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Feilding Star, Volume XIII, Issue 128, 26 April 1892, Page 2

We notice that the New Zealand Times makes a great political victory out of the cordial reception given to the Premier in Feilding. Our contemporary takes a biased view of the affair. The success of Mr Ballance was a sitcces tVestime. Mr Ballance has many personal friends here and that added to his position as Premier, would be sufficient for the Feilding people to treat him with courtesy. Besides, no man whatever his political opinions may be has ever been refused here a. patient and respectful hearing. That; Mr Ballaace carried his hearers with him by the power of his eloquence is undoubted, and his marvellous gift of making the worse j appear the better cause did not fail him on the occasion. As to the vote of thanks and confidence that really means nothing uow-a-days. It would perhaps have been significant had a vote of thanks only been accorded, but as that would have been simply an impertinence to an honored guest, the Feilding people were not likely to be guilty of such a guacherie. Another point which we must not overlook is the fact that the vote of thanks and confidence was not proposed by a Feilding man at all, although we believe the gentleman to be an elector for the Rangitikei district. Not that we wish to detract from the compliment on that account, because we know the proposer to be a " good man and true," even although his politics are not ours. Our contemporary makes a point about Mr Ballance reading the record of last year's land settlement here and pointedit with detailed references to the special settlement system, and so on. Why, there was not a man in the room who did not know more about it than the speaker. The settlers here owe less to the Government than any others in the colony. They have taxed themselves by borrowing money to make their own roads, and they are paying back the money so expended out of their own pockets. Where the present Ministry had a- chance of assisting them — they did so by sticking to lialf-a-crown an acre for roads paid by the purchasers of certain blocks of land. Whenever any promise has been made for a grant in aid of roads, the promise has either been ignored or forgotten — notably so in the case of those roada a.nenfc which certain correspondence, between the Member for the district and the Premier, was recently published in our columns. TnE number of vehicles driven on Kimboltou road on Saturday night without lamps lighted was very great. Even the uncivilised Maoris were driving heavily laden drays in the pitchy darkness. The sooner some steps are taken by the police to put a atop to this careless and dangerous practice the better. While on this subject we may as well state that the opinion is rapidly gaining strength that the services of another constable are already urgently required in Feilding. The officer now in charge is perhaps one of the most efficient iv the colony, and therefore one of the hardest worked His general courtesy, combined with a strict and conscientious performance of his duties, have earned for him the goodwill and respect of all the law abiding members of the community, while his name is a terror to evil doers. In fact it is ad. mitted that the absence of spielore and

other members of the criminal classes from this district is entirely due to the presence of an officer who knows the appearance and history of everyone of them. Still a great deal of work necessarily remains undone. For instance at night, especially on Saturday night, the footpaths are encumbered with small knots of youths and men who have not the eourtosy to move to the right or left to allow ladies or children to pass, but force them to go out on the main road to do so. and citizens have a right that their convenience should be consulted in this respect, and the evils now pointed out can only be removed by the presence of another constable. It is physically impossible for one man to do the work.

We understand that the diphtheria epidemic is very prevalent in Bulls just now, that it has made its appearance in Campbelltown and elsewhere, several cases proving fatal, and that we also have it in our midst. The head teacher of the State School, Mr Hill, has deemed it necessary to close the school in Feilding, thinking, no doubt, that " prevention is better than cure, " and we believe his action was confirmed by the School Committee. We do not wish to frighten people by sounding an alarm, but we urge upon parents the necessity of prevention. It will no doubt be remembered by a number of people how, in Halcombe, some years ago a number of children were permitted to view the corpse of a child who had died of diphtheria, and how a number of them caught the disease and died. Parents and guardians of children take heed and beware.