, 1890-10-22

when he asks for compensation for his sugar
lost on the public wharf, then the planter has
no where else to go than to the Colonial
Council.
The Governor: Mr.. Chairman, / have to
go to St. Thomas within a short time, and
have no time to go on in this way; but should
like to see the matter before the Council dis
cussed.
3rd Member for Frederiksted's Country Dis
trict (Heocitt) said, if q concrete wharf is to be
built he thought that it was a wrong place as
prop sed in the Bill. Then again, if we have
to get a Crane it should not be for use in
shipping sugar but for loading heavy machine
nv. 1t is natural that the machinery mostly
imported is heavy mill rollers and if a Crane
is to be put at all, it should be one for not less
than 10 tons. Furthermore, if the Public is
to have the benefit of the Crane on this pier,
this latter should be wide enough to admit of
Wagons backing under the crane, so that ma
chinery etc. might be swung over into the
Wagon; hitherto it has been difficult and ex-
pensive to get such machinery landed in West
End, and if there is to be a Crane, let it be
one of utility. The wharf to be rebuilt is ina
wrong spot, just opposite the C~ustomhOuSe,
and the one across which Sugar is rolled; it
would BE- a difficult thing to roll sugars an1
land machinery at the same time on this pier,
and hence it would turn out that there would
not be much use for the crane; you would
either have to stop the sugar or roll the hogs
heads large distances round, much to the in
Jury of the hogsheads. His opinion is that
the Crane should be at the landing wharf,
and that sugar should be loaded in the same
manner as hitherto. The whole difficulty is in
getting machinery landed. Now, as regards the
work itself, he would say, that when the wharf
IL b H. ~ohu;1% Tho GOvaropoaD& chOuld
then have laid before the Council for its Opt
Mon a plan of the work before it had been
commenced, and us regards the expenses, it
appeared that when the prisoners are to be
used for tie work, the largest itom would be
for the cement. But it seemed very doubtful,
when no foundation is to be made, but the
structure is merely to be built On the surface
Of the rock, whether the structure will be
strong enough to withstand the ground sea.
The per should have been on cast iron piles;
and It would have been worth the while if the
Government had taken the trouble to, procure
an estimate of the cost of such a wharf of cast
iron; it might in the long run be cheaper and
also more substantial. Even with a solid con-
crete structure there is a danger chat the sand
not only will heap up along the borders, and
obstruct the approach, but also that the struc-
ture be undermined. He had great doubts
whether the pier on the plan proposes will be
Of any use, and a crane there will certai- ly be
of no use at all.
End Member for Frederiksted's Country Dis.
trict (Blackuo0d) said he believed that for
the last 5 years he has had experience in these
affairs as much as any one, and his opinion Is
that some fault rests somewhere, but not ex-
actly with the parties in charge of the wi ri,
nor with those using it at the same time
it must be taken into consideration that we
are living now in a progressive age in
former times we had to do only with sailing
vessels in the trade here, buL now we have
steamers; these, as we know, work with a rush,
while>w with the sailing vessels a day or two
more or less did not matter much as a rule.
Those who had to ship the Sugars at the time
the pier broke in, did Of course rush on to meet
the steamer in time; the consequence was that
the wharf was overweighted, and, not being
calculated for that, it fell in. He did not
know with whom the responsibility rests, he
could not say who should be responsible. In
Manning the new structure that is to be in
the stead of the former pier, we must
look, not so much to the present times, to
what is being landed or shipped now, but
what we will be having in 10 years time, and
we will then require more powerful machinery;
il we are to compete with other places, then
we must get all the improved appliances for
sugar manufacture. If the wharf is to be IN.
future as it is now, there would be but little
use of it, as it would get blocked up entirely if