REPORT OF THE MARINE DEPARTMENT.

Colonist, Volume XXXIX, Issue 8642, 21 August 1896, Page 2

REPORT OF THE MARINE DEPARTMENT.

The report of toe Marine D. par. ment confciaj several references to Nclsm, and from these we extraot tbe following : — _A new house for the principal keeper Kelson Lighthouse has-been ereoted, aud improved accommodation for the asßisnot keeper has been provided by attaching the Em ill house formerly ocoupied by him to the hoase which was ocoup'ed by tbe chief keeper. At the French Pass the red arc of the light has been alt-r dso thit tbe red and wbite arcs cut exactly on tbe buoy wbieh mirks the dangers eff ths Beef Barrel r.-cks. The light on the beacon i.i tha P.es has noi been e\M lingaished duriog the year. A Bum tf £81 ISi has been expended in planting native trees along the Pass side tf the ligh'bou-e ressrve. When the>e grow up tbe beauty of tbe lighthouse side of Iha Pass will be much improved. I', was anticipated hit the new tower at Farewell Spit would have been erected during tbe*p*st tommer, but owing to the oontrtc ora faili< g to supply the iron tower within 1 the prescribed time, the wotk of eieotion haa not yet been put io band. In connection with this matter we may say that the s.s Hinemoa recentiy landed a large quantity of material at Farewell Spit for the new lighthouse. Favored hy fine weather Captain Neale was able to land 220 barrels of cement and some heavy ironwork in the steamer's boats. Reference is then made to the retirement of Mr J. P. Low owing to ill health, after a service of over 35 years, Mr Low having I joined the Nelson harbor staff on lhe 28th February, 1860. The report says "Mr Low was a faithful officer duiing his long period of service, and the Department extremely regretted that the state of his health necessitated hjs retirement." Tbe appointment of Captain Cox is then alluded to. Regarding port charges and harbor light dues, the report says : — The masters of most of the Union S.S. Company's steamers trading to Nelson having adopted the practice of taking their vessels into and out of the Port without a pilot, the harbor revenue derived from pilotage, suffered to such an extent as to render it mcessary to raise revenue by other means in order to defray the expenses of the harbor. Accordingly it was decided to impose port charges and harbor light dues on all vessels visiting the Port, and although the revenue derived from the new charges, combined with that received as pilotage (does not equal that derived from pilotage) alone, still it will be sufficient to meet the expenses of the Port, as owing to the smaller number of vessels requiring the services of a pilot, the Department has been able to dispense with the services of two of the crew of tbe pilot boat, thereby nuking a saving of £240 a year. A permanent light has been established on the beacon on Haulashore Island at the entrance to tbe harbo*-, and signals to indicate the depth of water at the entrance botb day and night have been established. These Bignals are shown by the light keepers from the flagetaff on the Boulder Bank ne:r the light'hous?. I As to Marking Lad Lines, the report I tates tbe Shipping and Somen's Aot Amend

ment Act, 1894, having provided that the load lines of vessels are to be fixed in accordacce with tbe tables framed by the Load Line Comm-szioncr of the Board of Trade, CoHeo'ors of Customs have been instructed to s< c that tbis is done, and New Zealand vessels are now being marked in accordance with theee tables. Regarding the edju**tment of the compasses it is said the Shipping and Seamen's Act Amendment Act, 1895, having provided that the oompasseß of vessels built wholly or partly of iron are to be adjusted by adjusters lioarssd by the Minister of Marine, regulations bave been made for tbe issae of lioenses to adjusters, and providing that the adjustment shall be made at least onoe in every year. The total ordinary expenditure looally during the financial year ended Maroh 31st last was as follows:— £ b. d. Nelson Salaries .. „ 729 1 2 5 n Contingencies „ 362 13 11 Total 1091 16 4 Biwaka, Salary .. „ 60 0 Waitapu, Salary .. „ 25 0 0 „ Maintenance light 50 0 0 „ CoLtinganoies •• 0 16 0 Total .. .. .. 75 16 0 Collingwoed, Salary „ 18 15 0 „ Contingencies 19 11 6 Total .. .. „ 38 6 6 The cost of the maintenance of the Nelson Lighthouse, and the quantity of oil consumed in the year were :— £ 8. d. Salaries .. „ „ 420 0 0 Oil (1716ga15.), value .. 117 19 6 Stores and contingencies „ 125 14 9 Total 663 14 3 The cost of ereotion of the Nelson Lighthouse was £2824 8a 9d ; it ia of the fourth order of apparatus ; fixed white, with red arc to mark limit of anchorage ; and was first lighted on the 4th August, 1862. The amount of light dues collected during tbo year was £304 18s lOd. The amount of pilotage, port charges, etc., coll6oied in the same period was as follows :— £ 0. d. Pilotage 686 19 11 Port oharges 331 3 10 Total .. .. ..£lOlB 3 9 Tho ooly wreok in tbe INeleon distriot witbin tbe jear was that of the ketch Kestrel, timber lades, on tbe north side of Okiwi Bay, Croixel!es. Tbe total oost last year o! mantainiDg the 34 Lighthouses on the New Zealand Ooast was £13,603 33 4d, and the light dues amounted to £15,562 5s 3d, but toe total coit of erection of the lighthhoases is set down at £167,651 18s 6d. The total amount of pilotage and port ch-jj-ge 1 ? colleoed during the year was £39 783 19 a7d Duuedin topping the list with £9518, Lytte'.t-in ooming second with £7299, Wellington tbird with £6336, the Bluff fourth with £3506, Napier fi'th with £2772, Auckland sixth with £2528, Timaru seventh with £1832, and Nelson eighth with £1018. It may be mentioned that tha Stephen Island lighthouse oonsumed the most oil, 1716 gallons in the year, over a thousand gallons more than tbe light on tbe Brothers. The wreck chart issued with the report shows that the most casualties occurred close to Wellington, where, in addition to a collision between two steamers, four vessels were lost. A sailing ship was lost between Stephen's Island ancl Mana, and off D'Urville Island a partial loss occurred, and north-west of Wanganui another vessel came to grief, though she was not a total wreck. One vessel was lost close to Auckland, and partial losses ( occurred off the Mokau, in Poverty Bay, and I nera- Kawau, In the South Island there was J a case of total loss at Greymouth, and a parI tial at Hokitika, two sailing vessels met with ! mishaps near Kaikoura and at Oamaru there ' there was a partial loss.