THE COLONIST. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 1914. THE HARBOUR LOAN.

Colonist, Volume LVI, Issue 13455, 29 April 1914, Page 4

THE COLONIST. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 1914. THE HARBOUR LOAN.

The ratepayers of the harbour district, will be in a position to vote intelligently to-day on the Harbour Board's proposal to borrow £35,000 for the purpose of carrying out certain improvement works. * The chairman and members of the Board have devoted much time and trouble to the task of expounding the scheme at meetings throughout the district, and it has been under discussion in the Press for several months, so that overyono v ho has taken any interest in the-matter must he fully aware of the nature of the improvements contemplated, and the advantages the district must derive from their execution. It will not be out of place, however, for us to briefly recapitulate the principal features of the scheme dovised by MrLeslie Reynolds to obviate the difficulties that at present militate cgainst the district's deriving the fullest advantagesJroni tho harbour. Mr. Jleynolds's plans provide practically for the completion of the sclism.-s originally sanctioned by the ratepayers, but which was only partially carried out, and then with certain modifications. The work now proposed includes the dredging of the cut to a bottom width of 500 feet, by a depth of 17 feet, dredging the outside shoal to a depth of 18 feet, and the removal of 448,000 cubic yards of material inside the harbour, giving sufficient depth in the sailing course and swinging room to enable vessels up to 600 feet in length to be safely handled. The cost of the scheme is estimated ■at £42,412, towards which the ratepayers are asked to authorise the balance, £35,000, of the original £100,000 loan, the Board being in a position to defray the rest of the cost out of accrued funds and revenue. Opponents of the scheme harp upon the fact that vessels of 10,000 tons have negotiated the harbour successfully. That, of course, is perfectly true, but as we have stated on previous occasions the fact that they have been able to do so has been due to various favourable' circumstances, and mainly to the skilful seamanship and nerve .of the pilot. Even then, however, it was impossible to prevent the Opawa being delayed 48 hours and the Suffolk twelve hours because the pilot, in his good judgment, decided that it would be unwise to attempt to negotiate the entrance under the. weather conditions that prevailed for the time being. The expense of these delays to the shipping companies, concerned is very heavy and eats into any profit that may be earned by the cargoes carried from the port. The widening of the cut from 350 feet to 500 feet, bottom width, would obviate these delays and remove. the. element of risk, for it would allow the larger vessels to make a straight passage through the cut instead of, as now, having to swing in narrow waters. It is the .swinging in'the .narrow waters, that constitutes the element of danger referred to, and it is more a question of. the length 'of . the vessel than her draught. . Under present conditions ocean liners must enter the port in light draught, and the necessity to swing in narrow waters enforces such a reduction in speed that steerage way is greatly diminished, so that being light and going slow, tho vessel is, if subject to a beam or cross wind, likely to sag towards one or other side of the cut to an extent that r-isks her striking tviih stem or stern while being swung. This is no fanciful picture, but a fact that the meanest mechanical mind can comprehend if the necessary thought is given to the subject, and the dimensions and contour" Kbf the entrance are studied. The present entrance is o£ such a nature that vessels with.a length of about 45Q'ieet are the limit that can possibly be brought in with any degree of confidence, and then only with favourable weather conditions. A-strong wind (much..less than a gale) would necessitate delay until the wind dropped. With the widening of the cut to the extent proposed, boats 600 feet in length could enter with far less risk—in ' fact, a minimum of risk— than can the shorter' boats negotiate the present entrance, and that without the handicap of being delayed if there is a capful ol: wind. It is estimated that this widening of the entrance ran be effected for £12,750, or, making the usual 'allowance for contingencies, soy, £15,000, less than half of the-■ total -sum proposed to be raised. This wide | ii'tirgin places it-beyond all doubt ilr v. the main ad\ aucav i- i-^un-cl it the uLi-'p.uors sanction tho loan. Tht dri'd»uig within Hie haiboiu Js a ■\ oi \ ji'mv -,!••> . crlv, bi.t of -ii!)-i(li, ;,\ I inujot td'ue to that oi widening the <ul. \. liich is p^ential if <nen tW piu-onL fMTAi '.X.de 1^ in I)O liKMnt.iinw'. Soui<' may aigue tku ii a \esscl should iou"h "lound or be p«itialJv stiiMided no damage could refill m our .sli<Uuod Wittoi-.. Upon tiu's poirt C.'p'.M.is Hone and MtDougjll, the ro-ncoluo -.iipeiin-t(ndr-nl-, oj the two coi-'j-aiiiel* ikiuidk to XeKoa, in,.do it quite iloar in their ii.tv>me'\ a\ ith the llaibour Hoard thai. for a \es-ol to rc-t pai'tially (or even mluiUv) 011 the 'ofL-st oroiui I,' ospoci,"!1" i/i tidal w l(M-., in\v.lred a stra'niiiu; of the fabric, and no •-hipping company Mould run such a risk if it could be avoided. Moreover thero was j the o\cr-pii escnt fact that every delay meant expense. Conditions have changed in recent years, and wo inuvr

provide" for; larger vessels' o« lose the trade that means so much to us. It is abundantly 'clear that'for such vessels tHereTs an element of risk in working the port as it how is, with the probability that, the companies will not take tho risk. It should be clear to everyone that the risk can be obViated for a sum that must be considered comparatively small for harbour vorks, and we cannot think that the general body of the iateI'ayers will be so blind to the welfare of the city and district as to vote to throw away the advantages, we have so far enjoyed, and handicap development for years to come, which would undoubtedly be the case if the proposals are rejected to-day.