GREYMOUTH NOTES

West Coast Times, 7 November 1904, Page 4

GREYMOUTH NOTES

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

Nov6.

The body of poor Anderson, chief officer of the Pelotas has been recovered, and judging by the manner in which he was disfigured he was killed in falling off the wharf, in that he struck something in falling over, otherwise, as he was a good swimmer he would easily have saved his life. An inquest was held before Mr Urquhart, Acting Coroner, and a jurj-, and after taking evidence, the following verdict was returned.— "We all agree that Peter Anderson, the deceased, met bis death accidentally through drowning from G-reymouth wharf on Monday night and we also wish to aid th.it the lighting on thatjpart of the wharf is very deficient where the accident occurred." Now, I bave hammered away for a long time past on the necessity for keeping the wharf propet ly lighted from sunset to sunrise, not for the benefit of the general public, but for the safety and convenience of the crews of vessels lying at the wharf and the harbour staff. But the usual old fashioned red tape system is perpetuated, the lights are extinguished lat a given time, and the wharf — dangeri ous at any time — is lnfb in total darkness, and this is Jbne £to save a few paltry pounds ! Several valuable lives have been lost through the miserable parsimony displayed by the railway department in this respect, and it is sincerely to be hoped that for the future — no matter whnt the cost mty be— that the lamps be kept burning all night. Captain Connor, our harbourmaster, should have the lighting under his control, (not the railway department), as he and bis staff are responsible for the sifety of. the vessels and their crews, and the sooner this glaring fact is recognised the bstt3r. If oar Harbour Board was constituted of men who were cognisant w'tb. shipping matters what a change-there wonld be in the working of the port. As it is, good business men though they may be as far at their several avopitions are concerned, when it comes to shipping and the requirements allied thereto, they are absolutely nowhere, and' the port suffers in consequence, like alt trades, or business of any kind, where shipping is concerned we require men who know something about this particular branch. As at present constituted, the Grey Harbour Board in taeic general dealings, treat ihe shipping as of sundry importance, wberas it should receive first consideration at all time. lam cisting no reflection on the members of the board, all of whom are capable busines3 men, bat I maintain that wbeu it comes to dealiu^ with shipping matters these are not in thpir line. Under these circumstances it would be well if our acknowledged capable harbour master were consulted a little more aud his advioa taken; he would prove a good guide and be the mean 9of steering through mony of the nautical shoals which at times beset the worthy members of the board.

There is a ctrong flood in the river and shipping movements for the tinre being are at a standstill. The run wlt have the effect of still further improving the bar, which for some time past, has been in grand working order. It is to be hoped the Hokitika" river is also flooded and thereby clear the channel^ over' the f bar' and open the port agiin to shipping. •

We notice that a sum of JgIBOO appears on the Public Works Eatimuttis for the Grey mouth Post and Telegriph Office It is evident, therefdrp, that we are not to have the lung promise 1 new b"uildiua, bit insteal, t!ie old edifioa is to be repaTed and en 'a 1 gad and mide to s^rve its purpose fjr sorae years to come ! Something has evidently' "gone wrong with the works" as regards this district, «»nd nat arally people are begtnning -to look round for a reason, the inference is that ' our member is not ia accord with the powers that be. It certainly looks very like it, and it will require a lot to explain ; away add convince us that all is well pol lit cally as far ai our iufcerests are oon4 cerned. 1 Mr Price, local manager for the Union S.S Company, is leavii.g for Wellington by theMipourik:i, there to ]'o»n the ranks of the Benedicts. During Mr Price'B absence Mr Pies-toa, of the Wel.iugton biaacb, will act as his locum tenens. Owing to the Itrge increase in thecompany's business at this pore, the staff, which is 'composed of the manager, cbi*f clerk, and two juuiors, is kept going, and at times 1 'it is all a rush to keep pace with the work.

Matters ia connection with putting tbe finishing touches lo the State miue railway are proceeding in the most leisurely manner imaginable under the direction of the Public Works Department. According to the present rate of progress it will be some three' or four months before the line will be ready for handing over to the railway authorities. There is now a considerable population at and in the vicinity of the mine including a number of women and children. The interests of thase people are not studied in the slightest, being compelled, as I stated before, to gravel to and fro in open ballast trucks. 'Surely, seeing there are two or three old passenger carriages available, a few yards of red tape could be discarded by the officials, to permit one of these to be used daily for the convenience of passengers — charging the usual fares in force on the railway? It would be a small concession [to make and one that would be gready appreciated. If ordinary common sense were exercised, the matter could be easily arranged, bat unfortunately ''red tape" lias become so much a pait of Government officialism, that it is a difficult matter to eradicate the past.

Business generally is still quiet and money is tight. At the same time there appears always plenty available for "racing investments."

There has been a dearth of theatrical shows tMs year which has been quite remarkable, why or wherefore, it is hard to say. The pinch, I fear, will be felt by the shareholders in our Opera House Company.

The police are making a raid on the cyclists and drivers of vehicles for running the streets at night without lights. It is high time the break was applied, and it is to be hoped that for the future the police will not relax their efforts to put down a practice which has been too freely indulged in for a long time past.

The perambulator nuisance is becoming a bit acute at time", especially in our front street. Nurse girls and others, very often as many as six and seven, get together and completely block the footpath. A gentle bint to them from our guardians of the peace when they see this kind of thing, would have a good effect. The blocking of certain street corners too by knots of men and boye should not be permitted, initiifcj the system of "move on"sucb as is in vogue in other centres and the nuisince complained of would vanish.