HOKITIKA HARBOR BOARD.

West Coast Times, Issue 6118, 20 January 1886, Page 2

HOKITIKA HARBOR BOARD.

TUESDAT, JaMCABT 19.

The Board met at half-past seven ,p.ih: Present— The Hon. J. A. Bonar (Chairman), his Worship the Mayor, Messrs Churches, Kenny and Wade. r The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. INWARD COBRESPONDERCE. Letter from Mr Seed, forwarding specifications for harbor boat.— Eeoeived. * Letter from the Consulting Engineer, as follows : — "In reply to your letter of the 6th inst. , forwarding a copy of a letter from Mr j Maher to the Harbor Board, I have the honor to report as follows :—: — "About a month ago Mr Maher requested me to pass his contract on the ground that he had completed all the works in the original contract and was engaged on extra works only. Thia I declined to doi.as I considered that the extra works as well as the original contract works should be finished before the work could be passed. Whether I was right in taking this view is a legal question, and it might be as well for you to consult the Board's solicitor upon it, but, so far as the actual practice in such caseß goe3, the view which I took has always, so far as I am aware of, been taken and acted upon in such cases. I hardly think that Mr Maher has any right to repudiate bis responsibility as he pretends to do; aud do not believe that any letters whicp he can write will actually absolve him from responsibility. I think, however, it would be as well to send him a reply, which should be drafted under legal advice, and as his letter is written to the Board the reply should of course come from the Board. "The line which I would suggest (subject to solicitor's approval) the reply should take, would be, that the Board have no cognizance of the work having been completed, not bavinp received any certificate from the Consulting Eugineer that such ie the case, and stating tbat it is not one of the functions of tho Board to cause the Engineer lo give a certificate, if he does not think himaoif justified in doing so. " With regarJ to the first part of his letter, asking far payment o" £1683, I fear that he ia outitled to claim interest from the 25tb December, xiz., U d^ys afterdate of certificate, wider the 27h cbuae of the conditions of contract, and it appears to me that the Board would have to pay it if he demands it. " The only action tbat it appearg to m? necp^ary t» be taken, is to send a letter to Mr Mahsr au above indicated. " When the work ii finally completed I will paß3 it."— Received. ' Letter from Mr Purkis3, the Board* solicitor, as follows :—

j " I have carefully perused Mr Maher'a 'etter to you of the 6th iost., and Mr | Martin's letter of the 7<h inst., re applica- ! tion of Mr Maher for goal certificate upon j bia contract. 1 h*ve also carefully ptrused ihe conditions and sped cations of the contioct itse'f. -Mr Harvey has als> given me all the information ia his power bemig upoa 'he quosti'oa at isaue. " I am of opinion that the 168 tons stone ordered is-an ex'ra fairly within the terms of the contract (and thia notwithstanding the fact that more than tbe quantity ot stone mentioned iv the specifications has been supplied by Mr Maher.) Jn fact, Mr Maher himself, in his letter ofthe sib, admits that these 168 tons of stone are within tbe scope of his contract, for he says :— • My contract has now been finished more than a month, with the exception of 168 tons of stone ordered latterly by your Board.' "Under these circum-tancea I think the Engineer justified in refusing to give his fiaal certificate. It follows that lam of opinion it would be extremely unwise on your part to direct him to give such a certificate. I have therefore on'y to auergeat tbat a reply be written to Mr Maher, informing him that a3 their Engineer and Solicitor are of opinion that the work is not finally completed, your Board cannot in anyway interfere with the matter in the manner suggested by Mr Manor in his letter."— Received. Telegram frcm the Public Works Department, informing the Board that £1545 would be wired. — Received. Telegram from the Public Works Departmenr, informing the Board that the grant would be forwarded on the department recceiviDg the Engineer's reporr.— Received. Telegram from Consulting Engineer, informing the Board thit he would arrive in Hokitika about the 25th inst.—Received. Telegram from Mr Seed, informing the Board tbat Mr llodgers was under orders to proceed elsewhere, and asking the Board to allow the boatman to assist Mr Trice in shifting beacons.-— Resolved that Mr Seed be informed that the Board had no boatman and askiae; authority to appoint one. FIKANCB COMMITTJSK's RBPOET. The Finance Committee's report, advising accounts to the amount of £103 be passed for payment, was read and received. NOKTH THAIMIKG WAtL, Mr Kcuuy moved, ''That the holes cut in the north training wall to allow the sand to run through, and which had lately been closed, be again opeucd."~Mr Churches secouded the motion, which was carried. HARBOJK WOHK3. Mr Wade moved, "That a sub-com-mittee, cousigting of tho Hon. J. A. Bonar, Moeara Churches, Konuy and the mover be appointed to take the necessary steps to lay the positiou ofthe Board before the Government, aud atrong'y urge on them the absoluto necessity ot a graut of a sum of money to cuable the Board to protect tho present works by a further supply of jtono to the south wall, and to extend the north wall in accordance with Sir Johu Coode's plan." It muut be patent fo every member of tho Board that thia is a matter tbat requites their immediate attention. It w.aa imperative that ootuo money should be opeut on the present, works, bo an to place lluiu iv a coituin degree of oafely. lv the cvtmL of their getting no money from the Government ho thought the committee who he bed asked to appoint, aud who he thought were quite capable of denling with the question, might ask his Worship the Mayor to call a public meeting to discuss the matter.— Tho Mayor had much pleasure in seconding the motion. Ho did not see why tho Board should be treated different to any other in tho colony, and have to go begging to Government every session. He thought tho committee named were quite capable of dealing with the questi- n. — VI r Kenny would support the motion. The Board had boon in a very unsatisfactory manner ever since ho had boen a member of it.— Carried. ' The Board then adjourned.

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THE PULPIT AND* THE PRESS. ./ $ ne fQiWio^ is an extract from the inaugural address delivered „by Dr Salbond to the Presbyterian Synod in Ddneclitt pa Tuesday, 12th in«)t , on the occasion of his appointment as Moderator : — '* Ministers are by no mean 0 , to the same extent as formerly, the exclusive and privileged teachers of the people ; nor is the sermon so much the only source .rom which the people receive their ide*s and principles ; nor to the same extent are mioistera, in respect to attainment", above the level of the people whom they address. Manifestly the whole question ot tbe sermon must be influenced by the fact that all the people are being well and effectively educated, that our homes are inundated with newspapers, periodicals and books ; that throughout the week the minds of our hearers are habitually being addressed by rival, and sometimes adverse, teachers ; and that in a general way intellects are awoke as th'jy never were in any epoch. To be sure it is not as if tbe people had been moving and the minister standing still. We also share the general improvement ; and, for my part, I believe that at no time were ministers better educated, or the average of pulpit work higher than it is now. Still I believe that in respect to knowledge and culture there is less relative distance between the pulpit and pew, and that the sermon is heavily handicapped by the newspaper, the religious periodicals, the poet 3, and the novelists. There is no one whose attention must not have been arrested by the quantity and quality of the literature to be found even in the obscuriat settlements. There is no minister who does not confess to himself that the miads of great numbers iti his audience are naturally familiar with the words of teachers whose productions he cannot rival. It is oue of the moat curious aignß of the times that the novel has become übiquitous, monarch of literary time and space, and among the moat potent uiosms of educating the mincia of tho million. Tlie influential tlioughtj audthe tendencies of thought of oui 1 time, are woven iato fascinating talea by tbe pen of jjcnm^, reproduced m cheap fornxj and sold by the miiiion ; and so it ia tbat ideao, by no means always in harmony with what we preach, are scattered abroad as when fields of thistledown are scattered by trte breezes. We c .nnot, in abort, hide frnn ottrse'ves the fact th it 'we have to address aud'onces fastidious, critioal and semi-sceptical, while at the same time active, alive, and ausceptible an never before. Manifestly it must be an increasing difficult t jiag to preach well i and fittingly.