I.—6b

2

MINUTES OF EVIDENCE.

Fbiday, 30th Sbptembee, 1910. James Glbnnt Wilson examined. (No. 1.) Witness: lam here in rather a dual capacity I happen to be Chairman of the Manawatu County Council, and am the representative of that body on the Foxton Harbour Board. I have not got time to traverse the report which the Department has put in, as I wish to catch the Main Trunk express, but it could be, I think, very successfully combated in every instance. Mr Newman or Mr Hennessy can do that. I should like to go on to paragraph No. 8 in the petition, which relates to Messrs. Levin and Co. and McMurray and Co.'s wharf Patea, Wanganui, and Waitara were in exactly the same position as we were, but these particular wharves were handed over to the local bodies. You, Mr Chairman, in Wanganui have no rate on your land, and you have a large endowment. The wharf, I believe, was handed over to the Harbour Board, yet there is no necessity for dual control, as objected to by the Department, because the Railway Department take over all the wharf dues and pay a certain proportion to the Board. When anything is done by way of repair it is carried out by the Department, and the cost deducted from the revenue due to" the Board. In Patea they have a very satisfactory harbour, as far as local traffic is concerned and they are not accused of interfering with Railway revenue. It is somewhat similar to our harbour in that it has a bluff on the south side of the entrance. If we could only control our river, and keep it against the bluff on the south, we should have a gpod bar but unfortunately the river has a tendency to run north instead of running out straight, and we cannot control it. The entrance therefore very frequently shifts—which is a very important point—and if we had money we could erect a training-wall which would obviate that, Patea is in a very satisfactory position as far as finance is concerned. The Government collect the wharf dues and hand over the balance to the Harbour Board, and it is on that revenue that the Board is able to borrow the money to complete its works. At Waitara it is the same Mr Hennessy will speak on this, as he has gone very fully into it. To come back to the cases of Levm and Co. and McMurray, we do not dispute that the legal position taken up by the Rai way Department is correct, but we do think that they have treated us harshly and very unfairly m taking all the wharfages from Levin and Co. and McMurray and Co. The Railway Wharf was built by the public but in the case of Levin and Co. and McMurray and Co., they built their own wharf and their own store The Railway Department paid nothing towards it, and it cannot be argued that because public money was spent the revenue should belong to the Railway Department, in this case we think all the wharfages ought to go to us, inasmuch as we provide the means by which the steamers get there, and the Railway Department does nothing towards it The Department, according to their report just read, spent £1,000 in dredging, and got back £723 in cast.for gravel from the local authorities, as well as being able to use a great deal of the spoil for then own benefit and to gravel the yard, which otherwise would cost 6s. per yard Then we think we have a right because we think the foreshore on which is the actual wharf is all our ground. The foreshore between high- and low-water mark is vested in the Board, and we think that as the Z S exteniover that we ought to have the right to the wharfages. The Committee wd see that tis absolutely impossible, with a revenue of £600 per annum, to improve the river It brings down an enomoue quantity of silt, and is constantly changing its bed and steamers are interrupted in their traffic. We have not even sufficient money to buy a steam-launch and have to hhe one at considerable expense to make soundings. There is another point I wish to make clear and as a resident of the district for many years and Chairman of the Manawatu County Council I to s ate that we have no intention'of competing with therailway We do not suppose that even under the best conditions we could do that. All we can do is to provide the means to carry the heaviei dassof goods. The coal traffic should naturally come that way, because ooa comes from he West Coas and it would be very expensive to take it on to the wharf in Wellington and transfer it on to the railway It naturally would come to Foxton and the transhipment would take place there Heavy goods, such as wire, iron, roofing-iron, and cement, come into The railwaTcharge on these is heavy, and much of it comes through the Foxton Harbour, and goes up theline of train. Sugar is pother item which is a heavy class of goods also nails Jo and wmmmmMmm and keep them in fair order