MISMANAGEMENT AT LYTTELTON.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 11108, 29 October 1901, Page 4

MISMANAGEMENT AT LYTTELTON.

Passengers by the s.t. Rotomahana, whj*h arriVed at LytteHon on Saturday from Wellington, complained loudly of combined Harbour Board and Railway mismanagement. The steamer arrived at about 8 a.m., and passengers of coarse hoped to catch the 8.25 train. Although she tras only drawing 13ft forward .and about 14ft &n aft, however, ehe stock in the mud outside the moles, and again when she got inside there was great difficulty in warping her up to the wharf owing to the same cause.. The consequence was that the pa«eeng«rs missed the train by about threet minutes. Moat of them went below to breakfast. In the meantime tlra Railway Department put, on » special train, but omitted to give *ny notice to ■ the passengers on board. The consequence

was the* only a few who accidentally heard of the train being put on were able to avail themselves of it, and the mortification of the test when they heard that a special train bad taken its departure may be better imagined that described. It is wged that the Httfcour Board should at once see to the dredging of the harbour so that at any rate a coasting steamer like the Rotomah&na can go alongside the ■wharf in any slate of <h* tide. It is useless for the Union Company to attempt to expedite the service if steamers are to be delayed by being stuck in the mud on arriving at Lyttelton. The Railway Department, of course, did quite right in putting on the special train—in fact, as we have frequently urged, that is -what they ought always to do when a steamvr with a large number of passengers arrives after the ,:, departure of the ordinary trains. They ought, however, to inform the passengers that such a train has been provided instead of letting it steal away almost surreptitiously as "seems to have been done in this particular case.