CORRESPONDENCE

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume I, Issue 9, 29 August 1861, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE

To the Editor of the Hawke's Bay Times. Sin, —I had much pleasure in reading a reply in the Hatche s Bay Herald from Mr. Pickwick’s late servant Sam Weller, now practising as civil engineer at Napier, to a letter signed “ Civis” in. last week's Times referring to the Director of Works. It is quite refreshing, these dull times, to have something to talk about, so let us resume the pen, as it is evident the nail has not been driven home yet. It is now manifest from the letters of Sam Weller and his friend John Gilpin that thev have a grievance, or want to find one, which they propose shall be adjusted in their favor by simply writing abusive anonymous letters against the Director of Works ; believing that the present Superintendent is constituted of animated putty, and would receive the impress of public opinion as conveyed by the pressure of their very convincing arguments on his yielding ears. Their grievance, I believe, is this, —they are so fortunate as to hold Crown grants of sections bounded by the Iron Pot, which they are simple or stupid enough to believe, or rather should I not say they are cunning enough to pretend to believe, convey to them the monopoly of water frontage, which they imagine the Director of Works is- set on taking from them, or at least giving to the public facilities and advantage equal to the monopoly of water frontage which they claim, —that all goods and merchandise imported to the Province of Hawke's Bav would be subject to their charge for wharfage, storeage, or commission, but for the interference of the Director of W orks ; hence thev are determined to smash him at any cost, and' to bounce the public into the belief that they are about to be deprived of their lawful rights. This is their share of the campaign. The remainder lies in the hands of their friends at Court or in Council, who are entrusted with the duty of calling for endless returns, to prove the incompetency and recklessness of the Director of Works (this one headstrong man), and having obtained them, and finding no ground of complaint, have the assurance to say that they don’t believe in figures which they are unable to prove incorrect, much less to comprehend. Such, sir, is the little game which our amphibious friends in the Iron Pot have commenced and are engaged in. I do not believe that the majority of the mercantile community in Napier, or on the Spit either, will allow this little game to be played out without seeing fair play, if not to the Director of Works, at least to themselves, for I would ask if they would like to pay these little bills of lighterage, wharfage, and commission (of which more anon) to benefit Weller and his good friend G-ilpin ? Not exactly, I apprehend. There is some truth in the adage “No friendship in trade,” and Gilpin’s and Weller’s interests do not happen to coincide with the interests of bond fide merchants not resident in the Iron Pot. Everybody knows, or ought if they don’t, that

the land between high and low water mark is the property of the Crown, as wo were lone: ago told by lawyer Ward, of Wellington ; and as if to bring the matter nearer to a certainty, we find that the Governor has conveyed to the Superintendent for the use of harbor improvements all lands, amongst others,.between high and low water mark within the harbor of Napier. Now, as the interest of Messrs. Gilpin and Weller extends to high water mark only, they are therefore neither equitably nor legally entitled to one shilling for the deprivation of that monopoly which they seek to establish. They may possibly,-as an act of grace on the part of the Superintendent, he allowed to collect wharfage from vessels discharging, opposite their sections ; hut that they are to defraud the public of rights of way or of public wharfage is quite another matter, as we shall soon see. Nor can the merchants run out private wharfs as Weller asserts ; —they would not bo allowed to do so in the first place, and it is my opinion that even any “paltry work” is too costly for even these two great capitalists Gilpin and Weller. I formerly, until now enlightened by these eminent authorities in commercial as well as engineering matters, was under the impression that the more gentlemanly and official proceeding would have been, in case of a supposed grievance suffered through any Government official, to have communicated directly with that officer’s superior, and laid the matter in a businesslike way before him ; but now I find that the approved commercial method is—to conspire to write down the unlucky official by false and anonymous representations, which having been passed over with the silent contempt they deserved, only resulted in a renewed yelping of these snarling curs, who have not even the prudence or decency to “live and let live who, when they find an officer of integrity, and abilities attested by the chief men in his profession, attending quietly to the discharge of his own business, always obtaining value for the money of his employers, and rendering himself obnoxious to many for so doing, these wiseacres, not content with rejoicing over every accident that may happen in matters of admitted difficulty by the highest engineers of the present day, must exaggerate and publish false statements of same. How would Messrs. Weller and Gilpin feel if their little commercial antecedents were advertised to the public at large, comparing the failure of say £BO worth of breastwork with certain commercial failures ? Perhaps they would then be charitable enough to admit that accidents will happen in the best regulated concerns either of commerce or engineering, and that under these circumstances they would be better employed in attending to their own business, and also allow that the Director of Works is better employed at his business than in reading and rebutting the essays of these eminent commission merchants Messrs. Weller and Gilpin, who will perhaps, on reflection, in future remember—that those who live in glass houses should not throw stones ; and when next Mr. Weller contrasts the charges of his establishment for commission, as being cheaper than the opposition shop of Civis, he will be so good as to pay for the advertisement of his little pufl‘ on (ho sly, instead of taking advantage of the open column of the Herald. No more at present from CIVIS.