Fears were voiced yesterday that Ducking Stool residents may be sacrificed by ?Front Street merchants? to make way for a proposed new container dock on North Shore.

?As far as I?m concerned this plan is one of expedience and one which is serving the Hamilton merchants only,? said Pembroke Central MP Wayne Perinchief.

The proposal to relocate the Hamilton container docks to Government?s Ducking Stool Park in Pembroke has been floated by former Premier Sir John Swan. Sir John?s plans would use up much of the park and eat into Government house property, and extend Black Watch Pass. Mr. Perinchief suggested an alternative site for a dock. ?The bigger picture would be to look at developing somewhere like Morgan?s Point which has a deep water dock, and plenty of space for warehouses. Here the cargo could be broken down and either trucked out or brought by barge to Hamilton.

?My point is why will we cause all this damage on North Shore in an already heavily built up area with so many residents for the sole advantage of the Front Street merchants. It is completely inconsiderate.?

?You can put me down as a number one opponent of this dock, so my supporters know that I?m against this harebrained idea,? he said.

He added from a practical perspective, a container dock on North Shore would not be feasible, with strong winds and winter storms a continuous threat. ?You will also have to consider the infrastructure needed, such as warehouse space. That means an encroachment on open space including government house and the ducking stool.?

He said his constituents in Pembroke North Central who would suffer under Sir John?s plan. Communal land would be taken away from the Government Gate and North Village residents in the East, all the way to the Langton Hill area.

Mr. Perinchief also objected to the construction slated for Black Watch Pass. He said that the road way, which was built by Boer War convicts, had ?great historical and aesthetic value? for the area. In addition traffic, he said, was only expected to increase at the Ducking Stool junction with the completion of Berkeley. And it would only be made more congested with new docks. He cited that students for the new Berkeley school would need to access the area, adding to the traffic for nearby West Pembroke, Dellwood, and Saltus schools.