TENDERING STEAMERS.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 33, 7 January 1884, Page 2

TENDERING STEAMERS.

It is, undoubtedly, a drawback t 0 business-people of a seaport town like this to be dependent on one steamer a week for the transmission of goods and passengers from distant portsand we think that—in spite of the great expense the U.S.S, Company has gone to in fitting up its steamers—in addition to the long interval between the arrival of the boats at Gisborne, the public have much to com plain of with respect to the management of shipping affairs here. Occasionally, through some bad arrangement, goods have been taken on to other ports that should have been landed here; but that is not the only cause of complaint. There is a great want of system in arranging for the departure of the tender to the different steamers. The Southern boats I

arrive here, as a rule, early oft Sunday mornings, and the tender usually leaves the wharf about fi a.m.; but this "regulation" is not always adhered to, and on two or three occasions a long delay in the transhipment of passengers has occurred. Yesterday, for instance, we found that Archdeacon Williams and two other gentlemen had to wait for the tender’s departure—the former for about threequarters of an hour, and the latter for two hours, the boat not leaving until a quarter past seven o’clock. The reverend gentleman had, it appears, made efforts on the day previous to obtain information respecting the time of the tug’s departure on the following morning, but could not attain his object; while the others had concluded that the tender would leave the wharf at the usual hour, five o’clock. Now, all the trouble caused to the persons referred to could have been obviated had the agent here stuck up a notice outside his office, on Saturday, announcing the time of the tender's departure, and we would suggest that he should make it a point to be punctual in attendance at the time announced. The arrangement we suggest is a most simple one, and we fail to see why it has not been adopted long since, for the reason that no difficulty could arise, in favorable weather, in the p roper carrying on of the tendering business in this port. We have called attention to this subject before, and hope that the evil complained of will be remedied without delay.