THOUSAND POUND JOY RIDE.

Manawatu Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 1444, 18 December 1919, Page 12

THOUSAND POUND JOY RIDE.

GOVERNOR-GENERAL’S EXAMPLE. TUTANEKAI TAKES A CRUISE. (From Our Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, Thursday. A great deal of adverse comment is heard on ail sides in Wellington regarding the Governor-General’s recent £IOOO “joy-ride” around the South Island in the Government cable-repair steamer Tutanckai so soon after his trip to the islands. At a time when the scarcity of coal is pressing heavily on the community, and the blatant appeals for economy by politicians, it seemed singularly inopportune for His Excellency to go yachting to the tune Of nearly £IOOO. The facts arc these: The Tutanekai remains in port at Wellington, out of commission, waiting, like Micawber, for something to turn up (in cable repair work). In order to lamp His Excellency, Lady Liverpool and suite round the South Island it was necessary (?) to commission the Tutanekai. The official figures for the cost of running the Tutanekai on active service are £65 per day, the wages of the crew and cost of coal being the main items. The vessel was made ready for the sea on November 27, and with the Government House joy-riders on board she left Wellington at midnight on that date, proceeding to Picton, Nelson, round the West Coast, south-about to Lyttelton, where the happy pax-ty disembarked. The Tutanekai then came on to Wellington, arriving here on December 10th, the round trip occupying thirteen days, but the actual cost was for fourteen days as the vessel had her crew ready a day before she started. The trip works out at a cost of about £9lO. Now, if His Excellency really wanted to survey his dominions a much more economical course was open to him. The Government steamer Hinemoa was actually making the round trip of the South Island when the Tutanekai left Wellington. By leaving Wellington by “ferry” steamer a few days earlier the Government House party could have caught the Hinemoa at Bluff and would have been able to take in all the scenery up the West Coast as that vessel visits the Sounds on routine work. The Hinemoa is comfortably fitted out for passengers and more than one Government House party have found pleasure in travelling on her. The Wellington gas works came near closing down for some hours quite recently on account of the shortage of coal and it seems strange that those to whom the public look for a good example should display such poor discretion in burning coal unnecessarily. Every ton should be conserved at present, and this is only too evident to ; v those who have something to do with supplies. Then again, this is generally considered scarcely the time to expend public funds in unnecessary “joyrides” and again the public wonder what sort of an example the “Reads”,, are setting the masses in the way of economy. More will probably be heard about this jaunt in due course, but at present the city press is “mum” about it.