TIMARU HARBOUR BOARD.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 11980, 31 January 1903, Page 4

TIMARU HARBOUR BOARD.

The monthly meeting of the Timaru Harbour Board was held yesterday. Present : Messrs W. Evans (chaiiman), J. Fraser. T. D. Young, G. Manchester, G. LyalL R. Skinner, R. Thew, J. E. Goodwin, C. X. Macintosh, D. C. Turnbull and A. C- Frkgle. CHAIRMAN'S STATEMEXT.

The chairman stated that the receipts since the last ordinary meeting were:— Ships' dues, £295 15s ICd; wharfage, £622 13s sd; Oamatn Harbour Board (loan of dredge). £454 12s, a total of £1375 Is 3d. The statutory anriual meeting had been called for the due date, but had to be adjourned as the accounts were not audited. This had since been done, and the accounts were all in order, but they had not yet been returned from the Audit- Office. Mr Evans referred to some of the subjects to come up in the correspondence, or dealt with in the Standing Committee's report- As the office staff had much extra work, and were working overtime. during Christmas \retk, he had taken upon himself to give them a week's wages. The solicitor said that this was perfectly in order, and the anditor had passed the amount, £ll ss. This should not be allowed to be taken as a precedent. Referring to the crossingrkeepers on the tramline, he said the Board had done everything they could to avoid the unnecessary expense, and the fault now lay entirely* with' the Levels County Council." The expense of course must- fall upon the ratepayers. Mr Thew- suggested that the County Council be again approached, as the County elections were recently over, and Mr Lyall suggested discharging the flagmen, and see what came of it. The chairman said they could not do that in face of their agreement.—Some complaint had been made about the manner in which the blasting in the quarry was carried on. With several members of the Board he visited the quarries, and ihev saw the results of a blast, which their officers said was a good average blast. There was another blast on Thursday, which he saw. and in this case the whole of the store was lifted about 4ft, and a quantity of it came down in much the same position as before it was moved. The engineer and foreman considered it a sjlendid blast, and they reckoned tint 12.C00 tons were moved. Altogether there were 60.000 tots of stone loosened now. Mr Goodwin asked whether there is enough stone in sight to finish the present contract, and the chairman said there was plenty. Everything was working satisfactorily, and a report would be read showing that the cost of stone this year was mr>eh less than last year. The "chairman mentioted that some "specially good photographs of the harbour had been taken by Mr Vachaun. and he had ordered 40 copies at a cost of £2O. to be distributed an ong shipping centres, where they would be a very gonj advertisement for the port. (Hear, hear.) He also referred to the visit of the steam trawler, and the steps taken by the Mayor to obtain a better trial of the neighbouring fishing grounds. The Board had done its share towards encouraging Mr Sullivan to test the grounds by supplying coal and water at cost price.— The chairman's statement, and his action re extra pay to the office staff were approved. CORRESPONDENCE. The Oamaru Harbour Board forwarded a cheque for £455 3s 6d for hire of dredge Timaru.—The secretary stated that the Oamaru, Board also paid working expenses, so that all but about £5 was a net receipt.

Mr W. S. Black offered 6s per acre for 15 acres o£ land at the quarry for grazing, and Mr Jas. King offered 3s a year forth* same ground. Captain Mylins, master of the barque La Bella, applied for exemption from pilotage fees, as that vessel is a regnlar trader here, or at least be put on the same footing as steamers trading here regularly. ' The Harbourmaster reported that he "sawno objection, subject to the by-laws. ■ : Sir. Bonayae, General Manager, N.Z.R., wrote that- it. would" be necessary to pass a. short-Act next session to authorise the exchange of land at the head of the harbour.-. .<■-•• Captain Tart, of the dredge Timarn, applied for a fortnight's leave. Captain' Fullarton, of the ship Oamaru wrote asking for a reduction of the harbour dues for his ship, as she is making a long stay. On her last visit she staved from October to March, and the charees ran up to £296 8s 3d, of which £147 18s Tiras for moorings alone. The Oamaru was having another long stav, and he thought it would be only reasonable to make some concession, either in a reduced rate for moorings, say after 60 davs, or bv removals between wharf and buoys free.' The long stay of the ship, and the removals he pointed out, was for the convenience of the shippers of Timaru, not for that of the ship. The wear and tear of the moorings was very light now compared with what it was when the scale was drawn ud STA2CDLS-G COMMITTEE: The Standing Committee reported as follows :

Leasing 15-acre Block at Quarrv.-Your Committee have received offers from Mr Black and Mr King, but as the amount i* so small, they cannot recommend the leasing of the block.

Disposal of 'Samson' Crane.—Your Committee have advertised extensively in tnt 1^ and ~ Vew Zeal " M d, But no offer has been received '•Sharp's Contract for Timber.—ln consequence of the difficulties experienced bv the tenderer, your Committee have granted a further extension of two monthsm;*, PI L Cati ° a for Holidays.—Your Committee have panted Captain Tait's application for a fortnight's holiday, subject to arrangement of dates with the resident engineer.

Increased Draught for Vessels.—Your Committee have had this matter under consideration and in view C f the large amount of expenditure on the eastern extension e t c and the increase in size of steamers visiting the colony, thev think it de-irab'e to increase the current standard (21 feet) -lo this end they recommend that the Engineer should make an exhaustive survev and report at next meeting.* I„ the meantime it has been arranged with the Harbourmaster to increase the standard to 21ft on.

iJi Dn % for 9, amani and P'ktuge for La -Bella.—i oar Committee recognise that it is desirable to attract a- much shipping to the port as possible, and thev reconfinend that the solicitors advice "be taken se * if rebates and exemptions can be made. If they cannot, the Committee re commend that the alteration of bv-!aw* be leit to the new Board, with a sugestion that they give the matter their immedKte and favourable consideration Com* ticjj Er.grne=rs.-Yonr CYnrnittee recommend that Messrs A. D. Dobson (Cnnstchurch) and T. H. R.wson (D.-nedin) toe invited to meet in consultation with the Board and the resident engineer relative to dredging operations, wharf repairs, and harbour matters in general. 'Tenders for iror.mongerv.— Your Committee reciimmerol that this" matter be left for the new Board to deal with." Regnr.-mg the grazing at the quarrv. the chairman said the cost of providing "cattle ' Steps made it rot wtrtF- while to let the grazing at the prices offered. Tt was a pity they had no en'irirv about the crane as it was worth £3OOO. and thev were losing _ the use of that sum or the interest on it.

Regarding the '"standard" depth for vessels, the chairman said it was hoped that the survey would enable them to increase the standard above 21Jft. A long discussion took place on the ap-

plications for reduction of dues on account of the La Bella and Oamaru. Members generally admitted that the charges are high for vessels lying in port a lonir time, bur Mr Pringle contended that the~ Board could not afford to give up any revenue. The chairman pointed out that" wear and tear is largely reduced by the new work, and it was replied that" the interest on the cost of the new work must be set against that saving. The proposal was carried, Mr Pringle dissenting. Another long discussion took place on the recommendation re consulting engineers. The need for the system of dredging to save the waste of time in pumping up stuff ti> pour over the side was insisted upon, the possibility of delivering it over the noitn mole by means of pipes being the idea in view." Some members considered that it would be sufficient to engage Mr Ruwson, who has had special experience in that scrt of work at Uunedin. but by a vote of sis to five it was decided to ask both the engineers named to act.

In the couise of this discussion Mr Macintosh quoted a statement that at Dunedin 31.000 yards of silt had been lifted and used for reclamation at a cost- of 9.Jd per yard. That amount of stuff would c„ver 6 acies to a~depth of 3J feet. Last year this Board Spent £5200 on dredging, but chiefly in lifting stuff to drop "over the side again. The Committee's report as a whole was adopted. ENGINEER'S REPORT.

Mr A. E. Austin, Resident Engineer, teported that the eastern mole staging is now out to 1775 ft. Stone has been tipped to 1650 ft. and shows at low water to 1450 ft. Tne tctal quantity of stone in the mole is 161,762 tons. Since last meeting, 23 working days, 11.277 tons had been delivered, an average of 490 tons per day, less than the two previous months, partly on account of wet weather, partly because the 5-ton crane had been employed in shifting earth and extending the tramline. Four blasts have been fired at the new quany. loosening 40.000 tons of stone. The 20-tcn crane will be put there in a few days, and the deliveries should increase considerably next month. The total length of The tramline is now 5 miles 30 chains. The tramline to the north mole has been laid, and a few trucks of stone have been tipped ak-og the foreshore near the approach of the mole to raise the line. It will be necessary to widen the track near the approach of the mole to make a footpath, and this he proposed to do by tipping some small stoneson the harbour side. Repairs to main wharf were proceeding. Two of the old surf-boats used as coa! stores had been overhauled, and the other two will be done next month. The two dredges had lifted 10.910 tons during the month. Mr Austin also submitted the following special report on the cost of stone delivered:—"The total amount of stone de. livered was 99,538 tens, at a cost of £13.484, or at a rate of 2s BJd per ton. The above price includes all quarry work, haulage and tipping, maintenance of tramline, inspection, and work in laying quarry sidings. less credit for ships' "ballast and sundries, stores and material on hand, and work done at the quarry in advance to be debited to 1903. but dies not include interest and depreciation on plant, etc. Taking into consideration the number of we' days during the year, and that the cost was BJd per ton less than previous year, this may. be considered satisfac.ory. The cost of stone ior 1901 was 3s 5d per ton, and the average cost for the twtyears, 1901 and 1902, was 2s lljd per ton. As instructed, I attach to the report my figures showing, how the prices are arrived at." In reply to a question, the secretary stated that £27,000 of the last loan was unexpended, and there was £22,000 worth of plant on hand. Mr Pringle complained that the Board had been misled by reports on borings, as to the quantity of stone in the first quarries worked! Mr Macintosh said the cost of the tramline within the quarry ought to have been included, in reckoning the cost of stone, as a contractor would have Lad to include it. The Engineer said he had left out that item (£2285) because if a contractor had put down the line the Board would have had to buy it at the end of the contract. Mr Turnbull also thought that amount ought to have been reckoned"* or at all events an estimated difference between cost and valuation at- the close. HARBOURMASTER. The harbourmaster reported the arr:--il of 17 steam and 1 sailing vessel, and the departure of 17 steam and 2 sailing vessels, during December. The weather during the month had been moderately fine, with smooth seas. The usual soundings had been taken and recorded. He required some high moorings on the breakwater for steamers.—On being called in, Captain Uarkson said the high moorings he asked for were high piles on the breakwater side of the wharf for big steamers, from which hawsers could be taken aboTe the trains The report was adopted. ACCOUNTS. v Accounts amounting to passed for payment, and the Board rose at 1.15 p.m~