GERALDINE FARMERS CLUB.

Timaru Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 1657, 10 January 1895, Page 3

GERALDINE FARMERS CLUB.

THE HARBOUR QUESTION. The usual monthly meeting of the Club was held on Monday evening last. Mr M. C. Orbell, president, occupied the chair aud at some length introduced the subject for discussion that evening, viz, " The Timaru Harbour." Mr Orbell remarked that it was a question of vast importance to South Canterbury, greater than nine-tenths of the. settlers,-, would believe. At the ■present time there was great howling m regard to taxation on all sides, and if the breakwater were to go on m its present condition the district would : iiave to be still more heavily r '.ted.' He %as not going to take one s.de or the other, and it was a question all should approach m a temperate way. The question to his mind was, what was the best course to pursue. He was down at the wharf a few days ago, and matters were explained to him far more than he knew before. It appeared that there .were two distinct issues, one being the extension of the work, and the other the removal of the shingle. The first was proposed m order to reduce the range, the inside heave of the water. The idea is to extend the breakwater some 300 ft. The majority of the memDers of the board wore m favour of such extension. Messrs Hay and Ussher, •who were appointed a Royal Commission ion the matter, reported that such extension* would be useless unless it were carried out 900 ft. ' He understood that it %as not settled yet, as there was still some talk of reviving the question. The trade' pi the port was different from what T it was a. few years ago, and all captains frequenting the port are m favour of 'Jhe extension. The chairman then dwelt on the shingle question as being •one that would have to be faced, and explained how the shingle was travelling .Rud also spoke of the unequal manner m which the ratepayers are represented on the board. He thought they should be represented m the proportion m which the rates are paid by the district. They read reports from time to time m i;he papers as to the manner m which tliie business of the board was conducted. It*: seemed as if there were personal matters between the members of the board. He thought that the first duty jof a body of men would be to work amicably, and that there should be practical men on.the Board. The reports of engineers have been ignored from the beginning. He thought those present would agree with him that the Board should be guided by experts. It had been suggested to call a meeting of the ratepayers m order to fully discuss all matters relating to the harbour and the Harbour Board. . There was another question among the members. Some wanted an extension of the breakwater to be built with concrete and others with rubble. What had been done during the ipaßt two years P The harbour had been fteft alone, and .the meinb^rs, had been ( jjuaiTelling among themselves. : As there wojild be an' election of members of the Board next month he thought it desirable that' a meeting of the ratepayers should be called previous to it. He next spoke m regard to the dredge, and concluded by hoping that if there wei'e a meeting of ratepayers, eveiy member of the club would roll up. Mr Wreathall handed the chairman a map of the harbour as prepared by Mr Goodall, showing the, travelling of the shingle up to August 1894. Mr R, Thew, who was a resident m Timaru before the harbour was formed, gave a very succinct account of its progress, the travelling of the shingle, etc. Mr Wreathail and Major Moore also spoke m regard to the harbour and its management,

Mr Shiers gave it as his opinion that t the board had had too many engineers' i reports ; and it was the alteration of the • work that caused all the trouble at the l present time. I Mr Webster, after a few remarks, pros poßed the following resolution, which was seconded by Mr White, and carried \ unanimously :— " That a meeting of the i ratepayers of the Timaru harbour district ■ be held on Tuesday evening, January 15th at 7.30 o'clock, m Geraldine, to disi cuss the present and future position of the Timaru harbour, and that a subi committee consisting of the president i and secretary be appointed to make all necessary arrangements : a special invitation to be sent to the chairman and members of the Timaru Harbour Board ; also to Mr Acton, late chairman of the Board, and to Mr Marchant, late engineer of the Board, to be present." The meeting then closed.