Our Wellington Letter

Feilding Star, Volume XI, Issue 46, 5 October 1889, Page 2

Our Wellington Letter

-•— — [from our own COKKESPONBENT.J Wellington, October 3. Tlie Rev. Jos. Berry, the talented preacher of Wesley Church, last Sunday gave utterance to some very wholesome truths which it would be well for many of us to take to heart. In preaching from the text, " Blessed are the .peacemakers," the rev. gentleman asked his hearers not to understand that to mean "peace at any price," and quoted, as illustrative of hia meaning, the American civil war and the late dock strikes in London, which Mr Berry considered were cases where war would be preferable to allowing tbe then state of things to exist. The rev. gentleman said he was sorry to see that many of our best citizens were content to sifc with their feet on the fender and say : " L am a man of peace," whereas it was their duty to do their share of public work inParliament, the Town Councils and on the Licensing Committees. At one part of Mr Berry's discourse, when referring tothe fact that it took a London dock laborer three hours to earn a beef steak, but that he was thankful that in Wellington a wharf laborer could earn a leg of mutton in that time, and that he hoped the time would soon come when they could earn it in less. One of the large congregation set forth a hearty " hear, hear," ranch to the astonishment of th& " old fogeys," who, I think, expected the "• roof to fall in, but it diiVnt. In conclusion, Mr Berry reminded those present that many of the liberties we possess today have been fought and won by our forefathers, and-' it is the duty of men to-day to fight for the liberties of the. poor and to' hand those liberties down intact. Rumor hath it through Captain Russell having been called to the Cabinet, a read-' justment of portfolios will take place. It is expected that Mr Mitchelsori will relieve the Premier of the office of Postmaster- -■ General, and that the Public Works Department will be absorbed into the use of the other departments. Captain Russell's acceptance of a portfolio has given great satisfaction. The wreck of the Koranui has brought to light the startling fact that -vessels are constantly in the habit of carrying more passengers than they have boating accommodation for in the event of the vessel being wrecked. The Koranui was licensed to carry 54 passengers, yet on this fetal trip, though she had only 21 passengers besides a crew of 21, it came out in the evidence that the boats could not have carried more than six others at the outside. Had she carried her full compliment on this trip, as she has often previously done, over 30 persons must have' been drowned. According to her tqnnage her boating accommodation was sufficient, but accord- " ing to the number of passengers she was" licensed to carry,' it was not. If thisib a sample of the condition of the other vessels trading in our waters, there must be " something wrong'in the stateofDenmark." It is asserted the ocean steamers always carry far more .passengers than *• they could possibly save if the vessel ! " met with a mishap. Much gratification was expressed when the little "Mana" returned from the wreck and it was. learned- that the divers had been successful in recovering the -ea:i ; ooo worth of goia which had formed, a part of the wrecked steamer's valuable freight.