TIMARU HARBOUR BOARD.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13939, 26 June 1909, Page 2

TIMARU HARBOUR BOARD.

■'MONTHLY MEETING

The,_monU;ly meeting of the Timnru Harbour .Hoard', was held yesterday. I'resent —Messrs J. Craigie (chairman.), T. \j. Young, F. J. Koileston, D. C. Turnbull. C. N. Orbell. J. E. Ooodwin, L. Stfckings, C. H. Besley. "\Y Hayman, G. AV. Armitage; It. Thew, and K. Skinner. An apology for absence was received from Mr Manchester. CHAIRMAN'S-STATEMENT.

The chairman said that the credit balance at last meeting stood at £1172 4s lid. The receipts since last meeting totalled £'4440 5s Id, made up as follows: —Ships' dues £1894 ss, wharfage (two months.) £2546 0s Id. The accounts to lie passed that dav amounted to £1374 16s 3d, and £64 3s to the New Zealand railways for commission. After paying these there would be a credit balance cf £4173 10s 9d. This was a very satisfactory credit balance, but by July Ist they had to find £7600 for interest payments. It was plea-siii" to note that the trade of the port was keeping up very well. For the month of May another record had been established. The revenue from ships' dues for May was £I7BO os Id, the previous revenue rpcord for the month of May was in 1901, when the total was £1313 lis sd, the cargo handled being 20,446 tons. The wharfage for Mav of this year (£1560 12s 9dj had been beaten once, this being in February, 1905, when the wharfage reached £1678 6s od. He regretted to have to report that since last meeting an old man had fallen over the main wharf, and had lost his life; it was satisfactory to note. Jwwever, that no blame was attachable to anyone in the > A *portion of the lease held by J. Mill and Co. would fall in shortly, .""d as th: lease was somewhat involved he would suggest that preliminaries new be entered upon so that- the Board would be in a position to call tenders at next meeting. The qnestion of superannuation would require to be discussed hy the Board in £he interests of its employees. " He was afraid' that unless ihe . Board agreed to subsidise the scheme, it-"wo.uld be of little use to the employees, as the premiums would be too high. The Board should discus.' the matter and forward any. suggestions it might have to make to the Harbours Conference, whJch should consider the matter before Parliament meets, so that. proper representation? for amendment might be made, these to come as from the Boards as. a whole. There had been a good deal of talk about the constitution of Harbour Boards throughout the country. Not every Board was in snch a favourable position as the Timaru Board. Most Boards had .some members nominated by-the Government, or Mayor? of cities, or members of Chambers ol Commerce. Timarii had none of this, and the qnestion was: Were they satisfied to 'allow matters to remain as they were? Should they be contem with their present franchise, or asfc for the Parliamentary franchise? I they had counties put- upon the sam« level as boroughs in regard to voting povjer, he thought that should satisfy the L'oardV Complaints were frequently made about' the light on the eastern mole, which was said to be verj deficient. Some offers had been received for erecting a gas or electrii light, but before accepting any one o these it was proposed to seek th. opinion of captains trading to the pon as to what kind of light would bi most suitable. r ihe acting-harbour master, Captain Tait, reeommeuded thi appointment of a permanent nigh, watchman. Some reorganisation was also asked for in the harbourmaster', staff, and it was proposed that a sub committee should go into the w-holc matter and report to next meeting o the Board. The enginer had com pitted lus survey of the harbour, anc the plan now on the wall of the Board's room seemed to be very thorough, h was very gratifying •to find that the harbour was maintaining its depth s< well, the sand having made verj little. CORRESPONDENCE. The Bluff Harbour Board wrote enquiring as to tne practice in regard to exemption at 'limaru. — Re,iiieU to by tne secretary. Tne liouorary secretary to the Navj League, "Wellington, wrote thanking Lie Soard for its letter of the 2nd inst., t.nd stating that the Board's valued suggestion re tne adoption of Morse signalling at the lightnouses would bv brougnt before the Harbours Associa tion. ~

,lu reply to a letter sent, the genera, manager of railways (Mr T. Kcnayne wrpt« with reference to the hoard's suggestion that tiie special rates oi. ships' goods between Timaru am. Oamaru should be made applicable in the case of frozen meat railed Iron. Oamaru to Timaru for shipment. Ht had given the matter very careful consideration and could not see his way to adopt the suggestion. Mr H. B. Kirk wrote that on behalf "of the Royal Humane Society he had presented tlie Board with tiiree life belts. Captain Tait had consented to place them where he considered best. If more were required MrxKirk would see that- they were sent. —Received with thanks.

A long letter was received frjom Cape Town, giving numerous particulars of a dredge which cost £46,000. —Received. A communication- was received in connection with the creneral labourers' dispute, stating that the citations sent imt for the Board to appear at the hearing of the dispute, had been sent out in error. The Board had been exempted from the dispute. Mr It. J. Tooth, applied (through the Levels Connty Council) for a crossing over the tramline, giving access .to hjs proper*'- off Otipua road.—Engineer is attending to the work. The builders of dredge 350 wrote advising that a newspaper clipping had been forwarded to them in which it was stat«d that through the hull of. the dredge being weak the Board had had to incur an expenditure of £I3OO or £I4OO in strengthening it. This they took as a slight on them, and would be pleased at any time to place their advice and experience at the disposal of tlie Board in connection with the boat. They did not consider that the dredge was in any- way deficient as built by them.

The chairman said it was more like £4OOO that the Board had spent on the dredge.—lt was decided to simply receive the letter. The Mayor of Christehurch wrote that some dissatisfaction was felt in Christehurch and adjoining districts at the present constitution of Lytteltori Harbour Board, which was considered unfair to the city, and retarded its progress. It was suggested that a Bill he introduced during next session of Parliament to provide that the electrics as defined in ''The Harbours Act. 1908.'* shall elect nil the members of the Board, and that/ the representation of the various districts shall be in proportion to population. The Tiniarn Board *fls asked for an expression of opinion on the question. The chairman said that they had vnough trouble of their own without meddliruc in the affairs of Christehurch. He cugthat they should express no opinion, but should simply forward to the Mayor of Christehurch a statement of the constitution of the Ttniaru Board. Mr H. Archer, honorarv secretary to the St. John Ambulance Brigade, wrote advising that it was the intention of the brigade to establish a first aid depot on the main wharf and asked permission to i>)nce the necessary material

in the small shed at; the foot of 'the mam whart. —Agreed to. . Mr M. McLeod wrote in regard to the proposed, slipway for fisliermen stating that the boatowners-. who use the slipway would guarantee a revenue of £lO per annum . for the .first ihree years. The • fishermen suggested the 'following - scale of cnarges:—-as for the first two days-or part thereof, and Is for any subsequent ttay.

in connection with this matter Mr McLeod waited on tlie Hoard and explained the 'position fully.—The chairman said that the slipway was goingto cost the Board £75", but it would assist the fishing industry which was an important one, and one- which they should encourage.—Several members suggested that tne slipway should be let straight out to the fishermen for £l2 a year. —The matter was finally deferred until next meeting. SHIPPING CHARGES. Mr AY. 11. McLaren, as manager of the National Mortgage and Agency Company, advised that in May they had the Arawa and Tainui both loading at Timaru, both having to be at the main wharf for three'days. One. took on board 949 tons of cargo, and the other 1113 tons. The charge in the case of the Arawa was £IOO 9s 3d, and in the case of the Tainui £l6l 10s 9d: Had the latter steamer handled 114 tons less her account would only Jiave come to £lO9. On the other hand, had the Arawa taken on board 51 tons more, her charge would have been- increased by £SO. The Company considered it unfair that the pilotage should be increased in this way, and suggested that the increase should be proportionate to the extra cargo handled after 1000 tons was reached. The Company wished also to say that it was sometimes, though not often, necessary to shift a steamer working at the wharf in*order that the berth. might be used by another one requiring more urgent despatch. Would the Board in the future make any charge for such removal? The other day, when there was a congestion of shipping, they had shifted the Waihora so as to allow che Pukaki to work, and on the circumstances being explained, the charge was waived by the Leeretary. The Company would be glad of a definite ruling on this point.

T!i is matter had been referred to the Board's solicitors, who endorsed the action of the secretary in reuniting the fees under the circumstances, ::s the .Railway Department was unabi'j to povide the necessary trucks to discharge the Waihora, and the Pnkaki required laden trucks, which were available. The letter concludes: —"In all other cases, as for example, where the removal, is for the convenience of tKe ship-owners in consequence of it being found that one vessel requires ni'.n'v urgent despatch than another, the ordinary fees are payable, and as the bylaw stands, there is no power to dispense with paymen't of them. ]f the by-law was altered so as to provide for dispensing with payment, tiie dispensation would have \<j i'ppucable to all such cases, as it would not be legally permissiole for the Board to reserve a discretionary power to waive or suspend the opera coins of provisions of +nis- nature " The Board decided to forward a copy of i«ie solicitors' opinion to the ComBOROUGH DRAINAGE. The 'iimani .iJor'ough Council forwarded a tracing showing the course of the intercepting sewer, wnicli. tiie Council proposed to construct along the joutnern b^-ach.

The resident engineer reported having seen Mr Marehant in regard to this, and lie had expressed his willingness to make any alteration in " the alignment which he (the engineer) considered necessary in the interest of the Board. The proposd sewer would be laid along the road, and would not interfere in. any way with any sections that might be marked out in future. With regard to :he septic tank, Mr Marehant said this would be on Crown land at Patiti Point, the effluent from it crossing the Board's property. This would not detrimentally. affect the Board's property, as the effluent would be more efficiently . disposed of than even that from the septic tank north of Caroline Bay.—The Board agreed to the sewer being put down linder these conditions. • TENDERS. For Australian hardwood timber required for. repairs to the main and Mjjody wharves, the following tenders were received: —Westland-Timaru Timber Company £2951 (accepted), J. Jackson and Co. £2992, Nicholas Cain (New South Wales) £3545. There were four other tenders, but thej; were incomplete. i<'or ironmongery supplies only two tenders were received :—J. Edmond and Co. 4!296 (accepted), Priest and Holdgate £304. SUPERANNUATION. The Board decided that it would not subsidise the scheme to provide superannuation for Harbour Board em>loyees. The matter is to be further dealt with at the Harbour Conference. THE CONSTITUTION.

Members agreed that no' change was desirable in the constitution of the Board, but it was decided to make representations with a view to levelling up the voting power in the country districts, so that country residents may have the same .voting power as that enjoyed by - residents in boroughs, •.where both rent and rate payers, man and ' wife, have the right to vote, while only the actual ratepayer can do so in the country. DEPTH OF WATER.

Discussing the depth of water in the harbour, Mr Young said he thought the Board should make known the fact that an increased depth was now available, as it would probably lead to some vessels making fimaru their final port of call' before leaving for Home, which was. a very important thing. The secretary said tihat a vessel drawing 23ft 4iin had been brought in the other day, :>nd the resident engineer said that while there was now practically 24ft in the entrance, they could safely count upon 23ft always. It was decided to advise the shipping companies to this effect. . CLEARANCE CERTIFICATES.

In reference to the method followed at other ports in giving ships' clearances, the- secretary had written to seven or eight other Boards, and presented a big budeet of correspondence in connection therewith. From the replies given by other Boards it appeared that at no port was any agreement entered into with the agents of vessels guaranteeing payment of the accounts due on their vessels, and that in most instances the same • practice is adopted as here, exceptions being made with such companies as the Union and Huddart Parker Companies. ' The secretary had submitted a number of questions to the Board's solicitors, bearing on this matter, and they replied, inter alia, as follows: "The course* adopted" at present is much preferable as a standard practice although there is no objection to an exception being made under special circumstances us in the case of the F.S.S. Company with regard to their own vessels. Of course the. collector under section 108 of the Act can distrain on a vessel for the payment of dues, but such an extreme step would only he resorted to under exceptional circumstances. The present practice is much preferable to any other as it involves no risk of the necessity for legal proceedings." Mr Turnbull suggested that where annual guarantees for payment are rciven individual clearances should not be asked for, —Mr Young supported this

and a motion to this effect was, curried, tliu secretary stating that lie woula welcome, the change as it would simplitv matters greatly for him. . . MAR HO ViiM ASTER.'.

Captain Tail, acting-harbourmaster,, reported the arrival of 38 steamers ana two sailers during. May, total. 65,372 tons. -. The weather, during the month had been comparatively line, with the exception of two or three considerable seas ivhich did not affect the shipping .in the ' least. F. Haselberg has left the service,.and Captain 'fait requested that the position be filled by the - appointment of another liand. He . advised that a- permanent nightwatchman be appointed in addition to the present harbourmaster's staff, as the nightwatohman's job is a responsible one.

The Standing Committee recomnended that these applications be held over, and that a special committee be set up to consider the condition of the department generally, and the Board agreed to this, and appointed a committee. RESIDENT ENGINEER. • The resident engineer, Mr F. W. Clarke, rervort'ed under date, June 23rd:— New Wharf Contract, No", la. — Operations have been proceeding cteadily in connection with this work. Pile-driving was commenced on the 15th inst., and up to date ten piles have been driven in place. The first pier of seven piles had to be driven through the toe of the rubble wall, which made the operation rather slow. The other piers should not occupy so much time. . The contractor has about 66 more piles ready for driving, and I understand that a sailing vessel is on the way with a full shipment of timber, so that, good progress should now he made with this iiontract. Eastern Extension Mole. —The repairs to.this work are just about completed, and the quarry will he closed down in the course, of a few days. Since last report 1530 tons have been deposited in the mole. Dredging.—The dredging at the new wharf, and the .deepening fit' the lierths on either side to a depth of 30 feet at L.W.O.S.T. is completed. The nertlis are- now a total length of 1160 feet by 10p feet wide. The dredge will now carry on the deepening operations between the new wharf . and Moody wharf. Work in the outside channel is being carried on as the weatherpperr r mits. The Taniwha has been principally occupied at the inshore end of the south berth, new wharf. From May 24th to June 23rd inclusive, Dredge 350 worked 218.45 hours, ' dredging 113.20 hoivrs; shifted outside 3000 tons, at hew' wharf berths 24,000, average--;>er dredging hour 238.2 tons. The Taniwha lifted 1290 tons, average 10.2 tons per dredging hour. For Dredge 350, 90 fathoms each of 1 inch and TJ inch mooring chain were 'needed. (This is to be obtained locally.) Repairs.—The repairs to the slipway are completed, and in addition to some small repairs to the wharves, four crossings have been put in on the quarry tram line. , Special reporcs were submitted as follows:

SOUNDINGS SURVEY. I have the honour to submit plan No. 135, snowing the results of tne »iirvey of the harbour and roadstead just completed. The soundings in the roadstead have been extended to trie six fathom contour. Comparing tiie soundings just completed with those taken in ldl)5, it i» very satisfactory to find that the depths have been well maintained, ana generally speaking the present soundings are very favourable. . ' ' Immediately under the- shelter of the E.E. mole, the depths are from 1 to 1.1 feet less, and in Caroline Bay, for' about 2000 feet from the shore, the depths average about 12 inches less than the soundings taken fourteen years ago: The balance of the soundings outside the areas referred to show equal or better water, and the "entrance channel as how defined gives about 24 feet at L.W.O.S.T. along the centre line. In Caroline Bay the beach lias advanced about 260 feet since- 1895, this gives a .yearly advance of about 18.V feet. ~' On the south beach the high water contour is.now about 210 feet further out than in 1895, and dividing this over the interval of fourteen 'years, the annual forward movement is about 15 feet. In. the future 1 anticipate that the growth of this beach will be at a slower rate.

I might, mention that the high and low water contours of the south beach and Caroline Bay have been fixed by levelling, the contours from permanent marks, and by continuing this method of recording the high and low water marks, and further advance of these beaches can be measured more accurately. LIGHT ON EASTERN MOLE. With regard to this light, there are two proposals, one frorn Messrs Hawkins and Rome, Napier, to install Acetone-gas, and one from Messrs Scott Bros, for an electrical installation. The first cost of these proposals, and the annual charge for lighting and maintenance is practically the game. The Acetone-gas is comparatively ii new system, and whilst it is no doubt a good light, I think an electrical installation is better suited for-this purpose, and I beg to recommend its adoption..

The shipping masters state that it is difficult to identify the E.E. mole light owing to the number of lights visible when approaching the harbour. As the lighthouse and concrete- breakwater have red lights, and the. north mole green, it is jiot advisable to adopt either of these colours, but so as t< make the proposed beacon light distinctive, I purpose placing two white lights vertically 3 feet apart, fitted with dioptric lenses, about 35 feet above H.AV. This beacon should be visible from five to seven miles in dear weather. Two 50 c.p. carbon filament lamps will be used. The wires will be carried from the present system at the railway signal box to the watchman's shed, where a meter panel will be fiixed, and the lights will be controlled from there. From the watchman's shed the wires will be carried on the existing gas lamp standards to the end of the staging, and thence along the north road; high grade- leadcovered wire cleated to the stringers will be laid to the lamps.

This proposed Deacon should give a powerful light, ;.nd prove satisfactory to the shipping masters. The Standing Committee recommended that-the proposals of the resident engineer be placed before the head office of the Union Steam ' Ship Company, with a request that the opinions of some of their masters be taken, as to the suitability of the class of light proposed, and this was agreed to. GENERAL. . Sir Turnbull said that the wharves were in a dirty state at present, and on his suggestion it was decided that they be cleaned lip. On the recommendation of the standi ing committee a committee was set un to consider the conditions and rental for the re-letting of J. Mill and Co.'s section ; and that of the small sections adjoining, occunied '•- the same firm, on a six month!v tenan'-y, and report to the next Board meeting. The committee was Fi'ven power to employ a valuer for the mirpose, and the secrotiry suggested that the borough valuer should be employed. With regard to the Harbours Conference it was decided that it is do-

sirable to liold the Conference at as early a date as practicable, not waiting tor the. period when .-Parliament is m session, so that matters affecting Boards could be discussed and framed in' sufficient time to allow of the results being in the hands-of the Government some time : prior to the sitting of Parliament; ai.it>, that copies or this i-e----commendation be forwarded to each Harbour Board.- - The Board agreed that in future, it should hold its meetings at 11.13 a.m. instead of at 11 a.m.- -. • \ motion was passed adopting the amended by-law in regard to the rharn-es for hawsers, moorings, and-ren that the charges shall be computed for each oeriod of 24 hours or part of 24 hours from the time when •i vessel is moored or berthed. Accounts were passed for payment, and the Board rose.