Taranaki Herald. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1907. THIRST FOR INFORMATION.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13536, 12 October 1907, Page 4

Taranaki Herald. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1907. THIRST FOR INFORMATION.

! Tlie motion by Mr. Okey for a return showing the quantity of coal imported by the Eailway DeIparitment over* the wharf at Motu- ■ rpa diu:ii^g ,th.e las.t five years,. and the. ambient expended > by the Go- ! vernment on the wharf during the same period, may t>e regarded as a counter-move to the request of Mr. Jennings .fotf information on several matters connected with the harbour at Moturoa.With a view, presumably, of showing how well the haTbour has been treated by ihe Government, Mr. ifennings wants to let the coloriy kiow how much revenue the New Plymouth Harbour Boardi has derived from the land fund and its endowments, how much the Government paid on behalf of the Board to th,e British bondholders when default was made, what the work done by the dredge Brogress in 1892 cost the colony and other information. It is just as wellthat members who desire to speak in Parliament about the harbour should know what they are talking ,al?out and Ibe accurate in their statements, because some people may perhaps take such statements,, when recorded.in Hansard, as facts. Mr. Jennings is not particularly well up on the subject, though he ought to.be ; for, when moving the second reading of the Waitara Harbour Bill, he stated twice that the settlers in the Waitara district had been paying- rates to the Ndw Plymouth Harbour Board for| thirty' years. The Hon. Mr. liouisson, .wjho moved the second rga<yng pf^jbej Bill.in the Upper House, was even less accurate, He said' there : were forty W ftffcy small lopal bo/dies within the district proposed to be ■■ constituted a Waitara -harbour district, and that t&ese had offered no, opposition to the Waitara Harbour Bill-. If he counted School. Committees as yell as County Councils and other local bodies he would find with difficulty a quarter of the number he mentioned. Then he said New Plymouth proposed to borrow £350,000/ which is. incorrect. The Hon. Mr. tTenkinson stated, and other/Councillors repeated, that the imports into Waitara (last year or per annum, we. do not know sqii<jh he meant)- amounted >to £300^000, and the exports to £400,000. There are, no .Sgures available as to the impprts,;but'ihe exports last ye,ar, were valued at £189,143- Other inis-st^.te;m£nts might be quoted > but enough ;has been said tcr show how desirable' it is thai! members should otyiain iacourate wfprmationj upon subjects they propose to speak upcC .It is quite right also Mr. Jennings should aseertaini.if he wishes, the information he has asked for. ' It is easily supplied. We can our : selves tell him that .when the Har* bour Board' made: default 'theGOn Vernment '-paidy £5115 Its on its bfihajf, ,that its own borrowing operations imight not be impefilP ed, dnd ,wheli it w^s 1 pro'no^ed 'to (Jeduct , this from the land revenue accruing to the Board it Wasfoii^ illegal tp do s.o,.s,b : ,that .Parliament nad to vote t}ie mone^ to the Board: r - The dredge Proj greM cost^the iGrovernment £4542, an^L^it, was ' a t v^eryr extravagant , cx r penditure for the amount "of work | done. The jpositiohy How.everj wa6 t^at the. J doiudiiioni oi the. jiarbout at that time. deia Jed theOnehutog^ frpm berttm^ iii {tiin6 r t6 qatpli the .train for. the ani ! railway traffic • was - consequently s peripusiy interf|dfeS '.wiith. I ,;^ ■ w^^teyer the-Gbyernmeiit haß;jmi<i ; On >. behalf of the harbour ! hiees 'been numey very, well, spent/. ; £ts t^be answer^, to JMJTv.^key'a, -qiueßtione will show . ■ Wer^ haVe> not time just now jbQ lookup 4heretu,rnV |or thp past five -years-, but in, the nine months. eridedSeptembfei- 18t)i, the quantity of ' coal ' landed ' at' the wharf for the Railway Department wa6uT232i tdrns. o-j:^oxwiai?f*gt©;{is ■ paid on this, though other impor-

ters have to pay, two. shillings per ton, rßjor Bjo that iii, i^e nine months a sum of £723 was. .remitted by the Board in favour of the Railway Department. The provided at Moturoa enable the Department To save considerably on its coal bill,iand the,. pprt,has been used for coal intended for Palmerston and'Foxta-tC- "It is-tnus evident that Moturoa, is worth a prreat deal to the Qovernment. Not only in respect to coal supplies is this so, but the wharf is a very valuable and important link in* the passenger route from Auckland to Wellington; how important may be gathered from the fact that something, like 40,000' passengers annually pass over the wharf- '.It would be absolutely impossible for that traffic to be carried without the harbour at Moturoa, an^ it

would : be v tremendous incoiiveilience an^l -loss tlie colony ,at large if s tlie ;sieaijaersjwers jiiiable to ''connect "with the train. s ervice as prompitly ; as r 'fcney In thii respect L,a^ouf .i^jw^tn^ 'we should sajr, some thousands a to- tne GtJvej'rtmdnt^ 'wliictf dcfes'n'ot contribute" tp '_ tliej upkee j). /: o£ tne wliarf. Tlie more Parliament §£nd> people' l khoV abpiit;tlie : M6tur6a j harbour tlie iho'rewili.it'be recognised th&t f it is, an ? jexee'ediri^ly valuable; asset both to the district:' and to ..tj^e colony. '\ . / ' '... ,