THE HARBOUR FERRIES.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 954, 22 October 1910, Page 10

THE HARBOUR FERRIES.

A LOST OPPORTUNITY. Sir, —For somo time past there ,Ims been an agitation in liastbourno and Day's Bay for the improvement of the daily ferry service, and many and loud havo been the complaints and the clamours for a new order of things. Let mo state the position. One of the chief causes for dissent has been the foisting of the Admiral upon residents on every possible occasion. The majority of the travelling public have a- decided objection to this boat,- especially at this season of tho year, when the traffic is increasing daily, as her accommodation is not sufficient for ordinary' requirements when even a fairly strong northerly makes the top deck uninhabitable. x The morning after the Pilot fiasco early in September, the manager of the company, Mr. E. C. F. Zolirab was pleased to extol tlio virtues of tho scrvico when waited upon by a Dominion ■reporter with reference to tlio complaints. Concerning the Admiral tho statement appeared in print that Mr. Zolirab considered her a seaworthy boat and admirably (?) suited to the requirements of tho service. He stated that she had just been thoroughly overliaul;ed and as a proof of her usefulness she had only been disabled once 111 18 months. Barely a week later .this model of shipbuilding and efficiency camo to .grief oil Point Halswell at 8.30. a.m. with' a large number of passengers on board and had not tho Cobar beenpassing at the moment and taken her in tow, all those on board would have been put to a great deal of inconvenience, if indeed nothing more serious had resulted. The point is this: Supposing suoh an accident had occurred on the 10.15 p.m. run from town on September 17, or any night lately when exceptionally strong northerly winds have been raging, what chance would ■passengers'.havo had then?. The possible consequences are left to the imagination of tlio; reader. Tho breakdown was simply a-warning, but no heed ap-, peais to be taken of sucli a trifling occurrence and nothing will bo done untjl ono of these days there; will be an accident resulting in serious loss of life, and'someone (Goodness ' Iceows ; who) will awaken to a sense of responsibility. And so with the reduced, facilities in the .sliape "of a minimum of . boats- the convenience of tho residents is taken advantage. of in a shameful. manner. Given the chance of. £10 worth of towing, and passengers have-either to cool thoir heels waiting for the Duchess or accept a lift in the R.M.S. Pilot, etc. Nobody denies that the company ; has been experiencing a most critical juncture in its affairs, nor that exceptional bad luck has been following in its', wake for the last couple of years, but surely, sir, that is no reason why it'should em-, phasise the fact that it holds a monopoly by openly flouting those upon .whom it is chiefly depondent on every possible occasion. • And now for tho residents', .themselves, and : tho amount of' backbone thoy are capable ; of exhibiting when, it comes to actions. On. Wednesday night the Duchess was .in the harbour towing,* and the Admiral was prepared to tako-' tho former's 5.20 p.m. trip: "Of course,, there were tlio usual .grumblings ' - and complaints about tho great inconyonienco,.rotten' service, "pointing','.; skippers, and • indifferent company,.. but when an opportunity presented' itself to mako a practical protest it went begging. The Duchess apparently mis-' timed her return, to tlio wharf, which she reached t)nebi«oly at 5.20. A number; of passengers'immediately , stepped off tlio Admi^alj' r ,,and.;an...app(jar,V,Wi>s' made to othors in the-vicinity to join them and make an attempt to got .the Duchess for her usual - run. . Several ! answered .the; appeal,: and many, wore undecided,- but Captain Reed ! .determined to obey his orders, put tho ■ gangway off, and with the exception of half a dozon, tlio odd protostants clambered _ back to the Admiral .when the possibility of -having to wait until 6.20 p.m. beoamo apparent. Thero was certainly not a,, great deal. of time, to make a united but there- woreenoygh off tho steamer"'at ono period to havo made proceedings interesting had a roquest. been made' for transhipment of all the passengers to tho Duchess. Amongst tho number who preferred discretion as. thp bettor, part of valour woro those who have been loudest ' .: in their demands for . improvement, , and condemnation. of the. Admiral "when - the Duchess is available. • Thore may not bo any written law as ,to'how tho company will' run its steamers, or which boat .will make the respective runs, but it surely is not expecting too much' that tho great majority of the residents who travel at 5.20 p.m. from town arid 8 a.m: from the Bay will have the pride of the fleet (the Duchess) placed at their disposal,; even at tho cost ofa little extra inconvenience to the company. Tho writer i-s' willing to admit that lie was one of the half dozen "who, - perhaps, needlessly, made'martyrs " of tliomsolvos by refusing ;to t'ravol in tho Admiral on the trip referred to, but' tho mattor was one of -principle, and .as ho has 'the 'deoency to sign his- nanie to this letter is not afraid of -any consequences of his expressions of opinion 1 about the company or those passengers to whom' tho cap may 'fit; Tho Matter aro all thore when they got out as far as Point. Halswell ' and preach' about the efficacy (or otherwise) of the service. Give them the freo use, of their, organ of speech, a fountain peri, and a "rpund-robin," and'they are all there, but when it oomes to aotione or subjecting themselves to an hour's possible inconvenience'in order to back up their | demands and principles, thoy suddenly find thoy are too .hungry or tired to wait for another hour, or that thoy promised tho "missus" to be homo by tho 5.20. With apologies for encroaching on your valuable spacej —I am, etc., ; TOM H.' JONES. October 20.