OTAGO HARBOUR IMPROVEMENTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13960, 20 July 1907, Page 5

OTAGO HARBOUR IMPROVEMENTS

IMPORTANT PROPOSALS,

tOWER TO BORROW £100,000,

Legislation to ee asiced fok.

;A spccial meeting of the Otago Harbour Board was held yesterday to consider a rotiec of motion by the lion. T. Fergus to increase the board's borrowing powers. The lr.embers-present wero .Messrs J. 'P. Mackorras (chairman), W. - Barclay, E. F. Duthie, U. A. Do Maus, G. B. -Bullock, .T, Watson, W. Belcher, T. ltoss, J. Robin, and ,llio Hon. T. Fergus. The Chairman said the first thing ho wished to bring before the board was a congratulation to Sir James Mills on his weli-deservcd. knighthood, He was certain all members of the board were delighted at the honour done lmn. Sir James Mills had for long been intimately connected with this port, which ho had benefited in a very marked degree. He therefore moved— "•That the Otago Harbour Board tender its congratulations to Sir Jamej Mills on tho honour bestowed upon him by his Majesty tho King, and that this board fully appreciates the honour conferred on one who has dftne so much for the colony as a whole and this port in particular, and further, that the same be recorded in tho minutes and conveyed to Sir James Mills." Thie was carried unanimously, and it was further resolved that tho above be cablcd to Sir James Mills. 'This was carried unanimously, and it was further resolved that the abovo be cabled t6 Sir James Mills. .The Hon. Mr Fergus moved—"That tho hoard .approach Parliament with a view to' getting an cnnbling bill passed authorising the Iward to borrow when necessary any sum not exceeding £100,000 for tho purpose of carrying out works for the permanent improvement of the harbour." Speaking to tho motion, Mr Fergus said members of the board.would no .doubt remember that some three or. four years ago a committee was appointed to go into a. variety of matters with .tho object of ascertaining if tltey could reduco the-dues and alto to prepare a statement of probable requirements ill the way of works. The committee rcpurtcd. and tho board saw fit to endorse the report' with the exception of one portion— tliat pari which proposed that a sum not exceeding £100,000 should be borrowed, tljo borrowing of such sum to extend over a series of years. Nothing hud' been done since then, the hoard's' attention having been directed, to the, taking.of endowments by Iho Government for railway purposes, apd' a petition, us they would remember, had been signed and ecnt to Parliament by 20,000 persons against the taking of the board's endowments in this'manner. Nothing satisfactory l>eyond a. promise that no more land would be, taken had been obtainud m ri'jjnrd to that agitation. Any person who hod given the jlfairs of the harbour any consideration would arrive at tho conclusion that moans greater than those now being pursued should bo •resorted to for providing greater facilities for shipping coming to the port. Dredge 222, which was very old now, was a good jnaehino in its day, but was not lit to copc with the work it was called upon to undertake, and that dredge was being run 24 hours at. present, but .could not be expected to stand the strain for any great length of lime. Then they were'hehind as a harbour Hi the way of appliances' for tho handling of cargo, and other bodies with up-to-date i appliances could do this class of work at a cheaper and more expeditious rate than "cpuld bo done in Dunedin} Dredge 222 was roqun'od constantly in the Victoria Channel between Dunedin and Tort Chalmers, and could not give tho attention to the lower harbour and the entrance that was required. Tho "board was therefore faced ■with the position that, in order to provido ] •accommodation for the largest vessels afloat,, these and other disabilities should l>e removed, alid.thc.timc had arrived when the harbour should be put in a. better condition. It was only, reasonable that- the water from Koputai Bay. to Harrington lioint should bo made of sufficient depth to aewnodate any class of ship that might corno to the port. It ■was • ako necessary that, in order to relievo the strain on tho finances, works that were now charged to rivenue should bo charged- to capital.' Tho board would shortly lie called upon to

provide a light-lower at the end of the mole, and ho held that such a charge us 1 thai .should not lie: borne by ordinary revenue. Extra expenditure was also required at, Harrington Point which should lie provided for by capital, and which revenue could not, and should not, bear. The \rayjin which nccessary .improvements and works were bein& prosecuted was all too inadequate, and their wdrks wore boiutt ca'rriedflut in u piodetrieal way.- More wharf itcronimodation was required at Dunedin. T|i<i ■ tongue wharf w;as of little use, and ought to be removed, and the basin required enlargement, and facilities should bo provided for the discharge of coal and tijnlier along tho Anderson's Bay road frontage. ; The'cranes in use at the wliarvcs' were unsuitable for modem requirements, and now thai; they |iad electric power in , tho city more powerful cranes should bo obtained and the olcetric power should bo availed of to drive theni. For .works that should have been borne by loan the board during the last five years had spent out of rovcmio no less than £75,000. The works thus charged to revenue were charged by

oilier bodies to capital, and if the CM a go Hoard wished to foster the trade of the port , -and to keep harbour charges on a parity ■ with thoso of other ports in New Zealand it, would have to do likewise. Of the sum of £75,000 lie had mentioned, no loss than £14,000 was for new wharves and sheds and .'or the making of streets. It was never contemplated that, a Harbour Board would be called upon to assist in street formation out of revenue, and if . the board was relieved from the necessities ho referred to it could without, difficulty pay interest on £100,000 at 4 per cent, and have such works constructed out of capital. A second dredge for eiielusivo - work ut the. lower harbour was an urgent necessity, and, as far as he had been ablo to ascertain, the cost of a suction dredge would be about £32,000. and the operating expenses for three years about £22,500, and of the sum proposed. to lie borrowed the balance would be required for other necessary works which he had indicated. Tho proposal lie now made to the lioard was undertaken with a great deal of diffidence. When it was before tliom on « forme; qccasi.,m it was rejected, and }:e ilkmi resolved that he would not move further in tho matter until fhe board was reconstituted. He had sinco been assured, however, that. • inmber of members of tho board would swpport the proposals brought forward, and in deference to their opinions lie had again brought the matter forward. In the interests of tho port it was essential that the board should no longer procrastinate, and he was suro if the matter was placed boforo Parliament in a proper light they would have no difficulty in getting the necessary power to enable them to get what they wanted. In drawing up the motion lie intended to insert tho words thai the rate of interest, should not exceed 4i per cent.' per annum." » Mr J. Robin, ii» seconding the motion, fatd ilio board might, remember the liino when he would have opposed such an idea, but. he had tunc** then had occasion to modify some of his views, The dredges now in use were unablo to cope with the work expected of thorn. For instance, the Victoria Channel niitfht be deep enough to-day, but if left alone would probably have silted up in a month. Both the Lower and Upper Harbours were not. getting any deeper, and they wanted all vessels, no matter how large, that sailed New Zealand waters to be able to get up at least as far as Port Chalmers. If shipowners found that, their vessels could not. get into a harbour they merely shrwired their shoulders ■ and left that harbour eoverelv alone for the future, even though it had been deepened afterwards. He did not by any moans agree with everything that had been said by Mr Fergus, but. he was prepared -to waive many matters of detail as long as tho board carried the resolution to borrow the much-needed money, which, ho believed, would make the liarlx>iir more navigable and a credit to the place. Mr Watson: The Upper or Lower liartour? Mr Nobin: Now. what would be the use. of dredging out tho Upper Ilnrbour and leaving the Lower Harbour blocked up?— (Laughter.) Mr Robin went on to say that the Dunedin members of the Harbour Board had always been ready to do everything for the harbour, even whei' the Port Chalmers mem bens had refused, and he challenged those present to point out one instance on which the Dunedin members had objected to a. proposed improvement. A 6 to tho dredging, it. would lake two years to got a new dredge, and what was to be done in the n:eantime? The best thing, ho thought, would be to apply to the Timaru Harbour Board, who might, relieve tho strain \>v , loadinj thorn a. dredge at a reasonable

rate. Ho hoped Iho motion would bo carriod unanimously. Mr Bullock believed it to bo a very necessary step, and the fact that ocean steamers were unable to get in was a disgrace. Beautiful promises had been made in the past, but bud not been fulfilled. Up-to-date cranes bad been promised, buteven now 'cargo was hoisicd on to lorries by ships' derricks by courtesy of the captains of vessels; and all this with the charges higher than an.ywhere else in New Zealand. If the meroiiaiils were to support the board the board must support them. He was not for Dunedin against Port Chalmers or vice versa, but for Otago l'lathour as a whole.

Mr Ross said it was proposed to spend £55,000 on tho Lower Harbour and £45.000 on the Upper Harbour, but of all things they should have an up-to-date dredge, and the channels at the Heads cleared for big ships. After that had been done it would be time to look to tho wharves. He was surprised that in the past, so, much bad becii spent out of the revenue instead of being- borrowed. He also had much pleasure in supporting tho motion. Mr Barclay remarked that tho question whether vessels should bo built to suit the harbour or the tiarbour made to suit the vessels was not at present before them; but this "little colony" could not go on spending moiiey for the benefit of shipowners. Certain works were necessary, but the money for them should not come out of the revenue. . With the necessary r.mount in hand the harbour could be made the best in New Zealand, but it was not desirable to pay for works of a permanent nature out of tho revenue if a- loan could be arranged. Mr Watson opposed the motion. The expenditure, he said, had been alarming, and the only tongiblo assets were the endowments and £10,000 a year for reclaimed land let. Muoh of tho reclaimed land ha<l not been let. ••Tho total-amount, expended had'bcon 2J million pounds, and still tho board -wanted• -topile on the agony." It was' frenzied '•finance, Why not take the money -made during the last 15 years by taxing' importers! They had already paid £932,000 in interest. and yet-' they wanted to pay still more interest'.' It 'Was'' monstrous: Lot them givo the reclamation' works a rest. There was no 'necessity for any more reclamation, as the honnVfllfratly had more land thaii it knew what to do with, let. alono let. All the money and revenue, in his opinion, had 'been' expended at the wrong end. They liad a ditch through a quicksand which was [costing a great deal moro than it to. 1 ; Wr'tli.. Importers would much prefer landing,their goods jit PortChalmers thai) up at Dunedin, but tho big liners could ,not.get. up to the Port, .whereas if tho mo\icy had .been sjient on tlfl Lower Harbour there, would have been no difficulty. . The early days. had been days of sentiment, .and. Dunodin..people had loved to think of steamers lying up against tho heart--of- tho-city. "Tho board had much better -havo left tho Upper Hartour alone and devoted its attention and money to t-he-otiier end. Nearly all improvements had, been monopolised by the Upper Harbour.-—(Dissent.) By thus neglecting the Lower Harbour tho board had made a grave mistake.'' Captains and pilots were timid about coming in. There was a sandbank at George street wharf which the board seemed to have lost sight of. They bad been living in a fool's paradisc. There was far too much extravagance on the board. He i oould put his finger on many little things in which money might be saved. The received from importers should bo oarmarked for tho solo use of the Lower Harbour. It was wrong to go on patting up interest and heavy debts. Whatever was' done with all the money? The board could carry on admirably on the revenue if it .went the right way] to work, and he sincerely hoped the motion would not be carried. t ' Mr W. Belcher said he thought the borrowing of such' a large sum should not bo entered upon lightly. No indication was given as to where the money was to come from to nay the interest, which would be a heavy burden when added to thd interest the board was already paving. Tho board liad only a small revenue, and before taking up additional burdens it was necessary to lie careful. There was a good deal in what Mr Watson had said in regard 1o the needs of the Lower Harbour. The maintenance of a'waterway for 16 or 17 miles, a proportion of which was practically quicksands, was a heavy responsibility on a comparatively small community. If it was intended io make'tho watefway between Dunedin and Port Chalmers of sufficient depth to aecommodato the largest vessels afloat, then ho thought the board was not in a position to enter upon such a work. He thought, however, something should bo done, and that some attention should bo paid to the entrance to the harbour at tho Heads, Tho improvements made there had not had the desired effect—the efforts to obtain four, fivo, or six feet of additional water had lieeu very costly. He held strongly that the entrance to the harbour was where money should he expended, as it was no use making a -road unless there was an approach to it. .When that was done the channel to Dunedin could be completed. Largo vessels did not come to this port -when full of cargo because of a fear that they oould not enter. . A Memlier: One large boat a month.

Mr Belcher: The community js asked io undertake too much when it is asked to make provision for tho accommodation of vessels of 10,000 and 15,000 tons in the Upper Harbour. It had not lieen made clear what it. was intended to do with the spoil when the suction dredge obtained it. Whero was it to be deposited? He quite agreed that some such dredge wis a necessity. This port was the worst-provided port that' ho know of for the discharge of cargo. .Most of the .shipping coming to the Upper Harbour was coastal and intercolonial shipping, and for this tliere was sufficient water in the Victoria Channel; but with railway communication between Dunedin and Port Chalmers there was no immediato necessity to provide for big oversea ships. He intended to oppose the motion in the. meantime, as ho held that sufficient, information had not beep given as to how and where tho money was to Ijc expended; and lie <licl not believe in money being (filtered away.

In reply, Mr Fergus said ho had an easy task before him. lie had to compliment Mr Belcher on the moderate manner in which-lie had disagreed with his motion; but he meant to have ii bout with his other friend, Mr Watson. Mr Watson had given them some most- astonishing fads, and had accused the board of spending two and ahulf millions —

Mr Watson: Yes, and getting nothing for U.

.Mr Fergus: There aro also some shillings and some odd coppers. Mr Watson: Oh. never mind the coppers! Mr Fergus: I beg pardon: I thought by tho nature of mv friend's objections that such details as odd coupers would especially appeal to him. Mr Fergus, said that, members of the board were .men of intelligence, quite as gifted as Mr..Watson, in fact, although perhaps that gentleman might, not think so. Tho reason tbev eould.not.lease the reclaimed land was because people could not get access to it on account of the railway. Mr Waghoni was a ease-in • point., and had lieen uraelicallj- ruined-by being .blocked off h's land by the line. The Government had acknowledged tho fact''and compensated him with £500. He'Wonld inform Mr Belcher that the moiiey for r<>ad-nuiking and piotecting street' frontage would not lie oharired to the revenue account. They were building up a reserve, and had at present plenty of money. to! .pay t|ip interest, A quicksand had been mentioned, out no such thing existed.. The action of the' tide had wtfshcd down tho banks, but tho angle of repose had at. last been reached, nml the channel was now being steadily, enlarged and deepened. A suction dredge would deal with all this at. onefifth of the cost of a bucket dredge, as the material to he dislodged was not hard matter. Be that as it might, ships, and big ones, were got through that* channel right up !o Dunedin. -Mr Watson: At what cost?

Mr Fergus: At the eost of many grey hairs to my friend, I should imagine. As to tho aile.gcd bar at the Heads, that had ceased to exist and he (Mr Fergus) was credibly -'nformed thru- there was a depth of 36ft of water there ut- low tide; also that the difficulties lay higher up the harbour, notably at Harr-ngton Point. It would be a long time before big ships would unload at Port Chalmers in preference to Dunedin. and it was outrageous to oppose tho motion on such petty grounds. As to the loan, a schedule would be drawn up by the board, and the bulk of the money would 1)0 used between Point Harrington and Port Chalmers. New wharfage must also be attended to. He had hoped for a united front in tho matter, and thanked the board for its reception of his proposal. Wlien the Chairman proceeded to put the motion,

Mr Watson said: " May I move an amendment?"

The Chairman: "No: too late." , The motion was carried by seven votes 11 three, Messrs Belcher, Watson, and De Maus voting against it. Mr Forgus then moved—"That a committee of this Lrard appwiacli the Govern-

raent on the question of the proposed loan as soon as possible."—Carried. It was further decided that the secretary bo instructed to wr'to to the Mayor thanking him for his oourtesy in offering to do all he could in the interests of the board as regarded endowments.