, 1890-12-13

End Member for Frederiksted's Country
District (BlacEleood) who, in introducing the
amendments said he would first call attention
to a misprint in the remarks TO the amend
ments, when it is said the landing wharf
should be made 81 feet wide, it should be
"27 feet acider''. In bringing forward these
amendments it was not his intention
or object merely to oppose for the sake
of opposition or to criticize the wharf
which is now said to be completed in West
End, but his object is to endeavour to lay
before the honorable Colonial Council and the
public such calculations and statements as will
shew that we require another and better
wharf at the port Of Frederiksted. To shew
why this is required, he would beg to make a
few remarks and state a few figures. In the
first place, then, it must be noticed, that now
a large percentage of the produce Of the place
is being exported in bags, while formerly it
was done in hogsheads; in former times the
principal carriers. were sailing vessels, now
we work with steamers mostly, requiring the
work of shipping from the wharf to be con-
Quoted much more quickly and promptly
than under the. former system. According to
information he possessed, there had In 1S69-90
been shipped from Frederiksted 16, 522 bags
of Sugar, containing 1876 19 lbs, which ie
equal to 2,584,3 hogsheads a 1900 lbs; there
dlC y DdSb l biSbI W 4 uOSSilcJAJ DIV y ~ tSb
Of sugar require as much wharf surface as :
hogsheads; consequently we require at the least
twice as much working space on the wharf
in handling bags for shipment. Now, in this
respect, it will strike every practical man
seeing the sugar wharf Just delivered for
use by the public, that it is highly imprac-
teal; there is no roof, but sugars in bags
would get wet when placed there if a shower
of rain sets in, even if you cover them; the
wharf is made with a hollow in the centre
and a slope on both sides, for collecting the
water and which will not escape quickly
enough. But besides that, the wharf is much
too small even for ordinary purposes if you
have 2 or 3 vessels and a steamer loading and
unloading, it would be necessary to have
several lighters alongside this wharf, but there
is not sufficient room, and sugars in bags or
hogsheads would be mingled in one eternal
confusion with packages of merchandise if
you put a crane on it, at least s feet in diane
ter would go from the working surface of the
wharf, and the working space would become
still more confined and insufficient, as there
will then not be much left on the sides of that
crane surface to allow of any ease in motion,
in fact the wharf as it is would become use
less for the purposes intended. In now pro.
posing that the landing wharf be made so feet
wide, we merely ask for what is Justly needed
and what the shipping community deserve to
have for what they pay. Then again, as
regards the landing of machinery, he could
state, that in the last 5 years he had landed
IVA tons of machinery at Frederiksted, among
them was 3 boilers of Z tons, / of 8, and of
10 tons. AS far as he had been able to get
information other parties had also imported
machinery to a pretty considerable extent thus
Capt Perkins had imported II tons, of which
1 boiler of s tons; Major Moore 100 tons. of
which 4 boilers of s tons and above; Russell
Bross500 tons, of which 8 boilers about s tons
each; Fleming so tons, of which 8 boilers of
3 and l of 9 tons. For the last 5 years
there has been, imported 876 tons of machine
ry, of which % boilers averaging 8 tons
each, making 176 tons at lowest for
boilers; this deducted from the 876 tons
leaves 700 tons for machinery, and which
have cost to land on an average $3.50
per ton or in all $3.50 spent for land
ing machinery, including 25 cts. Pc ton
wharfage. This is a great percentage, and
it could be saved if we had proper landing
appliances provided. But besides that each
boiler costs about $50 more on an average to
be landed by private parties, making for the
22 boilers an amount of $500, besides the
25cts wharfage, although they are not landed
on the wharf. Thus it will be seen that the
landing Of machinery costs in all SO, ITO,
which is an unnecessary expense, and one that
could be applied in a much more useful way
for the Community, if there were proper
annTiances in the shane of ADEQUATE wharf