HONOUR TO WHOM HONOUR IS DUE.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume L, Issue 12710, 22 March 1911, Page 2

HONOUR TO WHOM HONOUR IS DUE.

(To the Editor.) Sir,—A letter appears in Monday evening's issue ot your contemporary ever tho name of Wm. J. Brown, who was mscued from drowning at Castlecliff by Mr C. Newcombe. V'or ' contemptible ingratitude this letter would he harcl to .beat, "j I "had at first -no int-ention of taking any notice of this lettor, but on it being represented to mo by many prominent members that in fairness to Mr Newoombe it should not be allowed to pass unheeded, I made it my business to glean tha particulars which, as supplied by Captain Mclntyre, our worthy pilot, who was an eyewitness of the * occurrence,, are as follows, viz.,. That Brown was "showing off <: before a crowd of youths on th&enct of tho breiakwator and jeea-ing at them because they were exercising caution in moving about, and" to indicate how iearkiss he was, turned a "hand spring" on one of the stringers. Hc< was not so diver as he imagined, and missed his footing and fell into the water. It w ill thus be s£_;n what a brainless act it was which caused him to be where he found himself, particularly. in view of th.3 fact that he coukl not swim. He was, I understand, held up by fishing lines thrown to him from tho breakwater, but it was impossible to get him to shore with these, on account of the breakers an el th'-j fact that the rooks do not' reach quite to-the end of the piles. When Neweomhei appeared on tli3 scene he at once volunteered to go out with the life line and, -at considerable liisk of being knocked about on the stone work and piles, did so. He got hold of Brown and brought him to whore it was possible to bring him ashore with the fishing lines. Brown informed Newcombe when he got him that he coukl not have held on much longer, so apparently Newcombe was a very great factor in tho rescue. It is within my knowledge that Charlie Newcombo is not at all.anxious to take any creelit to himself for what he did ; ami when 1 ivas told of tho rescue on"Sunday afternoon it was mentioned by some of tho club members, in a very casual way. So far as Browa's attack on the CastleeJiff Surf fOYib is concerned, it Js; not necessary to take any notice of this. The general public are too well acquainted with the history of tho Clubs formation -and the devotion of the members in giving up their time to practice ir. cider to make themselves efficient to save life should an accident occur, to pay any attention to effusions such as this from Brown. In conclusion, let me .say that hael Newcombe only waded out iip to his neck, in placo of swimming into rough, broken water, to help a man in distress, the least that any decent follow would say would be "Thank you" Verb sap.—l am, etc.,

DAVID McFARLANE, President, Castleclff S.B.C,