MOVEMENTS OF THE UNION STEAMERS.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3661, 9 April 1883, Page 3

MOVEMENTS OF THE UNION STEAMERS.

[To the Editor of the Daily Telegraph.] Sir, —The Union Steamship Company some time ago took a step in the right d-'-eetion when thoy caused to be erected in conspicuous places about tow a notice boards giving the times of depariurc of their vessels from this poit, but the travelling pub i; c, whom I may suppose these notices are : -itende.l to benefit, v, i". altogether fa-'l to see the usefulness of them if postponements arc not promptly and correctly notified thereon from t ; mc to time as the departure of vessels is delayed. For instance, yesterday affcei.iooii I interviewed two of these boards, one at the Herald office in Tennyson-street, and one at Mr J. AY. Craig's in Hastnigs-street, to ascertain when the A '-awata would leave for Auckhind, and to my great, astonishment and annoyance found that on the first board mentioned there was no information u-hatceer concciii'iig the movements of that vessel, while ou the oilier (tho Hastngsstrcot one) there was the stale and incorrect announcement that sho word leave on Satr-day, 7th instant, at 11 a.m. ! Tb : s notification I at. once knew to be wrong, hawng seen by yor- issue of Sati< v day evenmg that the steamer had not left AVcl-I'-igton as early as was expected, and that her time of departure had been fixed for 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Bth instant. I ney wended my way towards the company's oifiee in Brow_ ; -ig-strcet, feeling secve i-.i the be l; ef that, if re I .able intelligence on the subject that interested me was to be obtained anywhere, it worM be there. But once move I foeud myself "off the scour,'' for not a pa.-lido of ; -] + 'ormat'on was to be obt.rncd at the office, where it seems the agent does not consider it nccessaiy to po..t announcements, under the impre<;ion, I presume, that no one woi-hl ever think of going there 'o grat ; "y his en' 'osity on ship-p-'-ig matters. "Like tho persevevi lg man that I am, I st-H continued my search, however, aud—Eureka '.— was at length rewarded by discovering posted up iv the passage of the Empire Hotel a little s l: p of paper which set forth tho fact that the A-awata's depaiturc had be.m postponed until Mmday, the 9th, at 11 a.m. Now that was very gratitying—that is to sry when I found "it out —but why I should ha to go to so much trouble t > discover s"uplc matter of tlr's 1 '-id is more than I crnde'/staud. The;e cm^ : vial poSipoucmeuts are of themselves a. nuisance serious enough without bc'ng added to by what can only be termed g.:oss neglect of the : -i i n-fsti of tbe company's suppoit-s. It must have been wel'-l. lovv.i to the agent at AVell-'-igton tbat the A -awata cord not ai.lvo at Napier :' it"'-ne to leave cari'er than to-day; why, then, was not a telegram t) that effect sentou to the agent here, who duty it shorhl be to give pub"o nol'.cc ( ovei," poj.'ponement. These and nrueroi's other : -regulaiiri( s arc beconv'ug so coir non that people are made ful'v aware that the monopoly cf the East Coast sl: ; pp'-.ig by the Urmn Com])any docs not conduce to the jmbHo interests. —I am, kc,

TpAVELLi- '5,

Napier, April 0, 1833