OAMARU HARBOUR AFFAIRS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2858, 23 December 1908, Page 14

OAMARU HARBOUR AFFAIRS.

AN ACRIMONIOUS MEETING. (Faox Oxtb Own Cobbssfondekt.) " OAMARU, December 14. There have been several very acrimonious meetings of the Oamaru Harbour Board during the past few months, but none so marked by personal feeling as ' oiie held to-d?.j. The trouble was mainly . the never-ending question of the dredge Progress as compared with any other implement. The proposals of Mr Paterson ; to dredge the port by means of a pontoon dredge have been referred to Mr J. Blair Mason, who visited Oasnaru a week ago, and who ha 6 since written asking whether he is to take the Progress into consideration in his report. It is understood that to this course Mr Mason himself is somewhat favourable, but it was not included in the order of reference, and the board to-day, after a heated argument, negatived a motion to direct Mr Mason to consider the utility of the Progress as a portion of the scheme, the ground being largely that Mr Pat*i»on himself regarded the Progress as unsuitable. At another stage of the meeting .the atmosphere became so warm that the chairman told Mr W. H. Rose and Mr D. Borrie that they should be ashamed of themselves, and that they should be off the board, and he ended by challenging Mr Rose to contest an election with him. At still another stage Mr Borrie was refused leave by the chairman to record his protest .against the 1 action of a committee during the month, j Mr Borrie having been present at the j meeting of committee, and not having ex- • presely asked his protest to be recorded at the time. This occasioned further , trouble and more plain speaking. The whole position is becoming more and more unsatisfactory, for the board's business makes no progress under present conditions. RECENT POLL CHALLENGED. December 15. The petition against the Harbour Board's recent poll was before the magistrate (Mr T, Hutchison) this morning, Mr A. J. Grave appearing for the petitioners and Mr F> Ongley for six gentlemen who had given notice of their wish to be represented in favour of the maintenance pi the present result of the poll. The oJily business transacted was the recording $f admissions of facts and formal evidence by the chairman of the board (Mr R. Milligan). Mr Ongley gave notice of preliminary objections, which it was agreed should be argued later, and the hearing was then adjourned till the 19th of January, or a date to be arranged. It is understood that Mr John MacGregor (of Dunedin) will then appear tor the respondents. It is not generally known that the Bank of England in London has ite own water j supply. One artesian well, tPUch was *unk I borne years ago to a depth of 400 ft, gives a ' 6\ipply of 7000 gallons per xumr, ana, as a direct consequence of the high cQst of water : in the city, the bank authorities have placed . a contract to sink another well to give such j an additional supply as will render the bank \ independent of the public supply of water. "I do not know why you fellows go <m in this way. I suppose you go on hoping against hope that some day you will fina a. bigger donkey ilian youreelf to come along," was the candid remark made by Dr M'Arfchiur, S.M.. to a judgment debtor in the Wellington Court, hopelessly mixed up in land transactions. " But," be added, "it is sometimes much harder to find a bigger donkey than yoursc-lf." Debtor: ! " Yes, your Worship, I have found it pretty L bard so far."