THE COLONIST. Published Every Morning. Friday, February 12, 1909. THE FREEZING WORKS AND THE HARBOUR.

Colonist, Volume LI, Issue 12463, 12 February 1909, Page 2

THE COLONIST. Published Every Morning. Fr iday, February 12, 1909. THE FREEZING WORKS AND THE HARBOUR.

. An endeavour is being made in some ' quarters to minimise the gravity of the position that must shortly arise if the dredging at tlie Railway Wharf ■necessary to permit ocean-going vessels to lie alongside is hot expedi-' tipusly carried out. In an article- in our issue of Wednesday deprecating the amount of valuable time likely to biS consumed in a wrangle between \he Harbour Board and? the 5 Railway Department as' to which" authority , should, execute the work, ;_we stated that the capacity of .the cool store at the freezing works would render the loading^pf a vessel within a few weeks ;. a .matter of. absolute, necessity. Operations will . be commenced/ at the works on Monday, next, and it is anticipated that the killing will amount ! at first to about 400 carcases per diem . The cool stored will-hold lb','000; sotliat '' when that: number has been frozen— ' in less than a month— -either the con- ' iteiits of ;the:storenlust be transferred ' i!$7S- •vessel ,f 0 r shipment to England,- ;' for the 'killing,_iust cease. There will. ] he no difficulty in" arranging for, a yes- < seliio call-at Nelson to.load the cargo, 1 yForthe directors of the Freezing Com- 1 pany, with more foresight and i

acumen than some peope seem to give them credit for possessing, arranged for that before the works were erected. There aro agreements between the Freezing Company and the two principal shipping companies engaged in tho frozen meat trade, that vessels will be sent to load at .JSffejTi. Vnen req.uit'M-. jlf a shipment were to be ready for despatch next week, a steamer would be duly despatched to Nelson to receive it, and it would not bo encumbent upon the New Zealand officials to apply to their headquarters in London for permission to give the necessary orders. The trouble is that .until the dredging at the wharf is completed the vessel would be unable to enter the harbour. She would lie outside, and the only, means of loading her would be by lightering. It would .probably be difficult to secure boats suitable for the ,. purpose at short notice, none being available in Nelson, and in any case lightering would considerably increase the expense of shipping^ besides being extremely inconvenient and risky when a highly perishable cargo has to be handled." The dredging at the Railway Wharf necessary to facilitate shipment is a comparatively small matter. It has been authoritatively stated that it could be done in a fort-night,-and it could certainly be finished by the time the first boat will be required, if it were commenced at once. It will not, however, be done in time if there is to he preliminary squabbling as. to^ who shall pay for it. No doubt there is a principle involved, and that will provide an in•teresting subject for discussion when more time can be devote^ to it. What is at present of more concern to Nelson than the principle is the execution of the work.