PETONE AND THE CARNIVAL.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2501, 30 June 1915, Page 4

PETONE AND THE CARNIVAL.

Sir,—So the Petone Borough Councillors feel aggrieved that you should have described their earnest crowd of collectors, who invaded Wellington oil behalf of 'heir candidate for Carnival Queen as the "Petone horde." Have they troubled, I wonder, to ascertain the meaning of the word "horde"!' It implies a wandering clan or tribe such as those of old who invaded tho territories of their neighbours and collected booty therefrom. Why should offence have been taken, when you humorously and aptly described them as the "Petone horde"? Surely there must be a dearth of humour among the councillors, or a regrettable willingness to take offence without cause I It was evidently a harmless joke and not a bad one, either. But, Sir, Webster gives another meaning to the word "horde/ 1 which might possibly explain the irritability of the councillors. According to him the word may mean "hurdle." If any of the councillors were Rware of that fact they may have thought you were (having a dig at them over an episode, of which they are, or ought to be, rather ashamed. Hence, perhaps, the friction, and tho heat! Hence tie storm in the tea-cup. When, however, the time for cool reflection arrives, they will surely realise that no offence was meant, and none should liave been taken; and that the allusion was jocular and harmless, and perhaps they may, regret the nasty things they said about you—at least, 1 hope so. —I am, etc., HUTT VALLEY. June 29, 1915. Sir, —The carnival is now over, but I do not think that this should debar me from entering my protest against the contemptuous attitude taken up by your "kulUircd" scribe who wiote up .Saturday's proceedings, in which ho refers to the I'ctone section of the procession in connection with the sports gala at the Basin Keserve as "l'etono's horde." l'lease allow mo to stato that the Petone men and women, young and old, who, after days of strenuous labour, took the result of their work to Wellington on Saturday last, were not a "gang of disreputable persons, nor a tribe of nomadic people possessing no fixed habitation." On the contrary, they were a few residents of Petone actuated by tho same spirit of patriotism as members of other Quet-n candidates' committees, and certainly quite as selfrespecting, as, say, the directors of your honourable organ. We have got quite used to tho silence of the Press generally as to our doings (luring the carnival period, but to add insult to injury bv terming our processionists a "horde" is too much for our equanamity.—l am, ° U '' JOS ID I'll ril'lil?, Organiser Petone Carnival Processions. Petone, June 28. [Mr. I'iper's complaint has been well answered by another correspondent in this issue. \Vo roicht add however, that there was no intention to reflect in any wav on tho Peton'n rcsi'J- nle who PirikißStei itt toft. Bf«e_ssiou_ jMjsm*.

did enthusiasm shown by Petono and Hutt in the elfort to raise funds for the wounded soldiers tind the dependents of the killed, and the wholehearted manner in which they threw themselves into the task; the sacrifices of time, and the labour expeneded are beyond all praise.]