Manawatu Herald. FRIDAY, MAY 24, 1889. AGAIN.

Manawatu Herald, Volume II, Issue 269, 24 May 1889, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. FRIDAY, MAY 24, 1889. AGAIN.

♦■ With an amount of patience, that should have entitled us to a larger reward, have we waited for some satisfactory arrangement to be made, to assist the pilot in his responsible duties. However at present, < ircumlocution, red tapeism, and officialism have prevailed, and the one man is left seve ely alone. If there ever was a discovery which would confer untold wealth on the lucky man, it would be to him who devised some simp'e scheme by which those, who are placed in power over us, could be persuaded to t .ke som heed of the representations that are made to them. If we had been urging an expenditure by which the department answerable for it, would have to show a loss by incurring it, we could understand there being a hesitancy in sanctioning it, but we nsk no such thing. We asser*. that the co ony has been made by the opening up of the country, and, until >ate years, a 1 goof's have rea.-hed the interior by water carriage, and even now the largest proportion of exports reach the distributing centres by vessels There is no town that has been so advanced owing to this being the fact, as Wellington, and it appears passing strange hat because a private company has built eighty miles of rail road, the business people should imagine that all coasters migh' now be laid up. Now that Wellington has got the railway, they may rely upon its not being closed for traffic, and therefore every other channel by which trade can be tapped should receive their earnest attention Some issues ago we showed that the trade to this pot had so increased that now seventeen to eighteen vessels entered the river, whilst the trade had, when the pilot's staff was reduced, fa'len to four or five a month. It is difficult to understand how the Department can expect the altered duties to be efficiently carried out, or take so much m >re revenue, without affording a quid pro quo. It is not as though h was merely a request coming from the port, but the same application has been made by the town of Palmerston, twenty-five miles away from the port, and practically the terminus of the Manawatu Railway Oomp my's line. We have no hesitation in stating that the addition to the service is not only mo t generally desired, but is also most urgently needed. The trade of a

district has no right to be jeopardized, simply because the department will not take the trouble to make themselves conversant with the facts. We have drawn attention to this want;, our contemporary the Manawatu Times has, the Koxton Borough Council has forwarded a resolution, so has the Pa'merston Chamber of Commerce, tdthe Minister of Marine. Our member promised to personally interview the head of the Department, and yet in spite of one »nd all, the pilot is left to manage matters as best he can. Are we to alow this disdainful treatment, or shall we hold a meeting ? We should like to have an explanation from our member.