ELTHAM-OPUNAKE COACH.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 September 1918, Page 7

ELTHAM-OPUNAKE COACH.

' ___ r To the Editor. 1 Sir, —My attention lias been called to J a report in the Daily News of the jour- ' ney of the Eltham-Opunake mail ear on 5 Monday last. I will take the charges in detail. After leaving Kaponga, the ! engine gave no trouble whatever, except at Riverlea Post Office. The carburet - • tor was flooding and made a slight diffi- ' culty in starting, causing a delay of three ' minutes. No passenger got out of the ' car for any cause whatever. At Awatunsu a bolt broke in a connecting rod, and I had to ring up for another car, the driver of which is not a farmer, neither does he work on a farm. The mail was delivered at Opunake by this car at 11.40. The time it is due to ar- " rive is 11.15. This is hardly an hour 9 behind time, and respecting the hard--1 ship to passengers for stock sale, this began at one o'clock, so that I cannot see 1 any particular hardship. Coming back " the only trouble whatever was a punc- ' ture at Mangatoki. One passenger only • got on a pa-ssing car, but not because - there was any reason to tlvnk he would • not catch his train, as the mail car arT rived at Eltham station at 2.5, the train • leaving at 2.26 and this particular pasi scnger was still in Eltham at 3 o'clock. - If the one man who missed the oar had paid more attention to the departure of mail car (which cannot wait indefinitely and was already ten minutes late-in leaving Opunake) and less to another's place he would not have missed the car. Finally no passenger whatever travelled from New Plymouth to Opunake and back.—l am, etc., S. A. LINFORTH, Mail Contractor. (Our reporter got his information, ' from a gentleman who made ' the trip on the day in question ! and whom he regarded, as reli- ' able. If any error has been made, • We regret it. We know the coach pro- ' prietor to be diligent and conscientious in carrying out his work.—Ed.)