NAPIER NOTES.

Hastings Standard, Issue 72, 20 July 1896, Page 2

NAPIER NOTES.

[Fbom Our Own Correspondent.] Napier, July 20.

I was an unwilling witness of the bungling and general incapacity in connection with the mooring of steamers at the Glasgow wharf. I had gone to the wharf to meet some friends by the Tarawera and for an whole hour I stood 9 " afar off," Constable Harvey effectually—with the aid of a rope—blocking the way. It is quite right, let me say, to shut off the wharf while the stean3||hare coming alongside, because the wharf is narrow, the gear is awkward to the handling and there might easily be many mishaps if thoughtless people who crowd the wharf for no reason whatever were permitted to rush about and up to the edge for which the steamer is making. It may be that the Tarawera is a more difficult boat to make fast than any other of the fleet, but it is certain that she takes longer to lie up than any other. But when you have given the pilot, ot* harbor master, and his men all the credit you can muster so far as difficulties are concerned, to aet against the delay, there is still a very large and inescus-. able debit. Surely there is some other and better way of arranging these matters. Under existing arrangements the tempers of the steamer people are tried, the public get rampageous, and the harbor gets a very poor name. Another startling instance of that quality which is usually said to be the product of " the dog in the manger " feeling has just come under my notice. It has been kept very quiet by the papers here, though for what reason I cannot understand. This conspiracy of silence is not good for the public. You will remember that I spoke some time ago of an attempt made by Mr E. W. Knowles to get the restriction as to material to be employed in building in No. 1 district removed. The mention then made of it referred to certain properties in Brewster street, and the way in which the reports were made public aroused no one's suspicions. It now turns out, however, that no less a proposal than to remove the restriction from some property facing both Hastings and Dickens streets was included in the removal in question. Mr Jno. Dinwiddie, it appears, wished to turn an old sample room into a dwelling house. It was right out of the business part of the town and in no way dangerous, but it was in No. 1 district, and therefore the alterations he wished to make could not be done without a contravention of the law. As soon as Mr E. W. Knowles learned that Mr John Dinwiddie's application had been favorably considered and that a new bye-law was to be made so as to enable the latter to carry out the work, he (Knowles) made the extraordinary demand in question. The result is that Mr Dinwiddie's application has been refused as well as Mr Knowles', as of course it would not do to make fish of one and fowl o£ another. At the same time you will be able to see how it was that the " dog in the manger " spirit came in.

That letter in the lieralil the other morning from the pen of the Rev W. Colenso is admitted to have taken a good deal out of the Prohibitionists, but to my way of thinking it is nothing short of folly to appeal to the Bible at all in the matter. The question is not one to be settled by appeals to anything but common sense, and common sense tells us that while temperance is admirable in every way, prohibition is wrong in principle, tod foredoomed to failure. You might just as well declare what a man shall wear, and whom he shall marry, what shall be the number of his offspring, and how many square meals he shall have per day, as to tell him what, where, and how he shall drink. Wherever prohibition has been tried it has proved a failure, and for the very good reason that alcoholic liquor when rationally used is a comfort and one of God's good gifts to man, and you interfere with a man's will and make him a slave and invariably a law-breaker when you make a law which takes away from him a right which he has enjoyed from time immemorial. I should advise footballers to try to discover a new game. The old one has fallen down till it isn't worth calling by any other than an uncomplimentary name. The alleged game on Saturday was simply dreadful, and in mercy I withold my remarks. At the Magistrate's Court this morning " Darby " Ryan was pleaded for by Mr Cresswell. It appears that an order has been made in an affiliation case against Ryan at the request of a young woman who has borne a child to him at Wellington. The order is that £1 per week be paid and that two sureties be found for the payment. Ryan offers £3 10s per month. The Magistrate was ask to vary the order accordingly and thus prevent Ryan's arrest which would take place at once, as a warrant was already in the Sergeant's hands here. The Magistrate said he could not vary the order. All he felt inclined to do was to adjourn the case to Wellington for Wednesday morning, and Ryan could get down there and ask that the order be varied. Mr Cresswell explained that Ryan had not been able to be present in Wellington or to be represented by counsel from lack of funds.

The case of the police against Mortensen was partly gone into, and some very contradictory evidence was by unwilling witnesses. It appear that some " shaking " Wot drinks was alleged to have taken place, but that no one was very sure when it happened. Nothing, in all probability, would have been heard of the Jnatter, but that a witness (Tweeiie), who was wm est tils moruifig, gave information to the police} about some money missing f.-om his clothes, and the affair of the | di.?e-throwing came out, perhaps in a ] very exaggerated form. It is more i ii , n probable that it may come out ' tV-ii- Twfvlic complained of losing j .uouf'i vxhb u he lent to other people. 1 Jaiws ovei till the 81st inst.