HARBOUR WORKS.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LX, Issue 16852, 21 December 1916, Page 4

HARBOUR WORKS.

BOARD DISCUSS POSITION.

PROPOSAL TO CLOSE DOWN,

MATTER DEFERRED FOR RE-

PORT

The adjourned meeting of the Harbour Board was continued last night, when the position in regard to carrying on the present programme of work was discussed.

The Chairman (Mr. J. B. Murray) briefly referred to the increasing cost of the work and the difficulty of obtaining labour, and said that if it was his private concern he would close down.

Mr. A. G-. Bignell moved : "That owing to the difficulty of obtaining sufficient labour,. and the impossibility of carrying on the harbour improvement works without the new dredge, the engineer be instructed to carry on to the end of March next, make up the moles with th,e heaviest material available, and to complete,, the construction of the Heads wharf; that the engineer- and his staff be notified of tho termination of their engagements at the end oi March, and tSe Works Committee be instructed to arrange for the proper care of ail plant and the maintenance of works during the period of stoppage."

" As the quarry produces a large proportion of small stone unsuitable for the moles, this is intended for use principally in the new basin wall," said Mr Bignell. "Until this is dredged it is impossible to proceed with the work of construction. To waste the smaller stone, or attempt to place aside tor future use, has been fouhd impracticable, both in point of cost and storage space. The high prices of', all material used is rendering the cost of the work excessive—this through no fault of our officials. Owing to the proportion of workmen obtainable and required beinoconsiderably less than could be employ5 ed, I estimate the present cost of stone has risen from 6s. per ton m 1913 to Bs. per ton in 1916, and this rate is steadily nsing. Explosives, of which large quantities are required, now cost exactly double the pre-war price j, all other materials being now almost 50 per cent dearer. Ii 1913 the output of stone amounted to 20,750 tons; while for eleven months in 1916 the output only reached 14,995 tons, while all administration expenses—cost of working and maintaining tugs and other plant-^ js very considerably greater. Had it been possible to obtain sufficient labour to fully man the quarries and other works, the cost per ton of stone would be approximately 38 er cent, less than the, present rates. The improvement obtained both in the river and harbour entrance, and the extra shipping facilities now provided, have more than realised the predictions of our consultinoengineers m their various reports AL though the works' are only partly complete, no particular hardship to shippers of produce can obtain while lightering operations can, and are now being carried out at practically all states or the tides. Although advocating the cessation of all constructional work I wisii to say this action in no way 'reflects on'our engineer, Mr. C H. How orth, and Ms staff, or of those employed on tii,e work. I consider the results obtained by their operations have fully justified the expenditure; force of cir cumstances. as a^-eady detailed, is the determining cause of my action "• In conclusion, Mr Bignell said he had given the matter, careful consider ation and he realised the responsibility of asking the Board to close down uni£ ? lore opportune time. Mi- Bassett seconded the motion pro

Mr Poison said lie was satisfied the ri Uld not be don' 6 f«r anything they would have to spend £102,000 to ork' instead of the £47,----000 they had in haiid. These were the iigures under existing conditions They iiad reached a very critical stage He was as anxious as anyone for the progress of the port. He admitted that he was to some extent blameworthy for the position which held up the work, but he had been anxious to do his best tho+ +1 mterGfits of tije people to see that the money was properly spent. Air Poison submitted import and export figures to prove that Wanganui was losing £10,000 ger year on acSunt or transhipments. The question now was whether to take the drastic step and close down, or to cast about for some means to carry on a portion of the work. If they dispensed with the engineer they could save £600 a year. JLhat would be unfortunate, but the goard had to consider the ratepayers. • Cv d, ?"?* say off-^aod what the pol icy should be, but it was possible the iJoard could retrench. He believed that by paying for results or by contract the quarry could be more successfully worked.

+ i.^ r iP? son,lnoved as an am^dment that before deciding the question the -Koard should consult Mr Ferguson of Wellington, as to whether the money m hand could be profitably spent under the existing conditionsi, and if so what course would he advise. ' Mr Meuli considered they should not shut clown before making every effort. He doubted | whether for some time to come after the war, if labour would be much cheaper. The Board had borrow %m^\m^u d, P™cti<^lly spent £100 000, which included the cost of the dredge If they closed down they would Jose the interest on that amount. It they had to wait, say, two years it would mean £10,000 in interest. He believed the district would back the' .M iw Pi 1? PF°^ c4 in S T"th the work. . 'Mr Meuh said lie intended to give notice to move as a further amendment— t-i -,f committee be appointed to confer with tli© heads of the different department that a Bill be promoted to borrow a further £100,000, that creased bonus of 20 per cent altogether be given to the quarry workers, and a 10 per cent, bonus to the casual workers.

Continuing, Mr Meuli said it was imperative m order to maintain the present depth of .rater on the bar that they should carry on the work at the moles. They had to fc*ep on making them up. Th ey could not j £ dredge up altogether to do work from time to t lme . It would be a costly matZi i? UP the Plant. and start it hS It was nice to talk of closing T?,p ' i U*ii* **? not a ?Peal *»" hil^ Ihey should mak c - a desperate eff(ort quany Had the engineer made special efforts to get that class of men? Not staited, but as Wanganui was a woolgradmg port they should make an <?f----and follow it with the second shed and a dumping plant. He could not see why they should close down. Another rtem was the TaylorrMa embankment, .fh-e Borough could not carry on there n the .Board could not carry out its Ve2r c? n.tract to assis* them. Mr Veitch said a very nice spirit was shown by members who were at variance m opinions. He considered the motion a mistake. Mr Poison had I 17 t* t° tell them h(i was" mistaken. Mr Poison was always right but always a little too late. Thpy would Dave to increase the rates of'pay, or clos o down. To ffo on as now would he a mistake. The only point worth.

considering in connection with the motion was—<jould they do the work any cheaper if th^y closed down for two years ? It was no use gambling on the question of peace, as they would have to face the fact that the war might go on for some time. In any case, the soldiers could not all be brought back inside two years. Postponement -of the work would not he any gain. It. was not the same as running a private business. The argument'ra bout private enterprise did not hold water. The increase of wages was not the whole problem. They had every reason to assume that the cost of labour and material would not lessen after tb<o war, owing to the demand. It was Mr Bignell's duty to show that they couloi do better by stopping. Mr Bigneli himeelf had ust carried out,a great contract 'work in the face of difficulties. The major problem was the quarry and the output- of stone. It would be better to curtail any subsidiary branches, if that were possible. One of the reasons for the limited output from the quarry was the "opening'up" that was necessary; They^wfei^ now in a position to put the stonW out if they, got the labour. As to getting Mr Ferguson to report, -that was worthy of consideration, but the whole thing was more a matter of policy and finance, and not .engineering. At present there was nothing wrong, at the, quarry except the shortage' of labour. The Board had still a card to play —j to offer better wages. He suggested that they should reject the motion. The Board was entitled to compete in the labour market for men. He was certain that delay would not result in less cost of the work. The people of the distinct were suffering through not having a better harbour. Before a drastic step, they should hold a public meeting and consult the people. If the people were given an opportunity to express an opinion they would give an answer that would be astonishing. Mr Williams said Mr Poison had given sound reasons for his attitude. The Board wrrald be warranted in going on with the work. The thing was to arrive at a solution of the problem. They had reached a stage when they wanted results. He believed a conference with alt the employees might attain; what they aimed at. Time was the essence of the contract. They had to get/the stone out at the quarry. If they paid more wagres for longer hours, the Board would be justified. It was not a question of sweating, merely necessity of the moment. He was not prepared to see the works closed down. If the subsidence of the walls were not kept up, they would lose the depth on the bar, and it would be difficult to start again. He did not think they could attain their object by increasing wages by 10 or 15 per cent., but-they could by payment for results, as far as the quarry was concerned.

Mr Bruce said he was under the impression that they had not made a se-' rious attempt to get the labour required. The Board should make every effort to carry on. There was a fair number of men available. The employees of the Board were just as interested in seeing the w6rk go on. Mi- Bassett considered it would be a huge joke to employ Mr Ferguson for the purpose suggested. If he did come he would have to get the data from the Board's engineer. It was not a matter of engineering skill; it was, only a .matter of finance. He was; afraid they would have to come to Mr BignelPs motion in the end. Even if they put the wages up to 15s or 20s per day, he did not think they could get the men. If the war went on, the Government might have to curtail nonessential industries to maintain the suppiy of primary products. Ha was not, however, in favour of stopping the work without further discussion. He could not support either the motion or the amendement.

'Mr Morrison said h© was in a similar position/ Labour was scarce, but the present time was a very busy one. He did not think they should close down just yet.

Mr Mackay said Mr Poison was on the right track. It was time to take stock and decide what should be done with the money in hand. He was afraid it was impossible to raise a further loan just now.

Mi- Poison's amendment was defeated. - ■

Mr Mackay moved as a further amendment that a committee consisting of Messrs Bassett, Bignell, Meuli, Poison Veitch and Williams be appointed to discuss the situation and report to the Board.

Mr Bassett repeated that the crux of the position was getting the necessary men. , Mr Poison said they would have to curtail the work, and the question was what economies could be effected apart from the question, of labour at the quarry. Mr Bignell said none**of the speakers had shown where they could get the labour from or prosecute the work without the dredge. Nobody' wanted to stop if they could prosecute the work successfully. Even if they had the mutton boats coming right into Wanganui half the transhipments would still go to Wellington. They could not count on the £10,000 per year referred to. Obtaining suitable, labour was a more difficult problem than-the members imagined. Since the work was started, and the expenditure of £100,000, the type of vessel trading into Wanganui had increased from "the Stormbird to th Q Ngatoro. It went without saying that they would want a maintenance gang,. He would oppose 'floating <a loan. It would ber a bad policy and would meet with opposition. Nothing that had been said could alter his opinion that they could, not carry oh the work at reasonable cost. He wo\ild not object to the matter standing over for three months, '."but he did not think they would be in a better position then. Mr Pouson said it was a bombshell to hear from the engineer that they couid not go on with the basin walls until they had the dredge. Where was the answ.er to that?

Mr. Mackay's arnftndment to defer the matter for consideration by a committee, was carried.