EVERY-DAY OBSERVATIONS.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1329, 14 July 1883, Page 2

EVERY-DAY OBSERVATIONS.

TO THE EDITOR. ! During the course of my daily perambulations, I am often asked my opinion of things in general, and therefore I have bethought me of the plan of referring all anxious enquirers to the columns of tire Standard, as the only authority worth anything. This will serve the double purpose of relieving me from the task of answering each enquirer separately, and of improving the said questioners’ minds by a perusal of the journal which supplies all the news of the day in a legitimate shape, undistorted by the fact of having an axe to grind or the fear of offending a few nobodics by a statement of honest facts and unvarnished opinions. It is possible that in some cases a little mild censure will bo necessary, but to such as may receive an occasional broad- hint that they are a little off the track, I commend the words of the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone : “Censure and criticism never hurt anybody. If false they cannot harm you unless you are wanting in character; and if true, they show a man his weak points, and forewarn him against failure and trouble.” It will always be my aim to temper justice with mercy, to point out existing evils without fear or favor, to criticise fairly, to be kind to a fault, and in short to write With mall' c toward none, With charity to all.

Another fire ! On this occasion the cause of the conflagration is not attributed to “ the devilish demon incendiary ” —but the cause of a fire in a dwelling-house or place of busi ness is of little consequence just now. The fact remains that another valuable property has been destroyed, and although about £lOOO has been expended in the purchase of a plant to cope with the terrible element when it gets the upper hand, not the slightest benefit has resulted. The beautiful flreengine remains in its £2OO house, boasting and smiling in all the glories of polished brass-work and a scarlet mantle of virgin paint which has never received a scratch. Why have we no volunteer fire brigade like other places of less importance have ? Simply because no one has shown himself able or willing to organise one. The public have done their part in the matter of providing funds, and have done it liberally. They are, moreover, prepared to do more. The citizens of Gisborne do not ask a body of willing workers to “provide themselves with uniforms” nor to “tear their own clothes to smithereens.” Funds are to be had for the asking for the leg'dimafe hup of a fire brigade, but not to till tho pockets of those who give one shilling towards a charity and take twenty shillings’ worth of gain out of it. Let spine philanthropic Gisbornite come for-

ward and invito a dozen or twenty of hii fellow townsmen to form themselves into ft brigade, and he need have no fear but What hia call will be heartily responded to, Then, if an entertainment is necessary to raise funds, let it be got up in such a way that the brigade will reap the benefit, and not a school of dummy charity men,

The new well and tunnel, and other stupid concoctions for supplying the engine with water have been tried, and proved a failure. It was quite superfluous to have waited for “dead low water” before making the experiment, as the pipes being above the level of the water, it does not require one to have studied many books on engineering (marin? or other) to know that the water could noi get up into them. The well and pipes are, furthermore, quite out of place, as the engine could easily have been put in a position where the suction hose might have been placed directly in the river, and thus have obviated the necessity for the well with & washing-tub at the bottom, which besides the injury done to Mr O’Meara’s vested ln« tcrest in the adjoining section, can only remain as a monument of insanity to its constructor. Still, the ratepayers have to pay and look pleasant. While on this subject, What, may I be allowed to ask, is to become of buildings outside the reach of the hose ? The present stock will very littlu more than go round one block, and the richly-caprisoned engine is to remain in its present position. I fancy I see a branch-man standing at Pago’s corner and frantically endeavoring so to navigate his stream of water that it will fall down Allnach’s chimney the next time there is a conflagration there. He had better start practice at once, because the requisite science is not to bo acquired in a day. There r small doubt but what the fact will shortly be brought home to the Borough Council that they have invested in a white elephant, and they will yet have to resort to manual engines as the most suitable for the town until they provide us with an hydraulic water supply, when both can be dispensed with. The accumulated interest on the eost of fire brigade plant would go a long w r ay towards providing water works, and with the reduction on insurance premiums would cover the total cost in a few years. Red Hazard.