H.^150.

1913. NEW ZEALAND.

WESTPORT HARBOUR BOARD (REPORT OF COMMISSION APPOINTED TO INQUIRE INTO THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE).

Laid on ihe Table by Command, of His Excellency.

To the Hon. the Minister of Marine, Wellington. Sir,— Wellington, 10th November, 1913. I have the honour, by direction of the Commission, to hand to you, for submission to His Excellency the Governor, the Commission entrusted to us on the 2nd day of September, 1913, to inquire into the administration of the Westport Harbour Board under a nominated Board, together with our report thereon. We regret that, owing to the dislocation of business caused through the strike, we have not been able to hand in with the report the notes of evidence taken by us. These, together with an appendix and exhibits, will be handed in in the course of a few days. I have, &c, J. S. Evans, Chairman, Westport Harbour Board Commission.

COMMISSION. COMMISSION TO INQUIRE INTO AND REPORT UPON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE AFFAIRS OF THE WESTPORT HARBOUR BOARD. Liverpool, Governor. To all to whom these presents shall come, and to James Sim Evans, Esquire, of Nelson, Stipendiary Magistrate ; William Ferguson, Esquire, of Wellington, Civil Engineer ; and Gerald FitzGerald, Esquire, of Wellington, Civil Engineer : Greeting. Whereas it is expedient that inquiry should be made into the administration of the affairs of the Westport Harbour Board : Now, therefore, I, Arthur William de Brito Savile, Earl of Liverpool, the Governor of the Dominion of New Zealand, in exercise of the powers conferred by the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1908, and of all other powers and authorities enabling me in this behalf, and acting by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council of the said Dominion, do hereby constitute and appoint you, the said James Sim Evans, William Ferguson, and Gerald FitzGerald, to be a Commission to inquire into and report upon the administration of the affairs of the Westport Harbour Board under a nominated Board, with special reference to the following points :— (a.) Has the administration in the past been satisfactory ? (b.) Have the works been carried out with economy ? (c.) Has the Board in the past taken reasonable care that the land reclaimed at the Board's expense should not be alienated from the Board's control ? (d.) Under the existing method of levying wharfage rates or dues, is the burden of responsibility of maintaining the port borne equitably by those concerned ?

I—H. 15c.