A QUESTION OF CREDIT.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXI, Issue 12584, 23 January 1905, Page 2

A QUESTION OF CREDIT.

Mr A. C. Thompson seems to be proceeding•argely on assumption when he states in a letter which we publish this morning thai Mr Wells has claimed through our columns the'credit of originating the idea of a pier for Caroline Bay. -' We have looked again at the paragraph in- our .'tews, column in Saturday's issue, on which we based; the few remarks we made on the subject that morning, and we'see no.iivdicatior| ftafc. Mr Wells lias laid the slightest "claim; : tp' aiiy credit in: the matter at all. To avoid; any misapprehension', it may. be just ! 'as well to reproduce the. statement we ipub; lished on Saturday in its entirety. It was as -follows: - •;.' ;

On Thursday afternoon. the future .'of Caroline Bay was the subject of a ,con : versational discussion by a little knot of, talkers comprising the. Mayor {Mr Craigie) Councillors Priest and Harney, Mr J.jMcV Lachlan, M.H.R. for Ashburton,: land Messrs T. Wei's and D.--. Moore, i, Mr Wells suggesied that the next step in' imprpving the should be to run put a pier from-the centre .of the sands, jvith dressing rooms on each..-side for bathers. He also . offered to.; hack up his idea by. giving a subscription of' £2O ■ towards-; tliecost, and toprocure drawings free of-cost jto the Borougff Council; for -the structure. Mr Wells's suggestion strongly commended itself to all present, the Mayor promising to,do all he could to have, it carried put: We do not quite see : = hpw s MrTh6mp£o'ij< is in a position.to dispute, the accuracy; of this statement,-as, from his own .let|er, : we do not appear to 'have"- done liini ijny injustice' in, omitting his inanie ' friini the,; little group of gentlemen who discussed the matter, and. in whose presence Mr W|lls made the offer of substantial practical, Assistance" in carrying out'the schehie. T.he point raised by Mr Thompson is really-of no great importance, and we feel sure that neither the Mayor nor Mr Wells has any desire to wrangle over whatever credit may be attached to'.the Origination of the idea for constructing a : pier :on the Bay. But it our correspondent is seriously perturbfed by what he considers our mistake in giving Mr' WeHs a little pat on the back, nbt merely for the idea, but more for. his readiness, to. put : his hand Sn his; pocket to further it, and if he is troubled in spirit, £s he says he is, by a miscarriage of justice, we shoild. be sorry to be the Uriwittiijg cause of his distress. We therefore to assure him that -unless his protege coiceived the idea at an earlier ; date thata Wednesday last, when he»iexplajned it tp the. earetaker of the Bay; aridv;to'M>Thompson,? we have been describing Mr Wells as its. originator. IE our correspondent will look lip our issue of December. 29th, he wtfl see an article in which the foilowfog paragraph occurs :-j-, "Perhaps in;tinae we shay see a.pier built out to sea with dressing rooms for bathers on, either side." :We must make ■m ; openj confession that first glimmering rof the pier idea was. instigated :by no less a person than, Mr Wells himself, who had' previously suggested the scheme to us in» private conversation. We do not mind; admitting this little piece of .plagiarism, for which Mr Wells has never taken us to task, prdbably_ because he waa more iriterested in the improvement of .the Bay than in securing any pergonal glorification. We trust, however, the admission will disabuse Mr Thompson of the notion that we went out of our way on Saturday to give, credit where it was not due.