NEW PLYMOUTH HARBOUR BOARD.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIII, Issue 24, 21 October 1901, Page 2

NEW PLYMOUTH HARBOUR BOARD.

The Harbour Board met on Friday. Present: Messrs Maxwell (chairman), Oonnetr, McLean, King, Price, Ward, Sarten, Hignett, and Ralfe. . Mr King inquired what sections of the Board's Reserve had been taken by the Government under the Public Works Act. No information was available. I The Napi»r Harbour Board wrote relative to the Board's action as to valuatioQ changes, and as to berthage | of vessels. . The Bail way Department wrote, in i reply to tbe Board's communication, and stated that thera was no under- ] taking to remove » specific quantity of j earth from Mt. E'liot reserve in ex- ! change for the stone. Tbey had taken ' away 40,000 yards of soil and could not I remove any more. I The Chairman and Mr Hignett both expressed dissatisfaction at the department's unfair treatment of the Board over the matter. The Engineer, Mr Marchant, reported having engaged Wm. Parr, of i Timaru, as engineer to work the sand J pump for the month's trial ordered by j the Board. At the request of the County Council ' the Board decided to instruct the sojlicitor to take the necessary slops for !' having tbe Harbour-road gazetted a county road. Letters relative to customary course of action relal ive to berthage of vessels were read from Timaru, Westport, and Osmaru, that from the latter being handed in by Captain Hood. It was generally agreed that the present arrangements at the Breakwafer were working very satisfactorily An authority was given for tbe purchase of stores as per list submitted. The Harbour-master reported that during last month 32 steamers, one sailing vessel and a scow were berthed at the wharf, the aggregate tonnage being 24,174. Notwithstanding the rough weather there had been no delay to the shipping. The dredge had made 112 trips. Captain Hood stated that owing to the rough sea prevalent last month he had been unable to make the usual I survey of the depth of water in the harbour. The foreman reported tbe completion of the shed; also that 56 yards of stone had been supplied to the County Council. j In reply to Mr Hignett, the Chair- ] man siid that the cost of delivering! the stone a"; the root of the breakwater j worked out at fully 2s a yard. A tender was read from John Hos- j j kin for cutting a six feet hole in the ' wall for £56. i The Chairman reported that the! beams ordered at the last meeting had { been put in the wharf. He stated j that'some new piles were required. • Mr Ooonett drew the attention of the ! Board to the fact that owing to the j peculiar construction of the Upolu ehe always struck her weight on one pile, i !aad he urged that a fender bar should ! be supplied so »s to distribute weight over four piles. j Captain Hood eaid he bad already j made arrangements with the captain of ; the steamer to supply a coir spring rope j to be attached to the wharf and the' ship. He stated that it would be the ship that would surfer by bumping, not the wharf.

The Chairman stated that an inquiry for purchase of the old sand grab on the dredge, now of no use, had been made, and that according to the engineer i's value was £lO. Originally it cost £75. Mr Connett said it was better to sell it for £lO than let it rust away, and on his motion the secretary was authorised to dispose of the grab for £10; an amendment by Mr Sarten to offer it by public sale not being seconded, With reference to the applications received for the position of foreman, the Chairman stated that as some of

the applicants had requested the return of their papers, the secretary hid been obliged to open all the papers, and that Mr Marchant had been going through the applications. The Board went into committee to open tenders for supplies, and on resuming the following were accepted: (Joal, Westport Goal Company, screened, 275, unscreemd, 23s per ton; ironmongery, H, Ward and Co. (schedule prices); cab and ixprtss hire, J. Hooker, per hour 3s 6d, per trip 2s. A formal resolution was pissed authorising an overdraft on the ordinary account if found necessary. Accounts amounting to .£6,611 were passed. The Chairman mentioned that an old sea captain had brought to his notice a spring composed of india-rubber and iron rods which had been used in Scotland and found efficacious in minimising the effect of vessels biiraping against a wharf, and enabled chains in--1 stoad of ropes to be used for berthing ! vessels. I The matter was referred to the Harbourmaster to report upon. I Mr King drew the attention of the ; Board ts the stringy bark piles used in Tasmania which required no copperI casing and lasted for some 40 years. i The engineer is to ascertain and report on the suitability of the piles in question j for use here and as to their cos 1;. The Chairman, in referring to Mr Napier Bell's visit, said it appeared the precs advocated taking advantage of Mr Bell's presence to obtain his views on Mr Marchant's scheme for future extension of the breakwater. He pointed out that while Mr Bell was collecting data on other matters he could bear in mind the possible extension, and that in would save expense if, should the Board think fit, Mr Bell weie to report on the scheme at his present visit. He (Mr Maxwell) had , sounds Mr Bell us to the charge, and

it arpe ired that while hia fee for reporting en ihe question of an opening in the wall was £63 and travelling expenses, he would report on both matters for 100 guioe-s. Mr King moved that Mr Bell he I asked to report on both i-cbems. He said it was not with a view to immediate action in the matter of extension, but there was a distinct advantage in having Mr Bell's views on that matter in the Board's office. The work might possibly be done in dribbles, and it would therefore be well for the Board to know that when it was done it was on tbe right lines. Mr Ward, in seconding the motion, said the public were demanding the extension, which must be carried out sooner or later. The Chairman was against the pro-posal-not the extension, but against the further borrowing on rates. Mr King: Tbat is not proposed. The Chairman: As there is no hops of the extension work being done there is no need for the expense •of a report on the plans. Mr Price supported the motion. He pointed out that the question cf borrowing was not before the Board. Mr Connett also supported the proposal. Mr. Balfe thought the Board would be doiog wrong if it neglected the opportunity of taking advantage of Mr. Bill's services. Mr, Hignett opposed the motion. He said not a single member of the Board had indicated where the money for harbour extension was to come from. Mr. Sarten would like to sea the bole in the wall disposed of first, as if that hole were made he was convinced that the greater portion of tbe money now spent in dredging would be available for extension purposes. Mr. King, in reply, said the question of borrowing should not have been introduced into the discussion. If tho Board were able to do any extension work out of revenue it was very desirable that it should know that the right course of action was being adopted. The motion was then carried. In connection with the sand pump Mr. Marchant stated that he had instructed the man who was coming to work it to take regular tests. The dredge might be usad for a week in making these tests, but it would b9 a pity to take her away from her own work. They could only remove a portion of the sand with the present imperfect appliances, and he agreed with 'the suggestion that a new dredge 'should be obtained. | Finally tbe subject was dropped. It was understood that Mr. Marchant should take the best means he could devise to-ascertain the amount of sand removed by the fixed pump during its further trials. On Mr. Marchant's recommendation Mr. E. Williams, of Central Otago, was appointed working foreman at the harbour works.