of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



241 



Statutory powers were also obtained to increase the borrowing powers 

 of the Harbour Commissioners, mider the Act of 1878, to £400,000. In 

 terms of the Order the Trustees obtained loans amounting to £95,000 from 

 the Pubhc Works Loan Commissioners, and a free grant of £25,000 from 

 the Treasury. 



The engineer for the scheme was Mr. James Abernethy, Westminster, 

 and the work is being carried out departmental I y without a contractor, 

 under the superintendence of Mr. John Davies as resident engineer. 



The new spur on Balaclava Breakwater is finished, the new station 

 harbour basin is well advanced, and every effort is being made to complete 

 the scheme in time for the approaching fishing season. Latterly the sum 

 available was found to be insufficient to meet the ultimate cost of the 

 scheme, and application was made to the Development Commissioners 

 for further financial assistance, and in October 1913 the Treasury intimated 

 that a free grant of £20,000 and an interest bearing loan of £20,000 would 

 be advanced from the Development Fund. These amounts are being 

 expended on the station jetty, wliich projects along the centre of the new 

 harbour basin, and on the excavation of a large quantity of rock from 

 the basin. 



The free grant of £20,000 has been earned and paid, and the Com- 

 missioners are at present promoting a Provisional Order to enable them 

 to obtain the loan. 



It is expected that the scheme will be completed and the basin opened 

 for traffic in June this year. 



Gardenstown Harbour. 



This ^Improvement Scheme is for the enlargement of the harbour for 

 the accommodation of herring drifters. It consists of an extension of 

 the existing East Pier for a distance of 80 lineal feet, the construction of 

 a new harbour basin having an area of about 4 acres, situated to the 

 west of the existing harbour basin, with entrance from it, the new basin 

 being enclosed by a new west breakwater about 1085 feet in length, a new 

 quay wall at the landward side of the basin about 580 feet in length, and 

 the deepening of the entrance channel and part of the new and old harbour 

 basins to a depth of 5 feet at low water of ordinary spring tides. 



The estimated cost of the scheme was £9500, towards which a free 

 grant of £4000 and an interest bearing loan of £4000 are to be provided 

 from the Development Fund. 



A Provisional Order was obtained in 1911, empowering the Trustees 

 to carry out the scheme in accordance with the plans and estimate which 

 accompanied their application to Parliament, and two engineers in suc- 

 cession have been employed by the Trustees in the preparation of these 

 plans and estimate, but unfortunately these engineers, through untoward 

 circumstances, had to resign their connection with the scheme, and the 

 present engineers are Messrs. Kyle, Dennison, & Laing, Glasgow. 



The contractors are Messrs. R. C. Brebner & Co., Edinburgh, the 

 contract price being £10,457. 



Work on the new West Breakwater was commenced in April 1913, 

 and it is partially constructed for a length of about 150 feet, but in July, 

 owing to the unsatisfactory quality of the concrete work of the breakwater, 

 the contractors were ordered by the Trustees to stop operations until an 

 imderstanding could be arrived at to execute satisfactory work. 



The Trustees sin(;e then have endeavoured to arrange matters with 

 the contractors for the resumption of operations on a satisfactory basis, 

 but without success, and they now propose to take the work out of the 

 contractors' hands, and complete the scheme departmentally. They have 



