WELLINGTON PATENT SLIP

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14077, 4 December 1907, Page 3

WELLINGTON PATENT SLIP

PURCHASED BY THE UNION COMPANY. (Feosi Ocr Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, December 3. The Union Steam Ship Company has succeeded in purchasing from a. local company a controlling interest in the patent slip at Evans Bay, Wellington Harbour. This means that in all probability the erection of very extensive works in the vicinity of the wharf and also the erection of "a wharf largo enough to accommodate the intercolonial steamers for a great deal of the repairs. An annual overhaul of the red funnel licet will no doubt be done here in future years instead of at Port Chalmers. Before the very extensive norks which will bo necessary can bo set going there will need to be some reclamation work done near the slip, and the extent to vhich the company will embark upon the new works will probablv depend a- good deal upon the facilities offered by the Harbour Board. If negotiations that are pending can be satisfactorily settled, the new departure will bo a big thing for Wellington, and the vicinity of the patent slip in Evans Bay will become a -veritable hive of industry. To-night's Post, referring to tho project, says;—"lt may be salely assumed that a wide-awake corporation such as the Union Company has proved itself, lias not embarked upon the project without, being fully awaro of the potentialities awaiting an extensive scheme of reclamation in Evans Bay. The Union Company has a splendid rccord in tho past ! arising from jio readiness to co-operate in whatever made for the advancement of New Zealand, and its relations with the Government '-ave always been characterised by liberal dealing- and scrupulous fairness. The same principles will doubtless influence the company in its negotiations with the Wellington Harbour Board. The extensive nature of tho Evans Bay project entitles the company to full consideration from the Harbour Board, and that body, whilst intelligently safeguarding the interests of tho port and the city, may bo ablo to see its way to fovniulate such conditions as would bo acceptable to the company. Success commands success, and a company which has nearly doubled the number of its fleet in two decades, whilst moro than quadrupling the tonnago in the samo period, has given ample and sufficient guarantee of its ability to deal with such an extensive proposition as is contained in the Evans Bay purchase. There has always been a strong feeling that the 'Red Funnel line would in the long run make Wellington its headquarters, and there is good prospect that the near future will see the consummation of this hope. As (his is perhaps the most important incident of recent years ill the commercial expansion of Wellington, it is to be hoped that no rift within the lute will be revealed as the negotiations progress between the company and the Harbour Board, and the announcement that the affair has been drawn to a successful conclusion will be welcome." Apart from the Union Company's new project, the Harbour Board and the City Council have in view a. big scheme for the reclamation of about 135 acres in' Evans Bay as a eite for various industries, stores, wharves, etc.