OUR READERS' OPINIONS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XLV, Issue 4008, 14 August 1915, Page 3

OUR READERS ' OPINIONS.

THE V A CAM A ON TILE i 1 All DO It ST A. EE. (To the Editor.) Sir,— 1 had auemlcd asking you to publish a lew words in reioronce to tlm Harbor Board’s reorganisation scheme, as I am confident that there an many, besides myself, who tool ashamed to own as our representatives, those members who were advocates of /importing” an outsider for the position of chief engineer of. the big dredge. Aly resolve, has been hastened by the fact that the appointed man has declined to accept, and that the. matter i.-. to he reopened. Jn the first place, 1 would like to state that 1 land no brief for any particular aeolieant, in fact I ram not sure that I would l know one of them if i ran over him. However, i admire fair play, an*] my contention is that tried officers the Harbor Hoard’s staff have every justification for appealing against the action of the Hoard in overlooking tin mi on Alomkiy last in the matter of the senior appointm-eut. Eit'hu- of them, according to their records, s.'.rms'to Im fully qualified to act as chief engineer of the Maui and each has a long record of previous service with the Hoard to his credit. What earthly reason was there, then, for the Board to go to the expense of advertix.ng ami the trouble of special meetings? It must be borne in mind that an engineer is required, not a dredgemaster, so that previous dredging experience need not be looked for. Both the chief engineer of the John Townley and the second engineer of the Ma.ui seem to have occupied the position of chief engineer prior to their present appointments, and both seem to have had a good training. The duty of the Hoard (some members fail to recognise that the' Board has a duty to perform towards its employees) when it became necessary to dispense with the services of the late chief engineer of the Maui was to or >- mote their next man to the vacant position, the next to his, and so cm. If the junior men. are not worthy of promotion then I say it is a mean oispicable way of pointing out the fact to them —turning them down in favor of an outsider. According to the published) report of Monday’s meeting was resolved on Doctor Collins’ motion to promote the juniors ni iuture. Any right thinking person v. ill agree with, the Doctor there, but ic icmains to be seen what effect this resolution will have upon the decision to be arrived at at next Monday’s meeting. To my mind the Board, bv turning old employees down, forfeits any right to expect the best Irom those- employees in future, a point that should be weighed carefully if good work is expected. Wei are hoping for good results from the reorganisation of the Maui’s staff and goodness knows it was urgently necessary. But ran these good results come about if there were disaffection again to start with ?

! have been a student of oi:r Harbor Board 1 and its doings ever since oho advent of the dredge John Townley and have noted: many things ■which liave never found publication in the but which will make very interesting matter. However, I. am waiting to see tin; result of this reorganisation scheme ■before .1 make a- furfchieir attempt, to “use my pen.” also, [ wish to satisfy myself that the now dredgomnstor is allowed to commence operations unfettered.—l an., etc. F.n.

THE LOCAL PATRIOTIC FUNDS

(To the Editor.)

Sir,—Will you kindly inform mo through your columns whether the Defence Committee is going to act in accordance! with all the other patriotic committees of all the other districts of the Dominion ? In other words, are they 1 going to pool their collections and allowing a central distribution ? Surely, too, a. Government that can handle the old-age pension can be trashed to deal fairly with the wounded soldiers. It fceonis ridiculous and selfish, for one little place like the Poverty Hay district to want to keep thousands of pounds locked up on the off-chance of a few of its own wounded soldiers requiring help. I would be plcnood to know just how wo stand before the next patriotic outburst, otherwise I and others intend sending our contributions direct to Wellington.—l am, etc.. . . ‘ . "BUSINESS.”