Poverty Bay Standard. PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY, THURSDAY AND SATURDAY MORNINGS. Tuesday, April 25, 1882.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume X, Issue 1065, 25 April 1882, Page 2

Poverty Bay Standard. PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY, THURSDAY AND SATURDAY MORNINGS. Tuesday, April 25, 1882.

The Bishop of Waiapu, doubtless in the spiritual interests of that portion of his flock who are resident in Napier, has lodged a strong remonstrance with the Union S.S. Company against making Napier a port of call fortheir steamers on Sunday. To his lordship the following reply has been addressed by Mr. Mills, the Managing Director of the Company “ I have the honor to acknowledge “ your letter of the 31st March, and “ to express my regret that the Com- “ pany’s steamers have on several oc- “ easions during the past few weeks “ been obliged to call in at Napier on “ the Sunday. Wc have no desire that

“ this should be, and our time-table is I “ framed with the object of placing the “ steamers going North and South at “ Napier on Saturday, and I beg to “ assure you that every effort is made “to give effect to this. For some “ weeks past, however, our resources “ have been taxed by a pressure of “ cargo-work which has rendered it dif- “ ficult, and at times impossible, to dis- “ patch the boats from the various ports “ up to time, and this difficulty has been “ much increased by the foggy weather “ which has been so prevalent of late, 1 “ and has caused protracted passages “between ports. As you have been in- “ formed, we have a number of “ steamers building at Home, and one “is on her way out. With the arrival “ of these ships we will doubtless be “ able to afford a more frequent ser- “ vice, and so lessen the pressure now “ existing. Meantime we will, as far ' “ as possible, avoid sending steamers 1 “ into Napier on the Sunday.” Now, however assuring this reply may be to tne residents of Napier, it conveys a sense of discomfort to us in Gisborne in more ways than one. The asiurancd that every effort will be made to place the North and South-going steamers at Napier on Saturday, is to us an assurance that one of them, at least, will be with us on Sunday. Now with all due deference to the Bishop of Waiapu and Mr Mills, we can’t see the fairity of relieving Napier from the onus of Sunday labour by saddling us with the burthen. Taking the matter in a spiritual light, we respectfully urge on his Lordship that we have as keen a perception of our duties in regard to the observation of the Lord’s Day as our Napier neighbours, and consider our spiritual interests equally worthy of His Lordship's attention, while in a temporal point of view Napier is decidedly more able to bear the burthen of Sunday labor than ourselves. Our communication with vessels in the roadstead is at any time precarious and uncertain, and we are at a singular disadvantage in this as compared to our southern brethren. Cargo has frequently to be carried past the port, thus causing a week’s delay on either southern or nor; hern route. No later than last Sunday we had two large steamers, the “ Te Anau ” and the “Rotorua 1 ’ in the roadstead at the same time. It was blowing hard, and a very considerable sea on, and these causes combined with the very inconsiderable lighterage power belonging to the port, without preventing Sunday work altogether, prevented its being effectually performed, and a considerable quantity of cargo had to be carried past the port. This will frequently be the case until we get a breakwater. We none of us like or want Sunday work, but we must remember that steamers are not like Pickford’s vans or hansom cabs. The horses can’t be taken out at any time. Once en route she must keep going in order to keep to her time-table. While willing to accept our fair share of the discomforts and inconvenience always attendant upon Sunday labour, we object most decidedly to being saddled with more than a fair share in order that any other place, and more especially a place where greater facilities for the dispatch of such work are readily available, should be relieved at our expense. We have an equal claim to Napier on the Bishop of Waiapu in regard to our spiritual welfare. Let us beg His Lordship to extend his protecting influence in our humble direction, and request the Union Company to arrange matters in such wise as to let their steamers call in Gisborne roadstead on the Thursday or Friday, by which means Napier would be equally relieved without saddling our already heavily taxed resources with a burthen which we are unable to carry with satisfaction to ourselves or others either spiritually or temporally.