THE EAST COAST DISTRICT.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 9896, 24 January 1895, Page 3

THE EAST COAST DISTRICT.

(FROM OUR GISBORNK CORRESPONDENT ) Gjsborpe on the last day of the o d year, and at a jjeri,od when work nn^ht itf be plentiful, was in evidence id thega'tttt^ ot the unemployed. There was v meeting on the Kaiti biidge nenr the* post-office, when the unemployed pouted into the ears ot onr worthy Mayor rhnir wants and wishes. The Hon. Mr Carroll was to have been present, at least it) was so understood, bub from a lsfter which was read by the Mayor Mr Carroll said he had not been invited, bat was qnlte willing to receive a deputation from the men to discuss their case. Acting on the suggestion in his letter, a deputation waited on Mr Carroll la the afternoon, when it was stated that no fewer than 123 men were wanting work, 40 being married, with 110 persons depending on them. The piotnre'drawn was certainly a dark one, but after hearing what the , deputation had to say, Mr Carroll promised to meet them again on Friday last, wbbn he hoped to haye 1 something definite from the department in Wellington. Several of the men remarked that the ".country must be in a bad way when huhdrpds 6r men were 6nt of work all orer it," to which the hon. gentleman replied; "So it Is." The laconic remark shows growing cantion on the part of Mr Carroll. Be did not offer a suggestion, as to the cause of the bad times; nor <Ud he enlighten his hearers as to tbe possibility tbflfc the Government, of which he is one of the ornamental members, is at the,roob of tbe whole matter. Oar local, Herald contains an extract from the Otago Daily -Time? abont,the overseer on tbe Nqhaka road improvement. You will remember that I drew attention to tbe fact that men have oome from the South to work on the Nnhaka road, i Well, there must be a motley assemblage <?f workers there according to the Daily Times. The overseer is aMr James C, Scott, who was formerly a boarding-house keeper at Palmerston, Mr Scott, it appears, had the good fortune to know tbe Hon, John M'Kenzle,

being at tbe last election a great man In the political buttle the Honorable John had to fight. Mr Scott, so the local organ says, was not a resident of Palmerston at the time, but his services were of value, and now let us hope he has bis reward. But what of his qualifications? These of course are, or should be, of the highest. Hence he has been placed as overseer in carrying out work which must cost the country a large sum. The qnestion of providing work for the unemployed by the State oarties with id responsibilities of the highest import;, if the State through those whom it invests with the power of administration abuse it too much in-

justice can be done to the Country, qb positions of high importance can be filled bythosenotduly qualified. Socialism in it 8 highest respect would never bend to the abase of power in this way. and a Government which pretends to be socialistic in tendency and yet make plans for political partisans whether Qualified or not, is unworthy oi snf>porb by every m4n and woman who wishes to see the best in everything survive. I might write much more on this interesting subject, but you will say this is hardly information dealing with the affairs along the East Coast. Bnt it is really the outcome of an event now taking place here, and it is well at times to notice the wide bearing which email events have upon the greater life and doings of our colony. The Caledonian Society here Is in a fairly flourishing condition. Not to be outdone by that of Napier, the society promised a gold medal to the second best pupil in the Hawke's Bay district, bused on the results of the scholarship examlna-

tlon. You may be sure the residents of Poverty Bay were not n little gratiGed to find that two pupils belonging to the Gisborne school topped the list, and so the medals given by the Napier and Poverty Biy Caledonian Societies come to Glpborne. I hear the master stated that in his expeilence he never had two better pupils tnan those who did so well in the competitive examination.

There have been few events connected with tbe small settlements along the coast, Complaints have come to hand abont the inconvenient mail arrange-

rnents for settlers to cne north of Tolnpo Bay. Under the old contract settlers got their mall so as to enable them to answer with convenience. Now their own mail ia delivered in Gisborne on Saturday, and the return mail again starts on the Monday) which does not allow any time for answers to he sent. This ia undoubtedly a great inconvenience, and should be remedied at once. The irjconvenienoe,

however, is consldPrably lessened by the regular calling of the steamers, and perhaps bneinees men on the coast will more frequently use the steamers than they have hitherto done.

Welcome rsin has fallen in plenty, and there is now some prospect of feed for the coming autumn and winter. The holidays have been well enioyed, and bat for one or two sad accidents nothing of importance has occurred to disturb the general weal. Bab I am wrong here.

The low prices for produce make dulness, and this reacts on all business transactions and on social life In peneral. We anticipate better times, and trust they will soon come, for they are badly wanted jast now.