Patea & Waverley Press. WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 1914. The Barrage Scheme.

Patea Mail, Volume XXXIX, 1 July 1914, Page 2

Patea & Waverley Press. WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 1914. The Barrage Scheme.

Wb were rather sorry to see the barrage question introduced once more into the matter of the harbour improvements. We were under the impression that the question had been decided for all time by the person most competent to judge—the Board’s Engineer. To bring the matter up at this stage is in our opinion to delay the much needed work of improving the port and to court ultimate disaster, The barrage scheme, it should be remembered, is not that of any export engineer. It emanated in the first place from a layman, and was con* sidered by a committee of the Board in May of last year. Exactly twelve months ago Mr Yickerman reported on the scheme, when he showed that a barrage, to be of any use, would require to bo erected at the Hospital site and would cost some £33,000. The one at the Heads near the present guide pier was condemned utterly owing to it having several bad features which were duly pointed out, Iu the preliminary report of Mr MacDonald, the Board's engineer, the question of a barrage was referred to in the following emphatic terms; “I have been asked to report on the feasibility or otherwise of looking the river either by a falling weir or barrage or sluios gates. This matter I will go fully into in my main report, but at the present stage I can state definitely that I cannot under any circumstances recommend the erection of sluice gates on any portion of the river within the range of tidal influence,”

In the face of words such as these we cannot help thinking that any member of the Board advocating anything in the nature of sluice gates for the improvement of the harbour is incurring a graver risk than he is probably aware of. The matter has been considered by the person most fitted to judge,—a fully qualified engineer, who has made no secret of bis expert opinion on the matter. For members of the Board to fly in the face of this advice and still advocate a costly and ineffective scheme is without doubt to court disaster to the port and all connected with it. We are drawn to these conclusions by two facts; firstly that the barrage scheme is hopelessly and entirely out of date, as any marine expert fully acquainted with modern methods of improving rivers and harbours will advise. The aim of modern engineers is, we believe, not to rely on the volume of water coming down a river, but to invoke the aid of the sea and make the most of the water entering the port; If scouring were the chief factor in keeping a river clear and rendering it navigable for vessels of every description then the entrances of rivers like the Amazon and the River Plate would be different from what they are to-day. We ourselves have a lively recollection of the masts of a small steamer appearing some distance out of tho water at a point in > the ocean near the mouth of the latter river where the average person would have expected the depth to be fathomless. The other fact which induces us to bold the views we do deals with the Board’s Engineer. As we said before wo believe the Board to be singularly fortunate in baying secured Mr J. A. Macdonald to act as i , Consulting Engineer and to give a comprehensive report on tho best means of improving the port. As time goes on we find the opinion we originally formed of the Board’s selection again and again confirmed. Quite recently we received the following unsolicited testimonial from the principal of one of the leading firms of Harbour Contractors in the Dominion. In the course of n private letter the writer proceeds ;

" For your information I may state that we have ca tied out some of tbe largest harbour contracts in

New Zealand, and are therefore able to speak with some authority on the qualifications of the different engineers of this Dominion and I have not the slightest hesitation in stating that the Patea Har. hour Board has got by far the ablest marine engineer in this Domflhion as their Consulting Engineer. In carrying out work under Mr MacDonald we havo found him one of the most exacting engineers that we have ever carried out works for, but at the same time we have found him thoroughly honest and a gentleman who is master of his profession, and as I have stated before, the ablest engineer in this Dominion,” The writer of the words we have quoted has been known to us for over twenty years and we know him to be one whose opinion can be relied upon; The Board therefore will unquestion* ably have an opinion with regard to the improvement of the port that they can safely follow. Wo hope when this is to hand that the barrage question will be dealt with and buried once and for all.

On the First Page; High Commissioner's Report. On the Fourth Page The Dominion's Exports. Football.