PUBLIC MEETING.
THE HARBOR QUESTION. A PUBLIC meeting vu held at the City Rink on Thursday evening, to take into consideration the question of utilising past expenditure on the Harbor. The Mayor occupied the chair, and there was a large attendance. The Mayor mentioned the action that had been taken by the Board, and the Committee connected therewith. As the action of the Committee had not been unanimously approved of it was thought that a public meeting was desirable. He went nn to refer to Mr O’Connor’s report, and said that the scheme so far as they oould judge could ba carried out without increasing the present rates. When once the enclosure (as shown on the map) was dredged out Mr O’Connor believed that no further dredging would be required. Their position was either to stand by idle while the plant was rapidly depreciating, or strive to get some productive works made. A report he had from Mr J. Brown on that subject was that the plant In the store might with a little attention remain for years without great depredation, but the Jilant outside would depreciate 10 per oeot or two years and still more after that. He considered that four mon would have all their time taken up In looking after the machinery, sod then oould not get st all of it without taking the machines to pieces. Ha backed his statements with authorities, and said with the inventions new improvemanta coming into force the tn *ohinery might be obsolete in five years. The ratepayers must either try and get Mr O’Connor’s scheme carried out, or wait for years before anything of a more extensive scale were gone in for, which could not be done under £150,000 or £200.000, and the rating would certainly be on Cook County only. Mr O'Connor’s difficulty was to devise a scheme that would fit in with the present breakwater and their means. The mee'ing was an open one to get an expression of opinion from the ratepayers. Mr Sievwright thought they wonld bo wise to confine the discussion to the possible utilising of present expenditure. He moved that in the opinion of that meeting that instead of Mr O'Connor'a work being con. structed the present training wall ehoqld be substantially completed at a cost of say £6OOO, and that Parliament should find the money; also th.t the meeting deaired to impress upon Parliament the urgent neoeesity of preventing the beech sand coming into the river. Goode had said that it was necessary to have at» open structure near the shore, but all the other engineers had concluded that there was no drift sand from tbe west, and Mr O'Connor in that respect had argued against himself. He submitted the following objections to O'Connor's proposed work I—The wall of 2150 feet in length will be useless for the transport of goods, because vessels oannot go to it. It is " with hesitation ’’ Mr O'Connor takes the responsibility of recommending it, and he is not confident of results. The district oannot afford any experimental work, The work, as specified is of an extremely flimsy description, and can only laet a sboit time; besides its security against violent weather is anything but certain. The cost is certain to fall on the district whether ths work be successful or not. It will give us at best only a duck pond, with a very narroij entrance from tbe sea. It will interfere with future extension ot breakwater. Instead ot Oosting £31,000 it is much nifttt likely to
land the district in an outlay of £40,000 to make the work sufficiently secure and subBtantial. Every pound of the Loan Fund ought to be carefully saved for providing larger harbor accommodation hereafter; and only so much of it should now be need as may be necessary to provide works for keeping the river clear of beach sand. He summarised his remarks as follows:— There is no sand travel from the west. The sand about the entry of the river on the beach is limited in quantity (70,000 yards or thereabouts according to Mr O'Connor), and this is disturbed now and again with heavy south-easterly weather, and carried into the river, and towards the river, higher up, by the incoming tide, etc. This ssnd gradually works out again with settled water and the channel of the river steadily improves until a south-easter again causes local disturbance. The same body of water is thus kept going in and coming out, blocking more or less, and then clearing out, as proved by the Harbormaster's reports. The sanctioned training wall, substantially completed, say at a cost not exceeding £6OOO, will trap the moving body of sand, and fix it permanently, and prevent it getting into the river. This training wall, connected directly with the town would be useful for wharfage purposes and carriage of goods. And this work the Beard can do even if Government gives no help. Mr M. McLeod said Mr Sievwright’s motion fitted in much with his own ideas, and therefore he would second it. If O’Connor’s report were adopted it would for ever preclude the district from having a proper breakwater on Mr Thomson’s plan. He was of opinion that if Mr Thomson had been allowed to finish his scheme it would be a success—he said this from bis practical knowledge, having been on the works since they began, and knowing the site before and having watched it since. There was no evidence to show that the work would not be a complete success when finished—ha compared it to taking a watch to a watchmaker’s, and stopping him before he bad repaired the watch properly. They could get stone from the island as cheap as they could blast the blocks. He bad been constructing the training wall, and knew that during fine weather the river was Sood, and during bad weather was bad arough the send being stirred. He con■idertd that if they could get the training wall done for a reasonable sum, thev would be justified in keeping the Hercules for five years—the cost would be small. If he had the means, he was so confident about the result of the groin, that he would undertake to construct it on the principle of no cure no pay. A member of the Board bad spoken in a congratulatory tone on the fact that Captain Kennedy had expressed his opinion that the work would be a success, but he pointed out that Captain Kennedy was an interested party, who would be benefited by the carrying out of this sort of harbor. Mr Maude said he had taken up Mr O'Connor’s report on Bunday, and he got so fascinated with it that he had not gone to bed until 3 ft.m. He bad gone down and told Mr Muir that the remarks In his paper were all wrong. Mr Muh denied this, and took down a plan and said the remarks were based on that—the plan was the one in dispute bitween the two Thomsons. (Laughter.) If Mr O'Connor had come there with the object of preventing the district getting a good harbor for fifty years he could pot have dona It better. (Laughter.) He went ont 1400 feet to get into 2 feet of water. (Laughter.) He might el well have Started from Makaraka. (Laughter.) He fild not believe Mr O’Connor would get beyond the 2 feet—whenever be tried to get further than that it would be swept away like poatohwotk. Mr O'Connor only coaxed the water to come round—his idea would bo to make it strike over to the Waipaoa river ; in fact it was an extraordinary schema. When they commenced to build it must be from the seaward end. Any fool could find fault, but he had an alternative scheme. The Board bad plenty of funds and could carry it out and have £IO,OOO left. His plan was so simple that they would laugh at It, but he hoped they would mercilessly criticise it. Of engineers he bad a very poor opinion—and ■aid they bed paid Mr Thomson £BOO a year for playing with them. He went on to criticise the report from the Harbor Board Committee and eaid it was not trus to say that Mr 1 O'Connor stated they could get a harbor of 20 feet for the expenditure. The petition 1 had evidently been sent in order to get the I £12,000, to be managed by the majority of the Board, but be would be sorry to have bis , money spent in that way. As the Chairman , had not moved in the matter some of the ratepayers would, It was a disgrace to the district, an attempt to get £12,000 on false , false pretences, (Laughter and applause.) He went on to explain his own scheme, which he did with the aid cf the map He would get an old steamboat to enable the work to be begun from seaward ; have her weighted first at the breakwater and then tow her out and sink her. They might want many more vessels—he would not say the number—but they could extend it to Nick’s Head if they liked. They could get all the ships for £BOOO. His scheme could not be a failure, but Mr O'Connor’s must be—be wondered that gentleman was not ashamed to put such a plan up. The speaker finished with the moral, that instead of masters handing their vessels over to insurance companies they would be able to sell them at Gisborne. (Laughter.) Mr White supported the motion. He spoke from an experience of nine years’ work of a similar nature, having been with Thomae Brassey, in India, where they had to contend with great bodies of quiokeand. He considered they could successfully adopt the training walHo keep away any drift of sand. Mr O'Connor's scheme would only be so much money thrown away. The present scheme—though he did not say it was on the beet site—had never been properly carried out, for which the Governments were to blame. He would carry out the groin to a narrow point—they wanted to keep the river water in its smallest compass and erect automatic flood gates higher up. The thing would scour out itself and be kept clear, pro. siding excellent accommodation. Captain Tucker wanted to know from Mr Sievwright the object of the long yellow line in Mr O'Connor's plan. If it was to prevent the Injury done to the river it seemed greater than required, If it was to take the place of the concrete work he thought it would be better spent in continuing the other work. Mr Sievwright said It was not at all clear to him what Mr O'Connor contemplated— he contended that it was a duckpond. The report was not plain at all. Captain Tucker said he could not understand it, but supposed the line was to cut away the sand flowing in and out, and he thought tor that purpose the line would be more expensive than necessary—a line going out towards the pier would prevent the sand accumulating, increase the scour, and give more water against the concrete. He supported t he view of Mr Sievwright. Mr DeLautour said he rose as a member of the Committee to cay a few words. It was the first time in his experience that such an attempt as to get £12,000 from the Governmeut was considered as a sin. It was generally supprsed that the district bad not been treated welt, and that it wae entitled to money for public works, no works being speo'floally mentioned. If, however, the dietriot was of opinion that it could grapple with this harbor question unaided, now was the time to say so—tbe members of the oommittce would retire gracefully, having other things to attend to. The question to deal with was what were they going to do wi'h the river 1 It was true the last few reports of ths Hatbortnsstsr showed an improvement during the flea weather, but it was established |j»yond a doubt that the natural forces that (j?ed to keep the sand back and accumulate it on the Waikanae had been forever destroyed, and though there might be some ebn and flow in tbe Harbormaster’s report on fb? state of the river, it wav ae certain a? that the pier was there that ths river would gradually gat worse. Mr Thomson’s inner protective wall was not so much a part of his original scheme as it was a modification forced upon him when he could no longer Withstand the evidence cf bis senses, that there was sand in the river to be dealt with They would remember he utterly denied for a long time tbst there wae sand in tbe river, and even resorted to midnight dredging to get rid of It. (Laughter.) He sympathised with Mr Sievwright’s deep loyalty to Mr Thomson, but the latter only justified the protective work on tbe assumption that the Board were going to con tinW the breakwater line—otherwise he Would hot have advocated it, find there-
fore Mr Sievwright’s logical mind must mean that he wanted Mr Thomson’s inner work to be gone on with, so that he could force them to go on with the major line at some time or other. However loyal that might be to Mr Thomson, the proposal seemed impossible of being carried out. It was condemned by engineers who had paid a good deal of attention to the question, and it was condemned by all the captains of steamers trading with the place. Even were it possible in one sense, practically! it was impossible because they could not get the authority to have it carried out. He had himself stood by Mr Thomson so long as the latter had stood hy his own opinion, but he (the speaker) now admitted that he had made a mistake, and that so far as the line mentioned was concerned it could not be revived. If they spend £6OOO on that and could not subsequently go on with the major work they would be getting nothing for their money. At present the Board could only make tbe two ends meet, and this was only by the diligence of Messrs Bright and Shelton. There was £95,000 locked up, on which they were getting interest, and the balance of £SOOO from the other money earning interest, but the revenue they had at command after paying the interest on the loan was only sufficient to keep the necessary offices of the Board open, and they had noth ing to spate for numerous little works that required doing. He did not pretend to put his own opinion on the practical questions against men like Mr McLeod, but if they were going to get anything done they must put their faith in some person or scheme that had the faith of those without whose help nothing could be done. If it was only for the sake of seeing L 12.000 in the place it would not be right to consider it, but the work proposed, being protected by the outer work would not need to be so strong, and it would be impossible for the work to run into L 40.000 as suggested, as they would have it done by contract, and if the tenders exceeded that they could easily reject them. It could only be carried out with the sanction of tbe Government of the day, and if the Government once put money into it and thus took a practical interest in the question, they would be very near the time when it would cease to be a source of jny to those amateur engineers who talked about bringing steamers into the bay and sinking them —(laughter)—and they would have a colonial harbor constructed with colonial funds, which was no more than the district was entitled to, Mr KJly had got a promise from tbe Government that if he obtained a petition from the district supporting him in what bs was trying to do, the Government would see what they oouid do in the matter Mr Kelly was anxious to do something for the dietriot, and he (should be supported in his effort. The Board was divided in a friendly way on the subject, and now it was for the ratepayers to express their opinion one way or the other. Any prospect in the future must bo from Government protection, and if the Board sat there idle meeting after meeting they would really be slaying with Mrs Partington’s broom—;hey had no resources and oould only debate engineering questions. (Laughter.) Would they support Mr Kelly in his efforts or say they could afford to wait and do nothing While they saw the river gradually blocking up ? Any one who went down and saw tbe mouth of the river for himself would be astonished to see how the sand had accumulated, laughing as it were at Mr Thomson’s training wall. It that were extended it would only be a matter of a short time when the sand wou’d bank against it, and a flood in the river would undermine the atruo’ure and the whole thing go down. Mr O'Connor sought to place the mouth of the river in some relative position to what it was before they had tinkered with it, end he would therefore revive the natural forces, perhaps more effectively because of the deeper water. In saying that there would be 21 feet they had only gone by experience. Mr O'Connor gave the depth as from 15 to 17 feet at high tide, hut Baid the water would deepen, and the Harbormaster's report showed that it had. As a member of the Harbor Board it was paralysing to sit there with no money, and the prospect of seeing the river entrance destroyed within a short time. If they missed this session there would be no prospect of any assistance for twelve months. They should face the question apart from all traditions and past beliefs, and strive to get a harbor that would accommodate all ordinary shipping. (Applau-e.)
Mr Bright said the first speakers had dealt so largely with the engineering phase of the question that hia modesty compelled him to take a back seat, but since Mr DeLautour had taken the question from the strictly common sense point of view, he was tempted to propose an amendment to the motion. They had called in the advice of the best engineer in tbe colony, and he had given the subject deep thought. He knew the people had determined not to trench on the funds locked up, and he had given them what was called a duckpond, but call it what they would, if it would give them 21 feet of water he thought they would be quite justified in striving to get it. He had opposed the £40,000 expenditure, because he could prove that the interest on tbe money would be more than that saved by lighterage. He supported the present work also on the commercial ground that it would be profitable to the district. It was trifling with their time to talk of sinking interminable ships out in the bay. They should try and get the assistance applied for, and get something suitable to the trade of the bay. He had supported the action of the Committee because he thought they were justified in doing what they could in the best interests of the district. The amendment he moved was somewhat the same as that carried in the Board. It was said that Mr O'Connor spoke with diffidence, but he concluded, having all the circumstances in view, by saying that he took the responsibility of recommending the work. Captain Kennedy was of opinion that the work would improve the river, Everyone who knew Kennedy, knew that he would not be capable of what was insinuated. (Applause.) The same aspersions might be cast on Mr McLeod, and this sort of"thing was not right from a public platform (Hear, hear.) If they did not go in for a " duckpond,” they would soon have a ditch without water. Mr Maude: Had Mr Arthur any hand in compiling that petition P The Chairman i No.--.he was iu Wellington,
In reply to Mr Pile, the Chairman said they oould not spend any of the money without tbe sanction of Government. Mr DeLautour pointed out that the groin proposed by Mr Sievwright was to earn nothing, while Mr O'Connor’s work was to be reproductive. Mr Sievwright Baid the Board was entitled, if it thought fit, to carry out the groin at onoe. Mr McLeod explained that he had only mentioned Captain Kennedy's name in criticising the member, the same as his own name might bo used.
Mr White thought they should approach the Government for money on a scheme, stating none in particular. We had a district 80 miles long, by 40 broad, and it would be one of the finest in the colony with a good harbqr. Mr Shelton seconded the amendment, The first thing they had to Jo was to get the money. Before they could get It they, must show that the plan was one approved iof by some Government official, but the motion left the matter very wide as far as Mr O'Connor’s schema was concerned. If they got what they asked for it would practically be running the chance of giving up £5OOO with some cement and machinery that would soon be useleae. He did not thick they would get the money, but they certainly would not if they did not try for it.
In reply to Mr Somervell, Mr Bright said the annual livhterage, excluding wool and meat, was £2OOO,
Mr Joyce mentioned that he had proposed at the Board that the matter be left to this meeting, but though he cou’d not get a seconder for it, he found that it was the very same subject that had been brought up, He was opposed to O'Connor’s scheme, thinking the expenditure would be futile. Tbe plan shown was not a' correct copy. Tbe latter showed 13ft Ilin marked at the juncture of the two. works, and Mr O'Connor had no faith in it himself. He said they would get 17 feet of water on dredging the place to the rook, li they borrowed the money from the Government they would have to pay it bfick
some day. Mr O'Connor said the work would have to be very carefully carried out, —there was not a sentence in the report that verified the work as a success. His opinion of Mr Sievwright’s proposal was that it would create a bar outside, and that the other would debar them altogether. (Laughter.) There were only about 150 persons present at the meeting, and he did not think it fair to ask them to give a representative opinion on the proposals. There was not a gentleman in the room would advocate the speculation on the work, excepting those on the platform. The petition sent to Wellington he stigmatised as a misrepresentation—a bis ehip could never be got in the proposer harbor. He quoted from 'speeches of Messrs Townley and DeLautour in 1888, warmly supporting the “L 40.000 expenditure. If they spent the money to the west of the present work they would have no harbor. Mr Bright had said the L2OOO lighterage would not include the Wool and meat ships. They could not get in.
Mr Bright': That is why I said it. Mr Joyce said Mr Bright had tried to make it appear that they would. Mr Bright objected to such an inference being taken from plain words. Mr Joyce went on to say that the whole thing was a “bluff.” [Voice: No.] That was only one man among many. It would be a foolish transaction for them to carry out this proposal. The plant put down as worth £15,000 was worth a third more, and they could go right through the Board's books and not find the price of one machine—they would have to go to the shipping note. Of the two evils in regard to schemes it would be better to take Mr Sievwright’s, and spend the smaller sum first. Mr Maude wanted the Board to have copies of O'Connor's plans prepared, and one given to every ratepayer. Archdercon Williams said, from his knowledge of the river, he thought it oould take oare of itself, especially now when the sand was out off on one side. Tbe matter was not one of urgency. As to the assumption of a saving of £2OOO a year he pointed out that other assumptions made had not been justified, and Mr 0 Connor did not speak with confidence himself. The " probabilities ” mentioned were very uncertain things. He went on to deal with the possibilites of the scheme being as successful as proposed—it might bo useless because of the rock that would have to be got rid of. The blas'ing of the rock and the dredging would ba very expensive items. Their experience in the past did not justify them in believing that the £l2 000 would ba a free grant. He understood that the plant was to be given as security, but if that oould not be sold, it really meant more borrowing. He preferred Mr Sievwright’s plan of tho two, but he thought the district might well be satisfied to go on steadily for a few years without entering upon any such works. Mr Somervell said the construction of Mr O'Connor’s scheme was such that he did not think the money would be voted, but he believed in going to the Government occasionally asking for money—it was the only way they would get a show. A voice i Go to them every week. (Laughter). The Chairman said the Committee had done what they believed to be for the best, (Applause) Mr Dougherty had told him that the captains of the vessels said they would not bring them up. again to the pier unless there was shelter given. Mr Maude’s speech he took as one meant to be humorous. He believed they need not care much which way the vote went that night, because he feared the action that had been taken would prevent any grunt being given. If the ratepayers wished to remain as they were for some years that would be very simple, and it was for them to give what directions they would. It had often been deplored that there was apathy in trying to get support for the district, and they had, with good hope, sought to get assistance, Mr Kelly having used all his endeavors in that respect. If they passed the resolution they would simply say that they did not want any assistance. Mr O'Connor’s plan was to meet the circumstances. Napier had had such an inner work, and it had stood all right and given great benefit. [Mr McLeod said the heavy range was caused by the sand bank.] The groin was the most expensive work they had done, and had cost more than Mr Thomson himself had anticipated. By the time there was an opportunity to submit motion or amendment to the meeting it was nearly 11 o'clock, and the majority of those who had been present had left the hall. On the amendment being put it was carried by 25 to 11, and the meeting dispersed.
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Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume V, Issue 641, 1 August 1891, Page 2
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4,572PUBLIC MEETING. Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume V, Issue 641, 1 August 1891, Page 2
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