CORRESPONDENCE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4183, 4 August 1892, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

ASehool Diplomatist [To ihe Editor, Wairarapa ' Daily Times.] ■ Sir,—The following conversation was overheard here the other day between a Householder and a School Committeeman :« Householder,-"Say, old fellow, you chaps should give committee business best now. Committeeman (eagerly).—Why; how's that ? H.—Well; did you see the Board's meeting in the Wairauapa Dailt Times ? CM. (all smiles).—No; have they cracked the age question 1 H.—No; that's too much to: them : but they've given the Tau« herenikau School JB2 nud the Pnbiutua men ten of 'em, for general repairs, 0. M.—lmpossible, man, they say they oannot give a special grant. fi.—That be jiggered; they've done it I You fellows have done odd jobs and got firewood for love so long, that now they've got the laugh of you, that's all. I've thought this over, and oau give you a wrinkle: Listen tp me, (Committee man is all attention,) E—Your M.H.R. does not belong up liere; and you've got no likely man to oorae forward, in any case. You ought to have waited until the shake hands business starts, Pahiatua's got a defeated candidate, good for one more round, now on the Board, and the old member, also on the Board, has to keep his eye on the Bush. You've got nothing but the letter you sent down, which cannot make itself heard.

0. M.—Well, well, there's a lot in that, but it's too lnte now. We must look all this up when wo are called on to listen to a lot of these soft things next eleotion.

H.—That's all very well, but wbat are you going to do in tho meantime, Wbat I should do, is get everything done, and send the bill down to the Boxrd—they'll pay it! 0. M—They might ateleotion time, but not now, The way they do it now is mighty thin. They did not so miioh aB refuse it in the usual way. Their meeting said nothing of it, but when they give it to others they advertise. That's rum, is it not!

H.—Rum ?No I Thoy threw it In tho WHBte-paper basket as soon as read." There's every possibility of that Householder being a committeeman at an early date. Yours, etc, COMSIENTAIOR, Taueru, July 29.

The Labour Bureau Workmen, Six Others Speak Up. . [lO THE EDITOR.] Sir,—ln your, issue of to-day appears an article headed "The Labour Bureau Workmen—A Talo of Hard' ship," We, the undersigned, are some of the men to \vhom the article refers, and beg to state that the information was supplied without our authority, In justice to the Labour Bureau, we must say that while we were in their charge we were treated like men, and everything was done for our comfort that could possibly bo done under the circumstances, Our little trouble started when we left their charge and were taken oyer by the Survey Department.

We have beon, as stated in your columns, here fivo weeks, and have only done ten days' work. The first week we lost through proper arrangements not having been made for us, and also in- consequence of the im. passable state of the road. After we got to work we daresay we made as good time as most workmen engaged in outdoor work, as we hare the sense to recognise that tbo Government can hardly be made responsible for the weather, We have received an average of (£3) three pounds per man clear of deductions, so that it will be seen that things wero not so blaok as they were painted.

We object also to the words," God only bows what will become of us." We are strong, willing, working men, quite able to look after ourselves, and we return Jo work in the morning, satisfactory arrangements haying been made asjto oin* stores, etc, Trusting, Sir, you will insert this in justice to the Labour Bureau, an in stitution wo regard as a benefit to the working man, if only aided ly the Deparlmnti which have ik work in /mwuJ,—Weare,eto,, W. Pabkbb John Wniiß . J as. Robinson William Tubner Ji. Davis Jajies Gray, Eketahuna, 2nd August, 1892.

A Dangerous Iheatre, [To the Editor, Wairarapa Daily Times.] Sjr,- I am glad some attention bas been drawn to the limited and risky means of exit frofi the Masterton Theatre Royal; but, at the same time, it is apparent that the. inspection has been rather a superficial one, for what is really one of the most dangerous features of the building has escaped criticism >, and that is the means of descent from the gallery -i'.'dress circle" they call it on " swell" nights.

i The stair-case from this gallery is wretobedly narrow, horribly steep, and : hideously crooked, and, in addition, it , has no separate outlet, but runs directly into the passage from the pit, In the event of a panic, tho rush would result in a complete block, and if the attendonce upstairs was large the fearful occurrence of a heap of writhing humanity at the elbow of i this scandalously awkward staircase would be a moral certainty, I may say that 'I : have never yet seen in any public liall, except in very email topsbips indeed—and' there, sometimes, ['admit, the means of egress 'is often shamefully inadequate —such perilous adjuncts in connection with a placo of amusement, Why, even" when' Mf Snazotle, the entertainer, was iij Mastertpn, it took about ton minutes to. empty the gallery, and when that gentleman, getting impatjent, and pejug ahiioiis to go home, called from the platform to his agent, who was in the gallery, that lie was to conie down, the latter replied that lio "only wished he could," The faot was, the man was in the rear, and he had either to wait until those before him had filed and struggled down the cramped stairway or get a ladder, [ Ira, etc, " SIJITSON." Uasterton, Brd August.