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189
As
Continuing Mr. Colman said that as trade increased and moved further afield it would be necessary to find capital for building wharves and other facilities. If one railway was not he lain factor of the port, it would probably be necessary or the Central Government to take control. the scale of operations increased it was sometimes found that the Central Government were not in close enough touch with the ne ds of the port. Complaints would be heard, possibly to the effect that the technical advisers had too much unrestricted power, and usually the next stage of development was the appointment of an Advisory Board.
M. Colman remarked that many Advisory Boards had been set up and many had disappeared usually because they had no responsibility, and because they had no definite responsibilities
As members of there was a lack of continuity about their work. these 3oards realized that little responsible work was expected of them there was a tendency for them to depute to these Boards junior officials of less mature experience of administration, who would raise occasional detailed grievances rather than formulate policy, until the point was reached when it became evident that they were serving no useful purpose and were not called upon to meet. M.. Colman said he had known this to happen and suggested that sor ething similar had happened in Hong Kong.
Mr Colman said that then the Central Government usually recogniz d, perhaps reluctantly, the advisability of forming a Body re mesentative of the interests concerned and composed of men of expert knowledge and mature experience, and of delegating to that Body statutory powers and obligations. It was usually in this way tha's a Port Trust came into existence.
Mr. Colman continued that the main purpose of the Port Trust was to represent the public in general and the shipping interests in particular. By shipping interests he meant the shipowners, their agerts, the consignees, the consignors, and such subsidiary interests as ship builders, bankers, insurance companies, licensed measurers and the ferry operators. He wished to stress that the Port Trust would be representative of all these shipping interests.
Mr. Colman mentioned incidentally that he thought that representatives of the consignors and consignees had been omitted from the list of people who were to be invited to make representa- tions to the Committee. He thought they were vitally concerned.
Mr. Colman considered that the main responsibility of a Port Trust was to ensure that adequate facilities were provided to enable legitimate business to be carried on in safety and under This reasonable conditions, interpreted in the broadest sense. might invc ́ve the formulation and carrying into effect of long- term polic to provide, for example, dredgers or heavy lift cranes
In the second and to run them for the general use of the port. place Mr. olman stated it was the duty of a Port Trust to ensure that these facilities were provided at as low a cost as possible and were maintained efficiently; and thirdly it was a duty of the Port Trust to ensure that there was no undue preferential treatment.
The advantages of a Port Trust, Mr. Colman said, were many. It was corporate body which could not be influenced in any way by anyo... It was composed of men of mature experience and, in some cases expert knowledge. Its resolutions or representations therefore called for the closest consideration, and Mr. Colman considered this to be a most important point because the situation here today was made a great deal more difficult for the shipping community by the possibility of a Municipal Council coming into existence.