HARBOR BOARD

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume II, Issue 165, 5 July 1888, Page 3

HARBOR BOARD

An ordinary meeting of the Harbor Board took place on Tuesday evening. Present: The Chairman and Messrs Chambers, Gannon, Dickson, Matthewson, Tucker, and Townley. THE AMENDING BILL. A copy of the Amending Bill before Parliament, after having passed through the hands of the Local Bills Committee, was read. Mr Matthewson asked who fixed the limit at £105,000. The Chairman : This is our Bill as it came out of the hands of the Local Bills Committee. Mr Chambers supposed the fixture was based on Mr Higginson’s report. He thought Mr Graham’s attention should be called to the clause stipulating that members must bo unanimous before an investment could be made.

A long discussion followed on this clause.

Mr Gannon thought it was wise to leave the clause as it stood, because each member represented a certain number of ratepayers and every ratepayer had a right to be represented. The Chairman considered it would not be right to place so much power in the hands of one member as to be able to veto any investments, and Captain Tucker said it was beyond all precedent and was not in accord with common sense.

Mr Matthewson said no member would stand in the way of good investments, unless he had good and solid reasons for doing so. Captain Tucker said that was no argument in its favor. It did not follow that because there seemed no likelihood of such a thing that they should go out of their way to make unprecedented restrictions. Let it be a substantial majority—say make the quorum eight, and require a majority of six-eighths.

Mr Matthewson could not see much objection, but this Board was an unprecedented case, and they required to be hedged round with strict regulations.

The Chairman: There is such a thing as absolutely hedging round so as to obstruct us.

Mr Dickson said they certainly needed retrictions but no reasonable or sane man, having the sanction of the Government’s valuer and with security worth 100 per cent, would object to such an investment. Mr Matthewson moved that the communication be allowed to lie on the table, but after further discussion a motion by Captain Tucker, that seven be a quorum with at least five unanimous before any investment can be made, was seconded by Mr Matthewson, and carried. Athe board’s posiiion.

The following telegram from Sir G. Whitmore, Chairman of the Legislative Council Committee, to the Secretary, was read: — Tha Committee of the Legislative Council requests you to forward as soon as convenient such information as you may possess as to the Harbor Board loan already spent, and also if you will state whether the balance of the loan or th e sinking fund is invested, and if so specify what securities and the amount so specified in each case, also whether there are any current contracts and if the total sum mentioned in clause 10 of the Amendment Act of last session has been expended; and whether the works are being proceeded with.

The Secretary of the Board replied as follows:—

lu reply to your telegram re Harbor B ard First, loan £200,000, out of which £25,000 is invested by Sinking Fund Commissioners in terms of prospectus (list of full particulars will be sent by Friday's steamer). Second—£loo,ooo now in Union Bank and the fixed deposit to April next at current rate of interest. Third—Total sum on works £5B 000. Fourth —Sec ion 10 of Amendment Act 1887, not exceeded. Fifth—Current contracts £2OOO. Sixth—Works are being preceeded with. Mr Graham requested to hand you accounts made up last week. The Chairman did not think the matter required any comment.

Mr Matthewson would like to know how Mr Bourke said that the £65,000 bad not been exceeded. It had been exceeded six months ago, and certainly had been exceeded since take the figures any way they liked. The Chairman : I don’t know that we need discuss the matter. Mr Bourke is merely a witness called on by statutory order to give evidence.

Mr Matthewson said Mr Bourke might have made a mistake. He went on to refer to the sinking fund, which was not included, when Mr Bourke said that was made legal by Act of Parliament. The Chairman asked if Mr Matthewson was going to make any motion—otherwise he could not allow the discussion to continue. Mr Matthewson: Is Mr Bourke's reply to be considered as an official reply of the Board or as from an individual ? If it was as from Mr Bourke he would sit down, but if as officially from the Board he would not do so. The Chairman : I don't think it can be considered as an official reply. Mr Bourke is a statutory officer, and is called upon to give evidence. Mr Matthewson : I dispute Mr Bourke’s reply—the limit has been very much exceeded. The Chairman : If you wish to propose that Mr Bourke be censured the proper course will be to make a iqqtion. Mr Matthewson 1 I want to see the Board placed on a proper footing—if Mr Bourke takes the thing on his own shoulders, I have nothing more to say. The Chairman said his own views were clear on the matter.

Mr Townley said if that were so it might profit them were the Chairman to express his Mr Dickson referred to (he figures and said there was no use attempting to mislead people. Mr Ganoon said it seemed to him tiey were commencing to re-audit the accounts. If they were going to do that, let them start at the commencement, Mr Matthewson : I protest against this going as an official reply from the Harbor Board. Mr Chambers : They have not addressed the Harbor Board. Captain Tucker thought hgwever i might have been in the first place, tht communjcatidn having been laid before the Board, they 4 were responsible fe the reply.

Mr Gannon : Then why did not Sir George Whitmore address the telegram to the Chairman ? Captain Tucker : The Board is not always sitting.

The Chairman: What would the Chairman have done if the telegram had been sent to him ? Mr Gannon: Referred it to the Clerk.

Captain Tucker: Now we have it before the Board and must have it carried out. If it is correct, let it remain ; if not, it should be rectified. The Chairman said it was the rule not to allow a matter to be discussed unless the discussion tended to some motion.

Mr Matthewson : It simply tends to his ; I wish correct information to go o the House. I say there has been v er £70,000 spent at the least. The Chairman : We have discussed that over and over again until itis worn thread-bare. Mr Chambers said it was too late now to go into the question. Mr Matthewson: It is not too late.

Mr Chambers : We have threshed it out over and over again, and the majority of the Board are not of opinion that the limit has been exceeded.

Mr Matthewson moved that the Board did not commit itself to the figures sent to Wellington by the Secretary.

Mr Chambers : We had better sack him at once if we can’t trust him to answer a simple question. The Secretary said the items were simply taken from the ledger, as certified to by the auditor.

The Chairman said if Mr Matthewson could eot agree with the figures his best course would be to tender evidence to the Committee. After some further remarks, not having any direct bearing on the question, the matter was allowed to drop. HAHBOftMASTErt’s REPORT. I have to report the tides being very poor and consequently that there has been very little water in the river. Abreast of the whirl at low water there is less than a foot

in depth with about one foot nine in other parts of the river. I would beg to suggest one day's work by tho scow which with the aid of the sand pump and sand bucket would have a very desirable result, deepening as it would the bank, which is only about twenty feet wide, a foot or eighteen inches. If this were done greater facility would bo given to passengers getting to or from the wharf at small cost.

With regard to the dredging, the Chairman said they would have to be very careful as to how they expended their funds, as they had little to spare. Mr Townley said the work was a very necessary one. Mr Matthewson said the sand would fill up next day again. Mr Townley said it was important something should be done. The Snark bad got stuck on Sunday, and the passengers had to be brought in in a boat, and the schooner Gleaner had been stuck for three or four days because she was unable to get out He moved that the Engineer be authorised to take such steps as were necessary to remove the bank. If the sand there would do for the concrete they might just as well get it there as from anywhere else. This was agreed to. engineer’s bepobt. We have had very rough seas during the last fortnight and were unable to work at the pier for five days. The continuous heavy weather has washed up a considerable quan-

tity of sand at the pier end; otherwise no damage has been done to the work. The section on hand last fortnight was finished on Friday, 22nd inst., and we are now at work on another which, when finished, will make above 320 feet of breakwater. To quicken the work I hired Messrs Kennedy and Evans’ scow to receive the sand from the grab. The weather has been such that we have not been able to give the method a fair trial. We have, however, found great benefit from it yesterday and to-day. I regret to say that some one on the night of Saturday, the 23rd ult., went into the scow about 12 o’clock as she lay moored alongside the wharf, on the Kaiti side of the river, and took out the three plugs from the bottom of the scow on the side next the river,® with the intention of making it fill on thr, river side and then slip into the deep where it is about twelve feet deep. Fortunatel although tha scow sank the moorings held and e we pumped it out without trouble, when w found that the three plugs were out as stated above. It is necessary to take stens to get cement, as we have only a month’s supply in stock. I wrote to Messrs Johnston and 00. on Uth April, warning them that we were getting short. I believe they have the balance of their contract in the Deva, and by last reports she cleared for Auckland and Poverty Bay on the 28th April, and could not be expected in Auckland before the Ist August.

Mr Townley asked why the Engineer did not use the sand pump. The Engineer said it was not suitable until they got out into deeper water. Mr Gannon asked how it would be if they took over the scow and then some one again took the plugs ont and the boat was injured ? The Chairman said it was only natural that Kennedy and Evans should protect themselves from loss. Mr Matthewson said to him it seemed a more reasonable theory that the scow had fallen on one side, as it did not seem likely that anyone would go and pull the plugs out with the quantity of stuff that was in the vessel. It appeared a natural thing that the scow would sink if not properly moored.

Mr Townley said if they wanted the scow for any length of time it would be better to buy one of their own, as the hire would soon run into the price of one, but in the uncertainty of things it was perhaps better to continue the arrangement. The arrangement was agreed to; also that 1000 casks of cement should be procured from Mr Johnston at the contract price. ACCOUNTS. The following accounts were passed for payment

£923 18 6 ™Mr Matthewson voted against the payment of the summons fees, as he believed that if a test case had been brought as he had suggested the whole thing would have been settled.

£ B. d. Summons tees .. 28 1 0 Borough Council 10 9 Secretary.. a • a 8 Wharfinger ,, Harbormaster .. 15 13 16 13 4 4 Weighbridge keeper 1 0 0 Wingate, Burns and Co',' 9 w 4 A. Thompson ., J. Thomson, U.K. 1 15 0 400 0 0 Auditor ,, W. 0. Skeet .. 14 0 0 59 9 9 Graham, Pitt & Bennett 1 3 7 H. E. Johnston .. 127 17 1 Weighbridge fees 0 9 0 J. Grady ,. 4 16 0 D. A. McLeod ., 58 19 1* Wages .. ,, V 157 11 4