THE HAHBOR LOAN.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 3509, 8 December 1913, Page 5

THE HAHBOR LOAN.

MR LYSNAR’S “RED HERRING.” ' ■ : : ' / ;fj CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD SPEAKS OUT. OUTER HARBOR NOT INVOLVED IN THE QUESTION. The Chairman of the Harbor Board, I, FT,- 111 ,-f ownl ey, was approached bv a limes reporter on Saturday evening with a request for a detailed statemerit setting forth the Board’s policy regarding the loan proposals to be submitted to the ratepayers. “Well,” said Mr Townley, “as Mr Lysnar has endeavored to draw a red herring across the scent and thereby contuse the minds of those ratepayers who are only recent arrivals in "the Ba}- or e.se have not studied the question, by bringing in the question of outer harbor v. inner harbor, I should like distinctly to state that this question does not at all require to bo discussed with reference to the loan proposals on which the ratepayers are now asxted to give their vote. " On this occasion the present Board, whilst admitting that in the future it will be imperatively necessary to provide an. outer harbor, recognises the fact that it is also as necessary to provide present accommodation for the convenient working of the large class of steamers a pd colliers that are now regularly visiting this port and discharging their cargo on the wharf without any deduction (as in the pastj of heavy lighterage charges. “Whenever the site of the outer harbor is fixed, it will take at least 10 years to construct, and in the meantime in order to keep pace with the increasing traffic* the Board resolved to work the inner harbor to its utmost capacity, and in order to effect tin's object they purchased the dredge Maui thereby incurring a heavy liability by way of overdraft.” It would oe generally admitted, he continued, that this dredge had amply fulfilled the work she was guaranteed to do, and had proved Mr Lysnar very incorrect in a prophecy he made at a Board meeting on April 18, 1909, when opposing the proposed purchase/ he stated that “such a dredge requiring the depth of water it undoubtedly did would be absolutely of no use tothem and they would probably be compelled to get another dredge to dredge their new dredge out of the bed of tne river.”

At that time it was pointed out to tlie Board by several influential deputations of leading citizens that- the entrance of the river was a menace to life and property, and acting on the advice of Mr Holmes, they let a contract to Messrs Lang Lands and Co, for an “extension 'of breakwater” of 200feet, and as it was clearly shown that this would not be sufficient to effect the object, a further contract cf 250feet was added to the original contract, and this work, although not completed, was now serving the purpose for which it was designed and had already reduced the •'rip"’ in the entrance channel.

On the advice of their Engineer, the Board also determined to increase the depth of the channel from, the entrance to the wharf to 20 feet at low water, to dredge out between the lower shed and the slip, and to construct another wharf 460 feet long with a shed 200 by Soft, which work it is estimated will take three years to accomplish at a cost of about £68,000. Under the Act of 1885 the Board borrowed £200,000 for 30 years, and these debentures fall due in November, 1915. Tlie sinking funds in the hands of the Public Trustee will, it is calculated, amount to £125.0X), leaving a balance of £75,000 to he provided. “It is with the object of carrying out the above object, leaving the question of outer harbor in abeyance for the present,” said Mr Townley, “that the Board are now asking the ratepayers to vote for £200,000, to be allocated as under: To redemption of ISSS loan £75,000 Reduction of Bank overdraft IS,OOO Breakwater do do 2nd section 22,000 Deepening and widening entrance channel 45,96-b Wharf, reclamation and shed in Waikanae Creek 17,9-55 Lighthouse and contingen. -4,0< i Total £200,000 “In no way is the debatable question of outer v. inner harbor involved in the proposal now laid before the ratepayers. “Mr Lysnar, through his want or comprehension of the figures laid before the Board bv the Engineer (Mr McDonald) has raised a difficulty that does not exist. Mr McDonald stated that ‘the soundings referred to by M” Bell as 16 feet at the end of the breakwater in 1892, is shown as lo feet by the Admiralty survey in. 1902, and was found bv himself in November. 1912, to he 16 feet 11 inches. ’ “Mr Lysnar refers to a copy or the Admiralty Ohart in the Nautical Almanac, and scales the distance oir mcorrectlv, reading 300 feet where itshould be 150 feet. He then takes for comparison the plan in the Harbor Master's window on which channe soundings only are shown and claim* that one of these is on the identical spot to which Mr Bell referred. This is absurd as the positions are quite distinct. “Mr Lvsnar further states: lam aware thattheie are no official records in the Harbor Office of any soundings at that spot prior to xS92. • Mr Lysnar must be fully aware that this b a misstatement of fact-, as he lias lately had in his hands, for over an hour, the late Mr C. Y. O’Connor s report and plans which show detail soundings taken in 1879 and 1890 and which cover the area to which lie refers. Jh McDonald lias not considered R necessary to report further to the Board on this matter, as he had nothing to add to. or correct in, the repor: he nut before the Board-on July 28 last, bub as Air Lysnar is now trying the issue, I think it only right that the public should have a correct statement put l>6toro "tlioiu.

INNER OR OUTER HARBOR.

MR LYSNAR- CONTINUES HIS

CAMPAIGN

A MOTION FAVORING THE LOAN DEFEATED AT PATUTAHI.

A larwe meeting was held in the Patutahf Hall on Saturday , evening when Mr W. D. Lysnar continued his campaign of opposition to the proposed harbor loan, the poll for wlucn will be taken on Wednesday, December 17. The whole of the seating accommodation was occupied and several persons were satisfied to stand, a keen interest being taken in the proceedings throughout. Mr Owen Gallagher was voted to the chair and said that Patutahi residents' were pleased to welcome Mr Lvsnar back, with sufficiently restored health to come and take an interest in this big question, w hich was one fleeted the whole of the commj[r^ Lysnar began by stating that the harbor question was one which affe:ted both town and country residents. What was for - ' ■ • ' •“•'> h -•>'-‘G-> "'g -4;-. [Y

tho benefit •other, .aid.' he w.as pleased that it had fcoen decided that he should address a meeting at Patutahi, in face of the big number of people who were present. The attendance was a striking contrast to that at the statutory meeting held by the Harbor Board in the daytime, and. at which h© was informed there were only eight people present. All ratepayers, he wished them to know, had a* rot© on this matter, and the wirec of those men on the roll could also robe. “l feel” went on Mr Lysnar, “that the matter- is not understood, and that the Board has not taken the course that* would, best educate the people as to ..tie ted conditions. All agree that an outer harbor must come, and in deciding what should be done with the river, that fact must be kept in mind. While that question is not- immediately before the ratepayers, it must not he over-looked. In the first place I wish it to be distinctly understood that I agree with tliose who feel that the j iver must'be kept- open and made the host une of possible. As regards the possibilities of the river, we must be guided: hj experts and all the consulting engineers have advised the Board that they cannot obtain and maintain t;t a raisonble cost anything beyond the natural capabilities of the river, which they variously estimate at from I.3ft to 15ft and no more.” Mr Lysnai- then quoted the opinions of Mr 0. Y. O'Connor, Mr Napier Bell, Mr Leslie Reynolds, Mr F. AV. Mardiant, Sir John Goode, Son and Matthews, and Mr R. AY. Holmes (En-gineer-in-Chief). All these leading authorities, he claimed, were agreed on that point, and the only one against and to- tir© contrary was the present Engine©:' and Secretary to the Board (Mr McDonald), who claimed to be able t©,oh tain up to 20 feet. Tlie Board hid disregarded the deliberate opinions of those experts and were hiking the opinions of their own resident Engineer and accepting it. The question for the ratepayers was, “will they follow the Board and ignore the consulting Engineers?” In the past, in every instance, the consulting Engineer'.;' bad proved right in their advice. Trie breakwater was put in the wrong place, and against the consulting engineers’ advice, and proved a failure. The groyne was extended again:;? engineering advice, and that proved, .i ‘failure. It caused a “rip” in the river, which they were deliberately advised would happen. The consulting Engineers’ advice was that the groyne and the breakwater must h*3 practically co-terminal, and if the breakwater was gone on with as at present proposed, tlie groyne must also lie extended or the sand would form a “spit" ua before, in the shelter of the extend.©.!; breakwater. Mr Lysnar then went on to deal v.-ith the several engineering opinions regarding - the outer harbor, and pointed out that all the consulting Engineers in reporting on the cuter harbor, Juvl. been given a free hand to select the best site anywhere in the Hay, ancl they all agreed that the Pah Kill site was tlie best and most suitable Ho dealt with the suggestion that 1d been raised in a local paper that Mr March?.nt had stated that “any harbor built in Poverty Bay must always pern? in a commercial one, not one of refuge, because the Bay is not suitable for a harbor of refuge.” Mr Lysnar stated that the ratepayers should only look upon this question as u commercial question, and Mr' Marciiaufc -.vac perfectly right in suggesting this We owed no duty to the shipping, and there was no use enlarging our scheme so as' to become a harbor of refuge, although the opponents of the outer harbor brought forward this as a ground for not proceeding with an outer harbor. Proceeding Mr Lysnar treated on

the advice of experts as regarded the capabilities of AYaihircre- quarry for supplying stone, and he said that all agreed that the stone could be obtained in sufficiency and suitability. Mr Marcivuit- had stated chat if the quarry did not turn out sufficiently largeVcc.r.es for the face of the s©a wall, i.fc would mean a further expenditure of £32,0t)0 to provide concrete blocks to make'this deficiency up. Mr Reynolds, to protect this phase, increased Mr Marcliant’s cost by Is per ton. Mr Lysnar then quoted the opinions of Mr Harvey Gibbins, Mr Geo. Grant, Mr R. J. Reynolds, and Colonel Winter, who all advised the Borough Council that crushed Wailiiware metal could be got into the town of Gisborne at 4s per yard. If it were possible to bring in crushed metal at this cost, then, it wanted no expert to ,-uythat they could bring in big blocks of stone which would not require any .-ipavling or crushing. Mr Lysnar pointed out that both Mr Holmes and Mr McDonald had been given no authority by the Board to report on an outer harbor, and, on Mr Holmes’s advice that engineer pointed out that the first thing to be considered was the position of the outer harbor before any further expenditure >: is decided on, which the Board, Mr L-vsnar added, had neglected to do. Mr Lysnar then dealt with what he termed tlie “errors'’ of Air McDonald., -he present Harbor Engineer. He asked what if he were able to show that, in three instances, the Engineer bad quoted what he could show were incorrect facts, A. Voice: Sack him. Mr Lysnar: Yes, I would refuse to sit on a Board that is being advised b.y an Engineer if I found he gave incorrect data. Mr Lv.snar then stated, that he understood the Board had agreed to give t/fr McDonald another £250 or £3OO a tear, providing tins loan was OSH’riocl. 'He would ask Air R. Sherratt, as a member of the Board, whether this

vms correct-. Mr Sherratt stated that it- was an increase of £3OO that the Board proposed to give to Mr McDonald, niakjng his salary £IOOO per year. Mr Lysnar said that, in his opinion, the Board should not place their chief 'executive officer, who was responsible tor "the data which was going out to r he public, in such a position. Mr Lysnar, in dealing with figures, (.aid that they could accept the-facts in this respect as supplied by the Citizens’ Committee, because they were figures which had not been directly challenged and could not be. These figures showed that the annual cost of the river arbor was over £47,000. In

addition to this there was an annual revenue the Board was deriving that was not included in these figures, which, if included, brought the total to £66,514 and that, without the benefit of an outer harbor and with the disadvantage of having to pay the highcot rate of wharfage in the whole of the Dominion, .with the worst shipping facilities offering. This did not include anything for the extra cost on such commodities, such as. coal and many other things. This district was to-day penalised by 7s per ton for the freight alone on coal. The Chairman: "What does that mean to the Okitu factories in the district?

Mr Lysnar: It means something like £l3l a year.. To the Ki-a Ora factories it represents probably £3OO a year. During the address, questions were frequently ask fid as Mr Lysnar proceeded. to cover the several points. At the conclusion of the address .Mr Tl. Sherratt addressed the meeting, and said he wished to explain to the meeting what the Board proposed £o do- with the proposed loan. Of life' balance of the old loan of £75,000 the Board thought it advisable to pag off the bank overdraft of over £40.000. That left a cash balance of £85,000 for river improvements as suggested . by Mr McDonald, who said he would give them 20 feet of water in the river, tf the outer harbor was gone on with we would still have to keep our rivm

Mr Lysnar replied that the £75,1)00 was not- due until the end of Do-, ■oember. 19151 and it would be unwise, to raise this money just now, with m- ‘ terost' so' high. • Regarding Mr jbherv ratt’s statement .that"the Board pro}*osed to pay-off £40,000 bank overdraft, this could not be done,- as-ihe

official notification of t-he Board showed that they only proposed to _ pay off £IS,OOO. Mr , SherrattV admission that the overdraft was £40,000 showed that the Boaiftl had exceeded the legal limit by about £9OO. He thought the Board would be wise in putting a. special issue to the ratepayers, distinct from the main loan, asking the ratepyers to- authorise tlie Board' to raise sufficient to pay off the excess over the legal overdraft, and the balance due tothe present contractor (Mr LangLands). “If they did that,” went on Mr Lysnar, “I would vote for it and would' ask others in this district to do the same. AATiile recognising that the Board had exceeded its legal limit, he did not wish to see them placed m an awkward position with the Government auditor. Air Sherratt had apparently been again quoting some of Mr McDonald’s statements. Air Sherratt: Not at all. Air Lysnar: Then if not Air McDonald’s, it will be Air Townley’s. Air Lysnar was called on to answer several questions. One was “what would the sheep-farmers lose in connection with their exports if an outer harbor was built?” Air Lysnar replied that it was not a case of what the sheep farmers would lose, but wliat they would gain from an outer harbor, and he proceeded to state that- they would directly gain £11,312 on wool, tallow and meat alone. There would be the saving of lighterages (£6654) and wharfages (£4638), assuming that the Board already charged the same wharfage as Timaru, with its outer harbor, and it was the highest' wharfage'charged in the Dominion of any port with an outer harbor. They paid Is 6d a ton for meat at Timaru, while Gisborne farmers paid 5s per ton. Thus they would make a save of 3s 6d on. wharfage alone. If the farmers lost- this huge sum on these three items, what were the other people of the district losing on other commodities of import and export. Air Baylis? moved a motion: “That this meeting approves of the present harbor loan and desires to express its confidence in the Harbor Board.” This was seconded by Air Kirkpatrick and on being put to the meeting was declared lost by the Chairman by a large majority. Air Lysnar then asked the meeting to pass no resolution on the matter at the present juncture, but he exhorted them to go to the poll and record their voes as their consciences dictated to them.

A hearty vote of thanks to Air Lysnar for having’addressed them and to the Chairman closed the meeting.