HARBOUR BOARD.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2516, 1 June 1909, Page 6

HARBOUR BOARD.

MONTHLY MEETING

The ordinary monthly meeting of tho -Harbor Board was held yesterday afternoon in the Board room. Present: Messrs J. Tow they (Chairman), F. ■Harris, W. D. Lysnar, Jr B. Kells, J. Clark, Hon. Capt. Tucker. CORRESPONDENCE.

In response to a request from Mr G. MatthewKon, leave of absence was ' granted to him for 6 months. Mr W. F. Coder wall, Manager of tho | Gisborne Sheepfarmers’ Frozen Meat 00. wrote acknowledging tlie liability of his company in connection with the loss of the beacon in the channel, but asking that under tho special circum- [ stances tlio amount of tho account for repairs, forwarded to them, be remitf ted.—lt was decided after discussion that the Board could not see its way to accede to the request. A letter was read from the Borough Council asking that a channel be -cut in tlio papa rock at the entrance to the Waikanae Creek, to allow ingress ' and egress to tho tide. —It was decided that the. work be done, the Overseer estimating the cost at £25. It was also decided to carry out at once sorao small improvements as recommended in tho recent report from i the Health Inspectors, - . Messrs Nolan and Skeet, solicitors, wrote on behalf of Capt. Pankow, of the ketch Coronation, who was fined recently for obstructing tho railv ay lino at the wharf by stacking timber on !: it. They suggested that as there was no alternative, except to stack the timber on the roadway, some compromise ho effected for the benefit of shippers Generally, that shipmasters would nothe liable in the matter. —It was considered by the meeting that there ivas ample room at the wharf for timber stacking purposes, and it was decided -to reply stating that there could be. no exception made in any case, as the rails must bo kept clear. The Navy League, M elhngton branch, wrote urging _ co-operation in approaching the Marino Department for installing the Morse lamp nightsignalling apparatus m New -Zealand lighthouses.—Referred to the Harbormaster to report npon the utility of an installation locally and at the. now Tuahine lighthouse. The Harbors Association wrote inquiring for remits for consideration at the annual conference. —It was agreed to forward a remit respecting increasing the length of time between -date of closing nominations and elections.— The Hon. Captain Tucker and Mr. Lvsnar were appointed delegates, the Hon. Jas. Carroll to act in Hie absence of either. . Mr. W. B. Mackie, engineer of the dredge John Townley, applied for leave of absence, with a month’s pay, to enable him to accept an offer from Mr. F. M. Blakey of employment in the construction of the new dredger in Scotland, and on the. voyage out to New Zealand. He had secured the services of Mr. A. F. Dong to fill his position on the John Townley, with the BoaTeTs approval, in his absence.—The Chairman moved that the application for leave and a month’s pay be granted. —Mr. Dysnar seconded the motion, which was carried. —The appointment of Mr. Long was referred to the Works Committee. OVERSEER’S REPORT. The Overseer (Mr. D. A. McLeod) reported that the new power-closing crab, although well adapted for dealfng with different kinds of material Adovo water, could not profitably be employed under water on the general class of spoil in the river, other than papa clay. Owing to tho working parts of the rope gearing getting clogged with silt and sand, which made the wear on the wire ropes very severe, the makers, in order to have the grab made more serviceable, had added teeth to the cutting edge, which was an improvement for dealing with hard dry material, but not for cutting papa clay. It was like a rake in place of a knife to cut cheese, he explained. As the scoops of the grab were reversible it was proposed to grind the opposite edges sharp, and use the grab exclusively for papa clay. Ho had prepared •a sketch showing berthage for dredges and barges, and had no hesitation in .recommending a proposed extension clown stream from the end of the Kaiti wharf, a distance, of 490 ft. In addition to the 50 turpentine piles now m hand, £6OO worth of timber wou.d be required for the extension, which wou.d include a coal storing deport for 000 tons. Substantial moorings would be required for the new dredger. Mr. Blakey, had informed him they would need them every two chains on both sides of the river from the end of the breakwater to the Kaiti bridge, and that none of the present ones, except perhaps those oil the. breakwater, would stand the strain. The Overseer suggested that this work should be put - in hand at once. The hand rail, extension of shelter shed, fenders and re- ■ pairs to town wharf had been completed, and the Kaiti wharf repairs would he finished this week. The John Tovvnlev took 46 loads of spoil to sea during the month, and the small dredge on the breakwater had worked 26 days, and tho suction dredge had worked all hut 4J days. Gravel' removed from the Kaiti beach totalled 250 loads. Mr. Lysnar asked how much the power-closing grab cost. The Chairman: £2OO all told. Mr. Lysnar: Then that is practically £2OO ’ thrown clean away. It shows the necessity of referring these things to competent engineers. • The sketch plan for the berthage ot dredges and barges was considered by the members. . , The Chairman said that the proposed work was one which should be done. Ho : proposed that the. work be authorised to be gone on with, as soon as conventC 1 In answer to Mr. Lysnar the Overseer said that he was not able to give even a rough estimate for the entire W °Some discussion took place as to tho cost of the work, and the Overseer was instructed to prepare an estimate to he. submitted to next meeting ot the Board. HARBORMASTER’S REPORT. The Harbormaster (Captain W. Cummhi") reported that the channel and river along the wharves was m a very < had state,' having silted up a great deal since the last fresh on 2/th and < 2*th inst. The working of the sand pump also caused a lot of silting up - Song the town wharf. Soundings tins 1 dav were as follows: End of break- < water 14ft, oth bollard Jit, fenaik s i landing 6ft, big crane 6tt,, TVaikanae 7ft 6in, along new wharf oft, iia.i-ua} ■ along town wharf 6ft upper end town i wharf 3ft to sft. He suggested, that ( t '+he dredge should be worked overtime until an improvement was made, t Steamers- Arrivals 53, departures 55. Steamers Arrivals 5, departures ; f all Moorages -18 s lid, lighter dues £l3 ] Ft was decided that the dredge be Overtime until the channel ho ' liihprcvpd.

DREDGEMASTER’fi REPORT. Captain Solvander, dredge master, reported that the dredge had been laid up 31 days during the month through causes. It had removed 500 yards of sand and 4075 yards of mud from the'river. ENGINEER’S REPORT. Mr. W. B. Mackie, dredge engineer, reported that all the machinery on the John Townley was giving satisfaction. he new -grab had not given satisfaction owing to the mud getting amogst the gear, and Bfad been taken off and tho old grab replaced. Both these reports were adopted, and acccounts were passed for payment. THE PROPOSED NEW TARIFF. In accordance with notice, the Chairman moved —‘‘That in order to raise, sufficient income to enable tbo Board to pay for the new dredger, without striking a rate or applying hor the release of the unexpended balance of loan in tlio bands of the Public Trustee the Board decide to revert to the tanlf for wharfages on goods landed or shipped from the wharves, which came m force on December 15, 1893, with certain modifications as per schedule Speaking to Ins motion, the Chairman said that the necessity for increased revenue was deal, ami tno method suggested by him appeared to bi the .easiest. It was practically their only alternative. The Chairman then proceeded to read from the schedule, emoting the different charges which it was proposed to make. The principal alteration was 5s per ton. on all imports, and tho only export increase was on carcases of mutton and iamb, Is pe ton extra. With these exceptions the tariff was as it was formerly. -J-he oroposed change was for the benefit of all, P and it seemer to him tlie simpe.s wav to o-et the revenue which they must have. He thought that the present condition of the river showed that they wanted a dredge and it must be paid for. He thought it would be preferable to raise the wharfages than to strike a rate. If they coiild suggest a better method of getting the revenue it was for them to say so. Hon Captain Tucker seconded the motion. He. held that the proposition was really the proper way to obtain the necessary revenue. Mr Lysnar said he could not agree with the proposed alteration, unless they made the alterations comp.ete. The sheepfarming element had forced a‘change on the Board, and should bo made to pay the full wharfages, as they had done before the change. It would only be right and proper to put the full charge back on the sheep by going back to the original position and not favoring die class more than another. Proceeding, Mr. Lysnar went on to detail tho different items in tho schedule, claiming that many of them were less than under the old tariff, and stating that in his opinion they should all bo increased alike. He moved as an amendment that the suggested tariff he confirmed, with the exception of mutton, lamb, hay, peas, beans, bottles, and one or two other things which should be. charged on the same basis as the original wharfages. There was no other place in the colony where the sheepfarmers had forced such a heavy expenditure on the Board, and they ought to he made to face the music. He wanted to see the thing done fairly, and the river charges on boats using the river required adjusting. He held that they should also revert back to the old charges on boats coming up the river. The dredging work was being done to help Hiese boats, and they should help to bear the cost, as the dredging was wholly for them, and not for the larger vessels, which would hot he catered for without a deep-water harbor. Mr. Harris seconded the amendment. He said he looked upon the schedule as making a distinction between town and country people, and as such he was not in favor of it. The sheepfarming element were receiving too many concessions altogether. If they raised the charge on flour it would certainly mean a rise in the price of bread, and to looked on the new tariff, as a whole, as likely to curtail the industries of the town.

Mr. Kells brought up the question of wool brought to Gisborne for dumping, which was Is per bale, and only 3d per bale when clumped 'here. Mr. Clark said that the tariff should be the same for dumped or undumped wool. He, thought that every bale which came on the wharf should be charged the same. If they did this, and put butter on the same footing as mutton and lamb, he would approve of the tariff as it stood. He asked, why butter should go out at 2s 6d per ton when other products of the-soil were much dearer. He suggested that they should all be placed on the same footing, 1-J-d for sheep, 3d for lamb, and 5s per ton. for butter, The Chairman said that butter was classed under the of heading general merchandise. The reason of the change in the cost of sheep and lambs was on account of the. expected large increase in the output. Mr. Lysnar said that butter had always gone out for 2s 6d per ton as general merchandise. The amendment on being -put to the meeting was lost, and the chairman’s motion was carried. The schedule as revised was passed, to he brought up at next meeting. A well-known steeplejack says he would not be surprised if the Nelson Monument in Trafalgar Square, London, collapsed like the Campanile at Venice. Owing to the undermining action of the River Eden, which is only five yards away,the tower of the parish church at Musgrave, near Kix'kby Stephen, is 18in out of the perpendicular, and daylight is visible between the roof and the gable end. The novelty of the show of the Perpetual Flowering Carnation Society was a rich crimson carnation named Blade Chief, which is. said to bloom profusely every month of the year—lndoors or out. Some of the flowers measured four inches across.