Correspondence.

Feilding Star, Volume XV, Issue 264, 15 March 1894, Page 2

Correspondence.

« PUBLIC PROPERTY, OR THE RECREATION GROUND. TO TIIE EDITOH OF THE STATI. Sin, — I think the thanks of tho public are due to " Athlete " for his letter to your paper of the 13th inst. on the subject of the Recreation or more commonly known as the " Sports" Ground. For many years a considerablcauiount of discontent was expressed by members of the community that the Colonists' Land and Loan Corporation Reserve had never boon handed over to the control of either the Borough Council or trusters on behalf of the burgesses. At length through the exertions of two or three of our Borough Councillors the desired end was brought about, and the Recreation Reserve wa.s a few months ago handed over to the Borough Council, with certain privileges reserved to tho Sports Committee. T, as Socretary of the Feilding Sports, immediately upon the conclusion of our late meeting gavo instructions to have tho Oval course, levelled, top dressed, and sown with lawn grass seeds at the expense of the Sports committee, so that tho ground might be in good order for next year, laying the flattering unction to my soul that now the ground was in the hands of " the powers that be " it would be looked after and 110 injury done to it. But what is tho resultsofar? The ground is moro neglected and is su fieri ng quite as much from vandalism as ever it has done. Complaints of injury to tho ground and destruction to the buildings in years gone by, wero rife enough, and many of us expected n new era would dawn — when ordinary care would be taken, if not improvements made to tho Reserve — under the new regime. Surely now the Reserve is public property, and under municipal control, such neglect a.s pointed out by " Athlete " could be avoided, simply j by the erection of n, new entrance gate (the present one is almost tumbling clown) to keep out stray horses and cattle. INIr Carr has kindly pro sented a gate which now only wants erecting. T am, etc., j Skchetauy, I Feildivc S touts Committee. Feilding, March 14th, 1594. THE LICENSING ELECTIONS. TO THK KDITOH OF THK 6TAK Sui. — The aspirants to seats on the licensing beuch have beeu nominated, and I agree with your remark that it is time they publicly made tlieir opinions known, but. Sir, in tliis matter of withholding information the candidates are not alone. I ask, What information have you given us on this burning question (vide local) ? I take it that a newspaper has a public duty to perform, and tliat is to keep the general public posted up in the leading questions of the day. What have you clone towards enlightening them on the provisions of the 1893 Licensing Act ? How many of the electors are acquainted with its most superficial points'? Then agaiu, with regard to voting we need information, and I submit it is withiu your functions to supply that. There are nine candidates and only eight required. Havo we to vote for eight, or can we vote for a lesser number '.> Then again, with regard to publicans' licenses, in the event of a prohibition majority, I understand it will be no vote if only "half the electors exercise the privilege. Does this also apply to a majority for a reduction vote, or (locs a majority only carry that irrespective of how many electors vote ? Kindly give this ini'ormation, for by doing w you will enlighten a great number of peo}>le who have not "the facilities for acquiring news such as you have, viz., exchanges, (iovernment papers, statistics, etc lam sure elucidation of the licensing law at the present juncture would be interesting reading. I ask the leaders of total abstainers and clergymen of the different denominations what are they about, that they are not up and doing, although they admit it is useless to try and run a candidate, that is not all they have to do, with the information that you doubtless will supply, they will be able to tell whether it is 01 any use voting for prohibition ; if of no use, then their efforts must be concentrated ou reduction which perhaps a bare majority will carry. They must uot weary iv well doiug. Iv duo soimon thoy will roap if they faint not. The apostolic iv juuction must not be forgotten, iustaut iv seasou aud out of season reprove, rebuke, exhort witli all long suffering aud doctrine, for the wiping out of the drink traffic is a good cause. In opposition to the 25 per cent reduction allowed by law, the contention has been raised that if one hotel were closed iv Feildiug tho traffic would not decrease hut wonld benefit the other three or four hotels. Perhaps so, but the evil would be more eoucen tra ted aud become moro glaring. The thin end of the wedge would be in, aud the advantage thus gained would be au incentive to the Temperance people to, within the next three years, agitate aud educate the people more fully to the fact that the trade of drink selling is uot required. As a commodity it is a fraud ; it paralyses legitimate trade, and the money so freely spent by the poor man when excited by for three glasses is bitterly repented of by him the next morning when he wakes and finds that little Billy or Freddy canuot go to school because they have not a decent pair of Loots to go in, when hist night he went through the price of for three pairs, and what has he got this morning for his money — well, 1 "know, having been through the mill — Christians, Temperance people, do not in your hatred of drink rush to tlie poll and vote for prohibition, when, perhaps it is a forlorn hope, but liold meetings before the '20th and discuss the matter. You may get reduction, but utterly fail iv prohibition. I am, etc., Reformer. [Our correspondent is slightly iv error, j We have already published a synopsis of ! the new Liseuing Act, and other refer- j euces to the Act have frequently appeared 1 in our columns. Further details iv J connection with the voting will he found I in another column. — Eu, F.S.I ' The Frozen Meat Trade. « — — (PEE PBESS ASSOCIATION.) Wellington. March 14. In order to meet the requirements of the frozen meat shippers, the New Zealand Shipping Company has decided to send the s.s. Otarama out to the oolony at once. f"hc was to leave London in ballast to-day.