DUNEDIN HARBOUR BOARD

Star (Christchurch), Issue 3436, 16 April 1879, Page 3

DUNEDIN HARBOUR BOARD

[Br Telegraph.]

fraoM oub own correspondent.]

DUNEDIN, April 15

At the Harbour Board meeting to-day on tho reading of a letter from tho Harbour Master re tho Stad Haarlom, tho Chairman said that it seemed to him to bo a question of getting a good dredge. Mr Ramsay Baid that ifc was a moat serious thing for fche Board that tho steamer had beon unable to como maide the Heada. For hia own part, ho thought tho Bteamer should have waited till this morning, when ho believed ahe could have quite safely been got ovor the bar. It seemod to him extraordinary that any gontleman ocoupying tho positi.n of Mr Solwyn Smith, the General Munager for fche New Zealand Shipping Company should ask a formal guarantee from tho Harbourmaster that the Bteamer could havo beeu got into the harbour to-day. Captain Thomson was quifco right in not giving a guaranteo such as fchafc asked for, and ho (Mr Ramsay) urged that Mr Smith had not shown that consideration for this part of tho Island which he Bhould have done. [Mr Fiah: Hear, hear.] Ho should have instructed the captain of the steamer fco stand off for another day at leaafc. He had conferred wifch sevoral gentlemen to-day, and they agreed with him that there would be no difficulty in bringing the vessel over this morning. This matter would do more harm fco fche Porfc fchan most people were afc fche present timo disposod to fchink. He could nofc underatand, in the face of suoh a calamity aa this, why Port Chalmers oontinued to ocoupy tho same position it had done. This matter would provo much more seriouß to Port Chalmers than to Dunedin. It would bo tho moans of preventing steamers of the class of the Stad Haarlom from coming to Porfc Ohalmera. He suggested that two or three members of fcho Port should meet some members of the Board and come fco some sensible arrangement as fco the reserves, and thereby secure a dredge at once. He (Mr Ramsay) said ifc was simply a question of money.