THE POST-OFFICE.

West Coast Times, Issue 58, 17 October 1865, Page 2

THE POST-OFFICE.

A public meeting was held on Saturday evening in Bracken's Commercial Hotel, for thp purpose of taking into consideration the existing difficulties attendant upon the punctual delivery of the mails, and the proposed removal from office df Mr Keogh, the postmaster at Hokitika. The room was crowded, and the passages were rendered impassable by those eager to watch the progress made and to ascertain the resolutions arrived ai Notwithstanding, the crush, it was obvious that the majority were miners, and that to them the work of catering for the public convenience was to be intrusted ; in justice to the few representing the commercial interests, it must be admitted that they spared neither voice nor energy iii advancing the objects of the meeting, winch was conductea throaghoafc with pi'/usewortlvy dpcorum uudci ILo cMivnvwisiiip of Mr TTftwli o's. A ;'terrhc usual . p< t;ii;mjjaryof stating the purport of fcke xaeefc-

ing, Mr Curtis expressed his regret at the present loose system of conducting postal affairs in Hokitika, and proposed the following resolution, which was seconded by Wm. Platt, and earned unanimously. — " That the course adopted by the Chief Postmaster in compelling the transmission of letters by the overland route, unless otherwise expressly marked, is detrimental to the interests of Hokitika, as greater facilities occasionally exist for sending mails by steamer direct. Mr Rowley (of the firm of Rowley and Quinlan) next addressed the meeting, and entered upon a long dissertation respecting the iriadequacy..of the present conduct of affairs to the growing requirements of the public ; he also alluded to the absence of many gentlemen whose presence there that evening might have materially aided the object in view, but hoped that it might not be, re larded in consequence of their not attending. Mr Rowley concluded his remarks by proposing the following resolution^ which having been seconded by Mr Giltens, was carried nem. con., " That this meeting views with extreme dissatisfaction the entire absence of any arrangements whatever for the conveyance of mails from the vessels in the roadstead to the shore, captains of the harbor steamers having to take them on their own responsibility, receiving no remuneration for their trouble, the consequence being that in several instances the mails have not been brought on shore at all to the great loss and inconvenience of the community, and that in the opinion of the meeting it is desirable that the Hokitika Post Office should be rendered independent of that in Christchurch, following out the course adopted by Mr Hamilton with reference to the Customs." The third resolution, which met with the approbation of the meeting, was proposed by Mr O'Loughlin, and seconded by Mr Dobson, was to the following effect :—": — " That this meeting has heard with much regret of the superseding of Mr Keogh from the office of Postmaster at Hokitika, as that gentleman has hitherto discharged his duties to the satisfaction of the public with very inadequate appliances." Next on the list of resolutions, put to and carried by the meeting, was the following, proposed by Mr Symms, and seconded by Mr O'Loughlin, — " That since the opening of the west Coast the arrangements for the conducting of the Postal Department have been defective in the extreme ; and that this meeting regrets to learn the reduction of the office itself to two clerks and a Postmaster, such number of hands being utterly insufficient to attend to the letters of 30,000 people." A memorial, which had been previously prepared, addressed to the PostmasterGeneral, was then submitted to the meeting, but as some present expressed their desire to know more of the pros and cons of the case before subscribing to it, only a { few signatures were given. The gist of ! the memorial was that the memorialists regretted the intention of the PostmasterGeneral to remove Mr Keogh, he having gained the good will and respect of all classes, not only from his constant attention to business, but also from his invariably obliging behaviour in the extremely trying duties of a Postmaster on a mining township; and praying that the Post-master-General would reconsider any resolution which may have been arrived at ■with reference to the withdrawal of Mr Kcogh from his present position. Mr Clarke then drew attention to the difficulty of communication with the surrounding districts, and proposed the following resolution, which was met with the usual acquiescence of the meeting :—: — " That it is the opinion of the meeting that Post Offices should be established on the various goldfields surrounding the town of Hokitika, as great inconvenience is experienced by the inhabitants of the said goldfields for want of communication with the town aforesaid." A committee was then formed consisting of the following gentlemen: — Messrs Hawkes, O'Loughlin, Weyrnouth, and Brown, to draw up and obtain signatures to a memorial to the Postmaster-General, setting forth the grievances embodied in the foregoing resolutions, and the usual vote of thanks to the Chairman having been awarded, the proceedings terminated.