WAITARA V. NEW PLYMOUTH.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume IX, Issue 1793, 30 November 1887, Page 2

PORT OF NEW PLYMOUTH.

To the Editor of the Star. Sib,— l see that very busy little man man, the Editor of the Taranald Herald, tells his outside readers that tbe through train is likely to be increased to three a week as the traffic is " increasing " he. Now let us examine this great " increase." He says, in 6ix months, there have been 472 through passengers to New Plymouth, which means 18 each week, nine each through day, and 4£ each through train. Now if the v increase " has been bo great, what must have been the through traffic at first, and what waß the great need of a through train, which, after "incraaiing" so much, briogs only 4^ passengers each way. Now he has not given this rery useful piece of information for nothing, what can it be for then ? I will tell you ; it is to show the reading public that New Plymouth has bad 472 through passengers to Waitara 158. Now, I should kite to explain to the outside public how this is. The agent, at Waitara, for the Gairloch (which is the principal passenger carrying vessel that goes to that port) is a New Plymouth man, consequently, gets that vessel to go to the " noble structure " ( or as it ought to be called now that it bai begun to wash away, tbe " destructive ") the breakwater as often as possible, though the passengers are much more comfortably shipped and landed at Waitara, not to mention tbe time and distance that is saved, both by land and water from that port. I hope tbe chairman of the Waitara Harbor Board will enquire into the correctness of these figures, as I have seen as many as 58 passengers go from Waitara in one week. I should like him also to enquire bow many of these 472 passengers are M.P.'s, who I believe pay no rail fares, which would reduce tbe 4} to something less. Will you kindly give my compliments to that very impartial little editor of tbe Herald, that I am not dead yet, and though I have left Waitara I have a stake there yet. If the present harbourmaster is not too much under the thumb of the local agent he ought to see Waitora's wrongs righted, as I did when I was in his position.— l am, &c., W. DtJGDALE, M.M. Wanganui, November 23.