PROPOSED HARBOUR LOAN.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXI, Issue 12584, 23 January 1905, Page 4

PROPOSED HARBOUR LOAN.

THE WAIMATE MEETING. The following is a fuller report of the - ■ -hat meeting at Waimate of the harbour ( .district *a:epayers than we received by . ;feleVrap& »» Briday nigbfc. > -lir jCMsnchester, Mayor of Waimate, vcip i" member of the Harbour Board, who presided, said that no one was more convinced, than Mmarif of the necessity for maintaining -a harbour at- Timarn, though he had not always agreefl with others as to- the best way of maintaining it. He had opposed the last loan on account of such a difference of opinion. The chairman of the Board at that time said that £50,000 would he sufficient, but £IOO,OOO was asked for . in order to be on the safe aide. s He (Mr Manchester;, expressed the opinion''that the who-Te £IOO.OOO would be needed, and more than, that, and this opinion had proved correct, lichee the present proposal. Mr Manchester enumerated the several sources of capital expenditure—the grant of £IC6, - GOO odd .from > the old provincial loan fond, and three loans of £IOO,OOO each, and re- • marked that no provision had been made by, a sinking fund for repayment of the principal! ' "Be mentioned the engineer's recommendatfos.to obtain another dredge, and said the Board should be very cautious .about incurring the expense of purchasing eves a second-hand one. He was inclined,to think that some attachments to the present dredge could be devised to "enable it to do alt the work required." He did not think .the ratepayers would stand another loan, but there "was some reason in asking for - this one, to finish the work in hand, and he believed it would be carried by a good majority. Many ratepayers had spoken to . - hint r>f Jha risk of damage. No donbt there was a certain amount of risk.- The | < South -Pacific would continue to roD in at TuntUT rod damage might ensue. The -,. Board had net succeeded in getting for the mole the sizss of stone first specified, bnt ~ the-- risk must., be taken. He had 1 noticed a letter by the late chair- . man of the Board complaining tby ' the stcne u.*e-i was not large enough., though" previously he had insisted that it was; his chief trouble then wo« with regard" to the staging. It was tr> be hoped that laev would have no more ' .storm* i.v cost £3OOO and £4ooo.—(Mr • tfticet the first "loss to £ISOO. and the _ second- • loss- was smaller stiff.} Well. '• 1 there" had been -two and the stag- , isg fcpuld have to be maintained for «► long time to make good any breaches made ia th£ stone by the sea. '■'_ >£r >„(t *H. Graham, for himself and other ratepayers, of Deep Creek riding, asked , if'there was gome to be any-finality in 'theinnrowing-. .This was the fourthriean. and .£400.000 had been spent already. He , ibad'-voted and worked enthusiastically foi : 'the first and second loans; was rather about the last one, which it was cchflt?eßtly stated would - be the last. Would this loan' really' finish the harbour! Mr -Manchester said *it was very hard to say hoW the Pacific, would treat them, .or now- the travelling shingle would behave. * -It was sot possible to say whec • any, 1 Ltfcrbour would be finished. When the Joans fell due it was proposed to con.aoßdste'them and to provide a sinking - fund, and then, no doubt, the ratepayers w.oujti feel the pinch. The money-lenders ~,ut piesesf hod no guarantee for the repay.meat "of f tfce principal; the rating powei . was sQ]s-~fo'ensure payment cf interest; but as' Britishers they would recognise their ,< lebSity and provide a sinking fund. 1' 'was inrpcsable to-"say when they would step- . Tdr. Ftfiser is Ins address explained that the iconr was being asked for, in part to - complete the new' mole, the cost of which had-bees increased by unforeseen circum- ■ Africa war, increased cost oi machinery and plant, and a disappointment in- tie -nature of the quarry - deposits. When they started it no one "knew what "the results would be, but- titer were compelled to. do something. -They were in ? -very' awkward position, as the shingle thxeaterel to close the harbour. Ther Mr' Maxwel- produced bis plan to meet the diificH.tv-, which he had been studying far-three years. Seme people thought i* ' . a - , very wild scheme to run a mole SGQflft into the ocean, and said itwonld cost balEa million, to do it, but Mr MaxweHVorigroal estimate of £IOO,OOO would be found, very near the actual cost. And Vthe work had- already-proved that it would .•effect the purpose. The first few~ hundred feet stopped the shingle and -gave eome--sbefter to the entrance, and now, at 2000 ft, • >the> entrance was so well sheltered, that .during-the late, great storm at New Year, ,'steamers: working.in perfect, calm. •Qnerfooitb of the loan had been spent on plait, and: on the quarry—(the'quarry was --•paid for for 20 years)—and if this loan was ' -not sanctioned the w&rk might be com-'-fleted without hV.by drawing against the ' -value of the plant, or by selling it gradually . as .they went on. - Of course it would not fetch that they gave for it, as there was noti much market for such plant, and it - would" be wiser to retain it.- - They could fiandt the -work for £25,000;- and have the > plant to* the good.- * The Board decided to 'ask for £25,000 more, for wharfage or dredging, or any other* works the need for - winch might crop up. He had not promised , hj» constituents that the last loan would - be-the last. All he had promised was that cause an increase of the rate, and that bad proved correct. The increased 'Revenue bad met the increased -charges, and 'the continuing increase would meet- the - charges on the new loan. - Many who had Opposed the last loan had told him that 'they -wouM have voted for £IOO.OOO this ►time, and if he had "known what he knew now of the dredging requirements he would -himself have favoured the £IOO,OOO. Redamage to the work, the losses had been trifling compared with similar losses on other harbour works. At Dover, for instance, with the best engineering skill of England directing the works, £IOO.OOO was .carried away in one storm; while here 'they had lost only a few hundred pounds worth of timber and piles, and precautions would be taken in future to reduce the risk of-surh losses by using some ironbark piles among the turpentine. Mr Fraser then made a comparison between the cost of the rate to the producers and the cost of rafling.their produce to Lyttelton, if there were no-harbour. The rate was onlv £7OOO a year, whilst, even with all "allowances nadei* the preferential rates, railing would .last.year have cost £IOO,OOO. He then »ps£e of the value of the shingle accumulation, and of the rents derived from it taw.. £9OO a year and soon to become £1000); of the Board's, power to reclaim • swrert acres of the harbour, which could be '" < eD *^? : Bohe, and would give the most yaftmWe sites, in Tfinaru. "He also spoke ef consolidating all the loans in 1916, when the: whole could be got at a reduced .■ l *™.' : '.*°f- •'. interest, which', reduction and the rents of sites on the "shingle, would go far to provide a sinking fund that would make, the harbour free of the present debt in 40 or 50 years. This Board-had an advantage possessed by no o£her ; in that its debentures were availfbe -tor the investment of trust funds; it Jacket the power it should have, to buy np it» own debenutres," a power which - might mean a considerable economy in certain; crrewnstonce?. The last loan was •raised in the colony, and the new one would be raised locally also, saving the co»t of sending interest payments to london, • He could assure taem that this loan would not add a penny to the rate. Mr « nihuu* had asked about finality in borrowfcg. He hoped there would be no finality in - harbour improvement at Timarn. The oldest harbours at Home were ' still spending money on improvements. T&s. mt reasing size of vessels compelled «. When. Tiroara harbour was started they looked t« accommodate ..vessels of 1200 toes. Now they had vessels of eight and rme, thousand tons register; carryW IAOOO tons, coming to the port, and their owners and masters had to be satisfied. It .would be impossible to sav that tbev had .reached perfection, and the limit of afiipping- requirements. All thev could no was to finish the work in hand, and Wave to others the cost of meeting future reaurrements This work would stop the abmgle for 30 or 40 years at anv rate and tear former bugbear was cow a' Dlesjmg, giving an increasing revenue. ReKjttamg possible damage (mentioned by- Mr Manchester) Mr Maxwell had tftat there could not be any breaches in UE.frT '* 9 WoTst tfcat conld happen 3 b * s T e hW r and that couldsoon be made good. As to the] .could be wished; but they were not under *£&!£*s*?*■ Fras€r lepeated tW- ta&le oMizes recorded previously.) Itl

had been said that if the work had been doce. by contract, the contractors cduli haveljeen compelled to put in larger stones. I'nat was a mistake. A contractor could oniy put- in the stone that ha could. geV from: tb*e quarry that the Board supplied ihim with, and that -was what the Board was doing. v&i-ajmg "wolf," when, there was no " so. far as>the stone used wailtoncerßedl: In conclusion he would say Siat these who opposed the loan would dtKSo conscientiously, but the Board were ; committed to the work, and the ratepayers i,w.ctt!d be standing very much in their | own light if they voted against'it. ! '.* Question's -being invited, Mr J. Smith ! asked whether tbe £50,000 would complete j the mole, and how Jong it- would take Ito finish it.—Mr Fraser said half the £50,j 000 "would finish it, and the engineers estimated, the time at about 18 months. Mr Geo. Manchester asked -what was I the difference between the earning power |of the hsrlioar and the expenditure, in-- ! eludir-g i-terest, and if, as stated, this loan would not add to the rate, what would become of the surplus revenue that was to pay the interest if the loan were raised, r—Jlr'Fraser explained that such surpluses had been, applied to increasing the reserves I for- wharf and dredge renewals. The dredge ; wax-still as good as new, but could not last-for ever, and half the lifetime of the -oldest wharves had" run out, and funds must be provided in time for their renewal. The meeting then closed, Mr Geo. Manchester moving a vote of thanks to Mr Frasei'for his address, and Mr Fraser moved for thanks to the chairman.*