THE RETORT COURTEOUS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume II, Issue 565, 1 December 1915, Page 8

THE RETORT COURTEOUS.

A MATTER OF A PLANK. There were the elements of a verbal flare-u£. at the Lyttelton Harbour Board's meeting this, morning, but the promptness of the chairman in dragging the board on to safer ground quelled the incipient quarrel. And it all arose over a plank! . .

A letter had been received from the New Brighton Borough Council, stating that there was a defective plank in the landing stage there. - It was not the cost of the plank which gave the board furiously to think, but the question of principle, the board having resolved before that it would no longer repair the landing stages at New Brighton and Sumner, which it no longer uses. The Sumner property is to be sold to the Sumner Borough Council, but the New Brighton Borough Council does not desire to acquire the New Brighton landing stage. The value of the latter is set down in the books as only a little over £ls, but the possession of it carries a certain amount of liability with it. One aspect of the matter which Mr J. J. Graham concerned himself with was that of danger to the public through the stage not being in proper order. He held that while the board owned property it should keep that property in order, and he gave notice to move at the board's next meeting that the defective plank shoulcTlJe replaced. This, of course, will open up the whole matter of principle. As far as the question of public safety with regard to the wharf is concerned, that matter was left in the hands of the chairman, in the meantime. But a remark by one of the members of the board that the board had already resolved not to repair these abandoned properties, "started something," as the Americans would say. Mr Graham remarked that it was not the present board which came to that resolution. The Hon. R. Moore pointed -out to Mr Graham that the board was continuous. Mr Graham: Yes; but its'personnel changes. The Hon. R. Moore: Let me point out that a newly-elected member is not the board. Mr Graham retorted with the observation that because Mr Moore had been a member of the board for some not the board. Mr Moore was going to make a few-mora remarks on the subject, whfen the chairman drew the board on to consideration of the next, business on the order paper.