selected to prepare tha -report -fo?- : -tlie conference— two to' represent the A.' and P. Association, one from the Chamber of Commerce, and one from the' Oamaru Harbor Board.— The Cli airman was appointed the Board's delegate. . ! 'The ]o Ca l Manager of the South British Insurance Company wrote advising the date of expiry of the Board's iusurahce; policy, and requesting a renewal. 'The local Manager of .the Goyernment-Life Insurance Department also iiiade application for 'the Board's business, and a similar applicar jHoii l was received front the New Zealand Insurance Company.—lt was agreed that'the business be given to the. .South British..

J : Thh/local iialiager of the Union 'Steam wrote with reference to the delayed provision of some adeqvue protection for vessels making the Holmes Wharf, owing to the .danger occasioned by th-? gap between the end of the wharf and the dolphin. Masters were constantly taking risks, in making the rwharf that the Company could not take responsibility for> and'it was asked that the work be put in hand at onto'. Mr Gardiner' expressed the opinion that something should be done. . In answer to. a question, the Engineer replied that 1 the cost .hi] extojidiny; tha 'wharf al)but 80ft wolild be from £BOO to £9OO. Extensive repairs wore ii6eded in . connection'.witli Sumpter Wharf, at a cost of froni £SOO to £9OO, and jn connection with the dredge punts 'a slip"'woulil require to be erected, which would, cost ,from £4OO to £SOO. It was only the'larger vessels, he said, that Used Holmes Wharf, masters preferring io use Sumpter Wharf at night. A minute was read showing that the Bbardi had' resolved to extend the wharf to fill iii the gap between the wharf and .dolphin-,,... ........ . •Mr Gardiner said he understood from •Mr -Moiison that if what had already been agreed-upon wore done it would meet the difficulty.

Further discussion of the matter was rfaken in Committee. ' Accounts- artibiinting to £lOl7 10s 5d werepassed for payment. The Secretary drew attention to the amount; of 1910 rates outstanding, Üb6ut'£looo. The 10 per cent, penalty was being imposed, but did not see'm to-be having the desired effect. : It was resolved to give notice that legal=prpceedings would be taken for the recovery of rates unpaid after fourteen da vs. ; ■■■■■•■■ . -.< ■■

The Engineer's report was read as follows have the honor to report that for Itho-'month ending 27th May 116 punt" loads'of material, equal to. 5800 pubj(^.yards, / ;hay.e--b'een dredged by the Progress arid pumped ashore. The niaiqr. portion: of- -the ,dredgings, consisted'of hard'sand'aii'd clay, the dredge taking the depth down .lower ihan the criminal beach levels':'-'hence the small amount of work done. The dredge was stopped for four days during the month, one ua>j on account of" bad weather, one 'day. owing t6 th&'.arrival of the Rakaia; .hecessitatQditlieidropping of the stern and other "moorings, and two days for. necessary overhaul. The pumping ;plant as working very satisfactorily and is-quite capable of dealing with all tho niatdriali which the Progress can supply:' Slight delays have been caused by the- suction pipe •an.<3kfthe - pump being blocked'with' bags,' stones, etc., and tho renewal of ,the. ball-joint rings. Tho lar*fe hole-at>-the approach t-: tlw Holmes Wharf has been filled up, and k's thei "pumped material'was flowing over the apxiroach from the overt-ridgo I am forrtiinp; ail embankment along the line of fence, which will provide a| footpath .to. _ the wharf aud'also 'form a .-■ettliiiJF. jirea jnaterial "

The Engineer explained that in respect tb-.-fclie" :;rfcjig[\v;al : of the ball-joint rings, these had to he supplied by the contractors at their, own.expense, ; those. previously provided having' been rejected at the time of supply. '('he report was adofited.

The Harbormaster reported recommending that a competent, person be stationed 'on the dredge between the hours of 3 p.ni:; arid 6 ;a.m. - Captain Ramsay also reported at length on mattors connected with the present position of the dredge and her safe mooring.— Tlk- report was received.

In Committee it was derided to defer dot'.-iminauon- in the meantime, it being lindetstood that the Engineer would prepare a report as to the cost of necessary works, and that the Chairman would bring up a statement showing the financial position of the Board. 'Twenty-nine applications for the nosii ion of accountant were received. Mr James M'Laron was appointed

The Chairman and Messrs Brown. Lane, Markay, Sutherland, and Williams ivniv appointed a Standing Committee.

On the motion of Mr "Williams, a Committee consisting fit" the Chairman and Messrs Macl'nv ami Williams was a')P'i!)i/'"d to <-nquir" "t-'o the clerical work of the office and the working of the harbor, and 'report as to changes that might be considered desirable.