Opposite the esplanade and pavilion there has again been a big washout of sand, constituting an unfortunate set back to the recovery which this portion of the beach appeared to be making previously.
Further north, where the new marine parade construction work is proceeding, the gravity of the problem which has got to be faced in ensuring its permanent stability is quite apparent to the layman.
The conditions prevailing yesterday were by no means extraordinary, yet the new sea wall was being heavily washed by the breakers for a considerable time, both before and after full tide, the natural effect being a displacement of a good deal of the loose rock at its base.
Needless to say, the beach itself at such times has become impassable, there being no vestige of dry sand to walk upon.
Anybody observing the new sea wall thus lashed by foam and spray will recognise the absurdity of the idea that its rugged and naked unsightliness can easily be hidden and transformed, as has been suggested, into something ornamental and pleasing to the eye.
What may happen to the new wall and parade in the case of abnormal tides and a heavy sea - no unprecedented combination of circumstances - is a matter for speculation. The appearance of the sea front at St Clair yesterday can only be described as melancholy in the extreme.
• Sir, - The Recruiting Committee is looking for men for the front, and many good fellows come forth and we muster in thousands to give them a good send off. But is that sufficient? I say no.
One matter that has been missed by the Recruiting Committee, which has done so much good work, is the comfort of the men under canvas. At Trentham, the men who are not officers have to sleep on straw with watertight sheet between them and the bare earth. Anyone who knows the climate of Wellington knows how wet it is.
Now, if these men were only in camp for a week or two it would not be so bad, but such is not the case. Some of them are likely to be there for three or four months. A simple stretcher could be made at about 7s 6d each.
Then each man would be dry and comfortable and have better health. The military men will tell you that they could not crowd so many into a tent. Well, get more tents. Surely if men volunteer for the front the least we can do is to make them comfortable while they are here. I do not know who is responsible for not having these stretchers.
It may be that economy is the excuse; but that is a poor policy when it affects the men who are volunteering for the front. The man who goes to fight for the security of the nice bed of the men and women of this country sleeps on straw on the bare ground for probably two or three months. - I am, etc. C. H. Hayward.
• A young bride had a most unpleasant experience in Napier recently (says the Hawke's Bay Herald). Arrangements had been made for the wedding to take place at the Cathedral at 2 o'clock. At the appointed hour the bride and her friends drove up in five motor cars suitably decked with the white ribbons.
The party entered the church and were alarmed to find that the bridegroom had failed to put in an appearance. After a long wait a messenger was despatched to the bridegroom's home, but he was not there.
Eventually the bride and her friends left the Cathedral, the wedding ceremony being abandoned. It is not known exactly why the bridegroom failed to keep his engagement, although several more or less wild stories were told.
- ODT, 16.2.1915.
