CO129-608-7 Future policy- Report on Port Administration by Sir David Owen 24-2-1941 - 24-2-1941 — Page 84

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Glasgow. The Trust (Clyde Navigation) is responsible

for the navigation of the river from Glasgow to Port Glasgow and all necessary deepening, dredging and improvements together with the maintenance of buoys and beacons. It constructs docks and quays and provides cranes, but does not handle goods. The only warehousing done by the Trustees is in connection with grain and timber. They do not own the private wharves in the lower reaches of the river.

(i) From the foregoing examples it will be seen how

the functions of a Port Trust differ in relation to port facilities, navigational aids, etc.

(ii) They all agree on the question of channel maintenance,

dredging, widening and deepening, and also the ownership of wet docks and other berthing facilities for vessels.

(iii) The Owen Report proposes another form of Autonomous

Control whereby the Trust owns no port facilities of any consequence (the Wharf and Godown Company, Holt's Wharf and the China Provident Godowns are to remain under private ownership) but will undertake the deepening of the harbour should that ever be required,

(iv) The three Trusts I have referred to own and operate

their own dredging and reclamation plant, and I agree that such expensive equipment is best controlled by a body fundamentally actuated along commercial lines and who can recover capital outlay from Harbour Dues. As we have neither plant nor Harbour Dues in Hong Kong (and as we must keep the port cheap) it is proposed that our Trust should derive its revenue mainly from ferry royalties and pier rents. I see no reason why these funds should be deviated from Government, and I advocate that all development schemes be met by a subvention from Government Loans, costed as Capital Works and let out to contract under the supervision of our own Port Engineers who, after all have suggested the schemes and are keenly interested in them. question of "bringing a man out from home" is a hardy perennial, and the advantages are by no means certain when we consider that he usually picks the brains of local officers, takes a couple of years to get "acclimatized" and then does precisely what we ourselves could have done by the simple expedient of deciding on a programme and then supporting our executive staff.

This

(v) It is generally agreed that should the future business

of the port indicate the necessity for further development there should be what might be termed "A Strong Directing Body" having the necessary power to ensure continuity of policy over a period of years. Apart from the piers along Connaught Road, which obviously required urgent attention, I fail to see just what the Trustees are going to do for some time except contract for the building of those piers and then let them when the job is completed.