THE LATE MEETING AT GREENSTONE:

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1240, 20 July 1872, Page 2

THE LATE MEETING AT GREENSTONE:

[to the editor.] Siß~ln Tueßaa^s^«ielffiel»M e fl^brt )f a meeting held at Greenstone on Monday evening, the Bth instant, animadverting on. the action; of the Paroa Boad Board, past and present. The speakers seem to think that they have been unjustly dealt with, inasmuch as "hundreds of pounds have been .taken out of the place and not one shilling expended in return." Now when parties make such a statement they ought to be able to prove it, for it Is Bntirely false. It is well known when the first rate mA levied that property so depreciated in value at the Greenstone that the original rates were not collected as assessed, and that the small sum got from Greenstone was very * insignificant, , and the present rate will not give more than BomeL2o. . , „. , v, > • Again, the meeting, complained that they are unrepresented, in the Paroa Road Board ; and who are to blame for this^but the Greenstone people themselves ? They have had the opportunity of ten of return* ing a member, and why have they-not, done so ? ,-,. There is a vacancy even now ; let them take advantage of it and return a man to > see after their interests; and 'none will rejoice more than the present members. Ever since the board has been in existence they/ the Greenstonerriieri, have neglected their duty to themselves and the whole of the district^ with the exception of some 3 or 4 months, when they did think it worth, their while to send a representative. Now they proposed to do away with the boards and have some central body substituted for them, and one of the speakers says he has wb^hesitation in saying that the County Council (although he was not in favor of it) would do all the business of the Boad Boards. Here is the key to the solution, and we shall hear- of this again in the County Council. How a large meeting jat the Greenstone prayed for that august body to take upon itself the duties of Boad Board; why, it is said not more than twenty persons were present when this" clap-trap; was used; but this can .be passed over, for the f day will never come '. when that will? be done . It is very easy for anyone to> g6t up and make strong remarks against any form of . government, and h6w \ much more 'easy it is to do so against a board that has been crippled from the first from want of funds;- And what is the cause of this? Why until .the Government apportioned the lots to the various Boad Boards the the County Council spent nearly all the available money, to make roads,. and had little or nothing to give Road, boards. Where they made the roads,and tiovHokitika had more than the lion's share, in too well known;. This is the farce that is again wanted to be played, and ; then : the members of that.august body will have another plea to prolong their sittings. .•.%., .?; The Paroa Boad Board have been much maligned, and, although they allowed too much latitude to a former Secretary, and had topay dearly for their, oversight, yet' all their other course of action will bear the test of public scrutiny; and although' persons of fluent tongue can make great speeches against them, yet if he or they _wprV members of the board, it is very questionable if they jpould |ja?a mended matters. ; These roeii' simply accuse the board of being a failure. What have they done since being formed T t If my memory Beryes me right, the^iuve done a good deal according their, means. They made a considerable portion of the Arnold road ; they made a few chains of a horse track from Diamond Gully to the Blacksand, and cut a bridle. track. from Welshman's, to Limestone ;, ; they also made a horse tract from Cockabulla to ■ Clifton, and the same to No Name ;§ they also assisted in the protective works atfbhe Saltwater, and made a short piece of road there. Now the ynad tp N,q Name wag intended to be carried on to Greenstone for the special benefit of that district ; but funds have been so slow in coming in that they . could not do that all at once, and hence the delay. Again, the County Council made a road, up to Greenstone, and credited this district with it. Had it not; been for the immense gum of money that was spent oh the Arnold road, atfd a heavy debt thereby incurred, the Road Board would have been able to carr^ra other necessary, works'; but is the boam to be condemned for making this useful road and to leave other parts for a time. The fault that the Board has had. to. endure is the want of funds, and, now they have some to receive from the-General-Govern-ment, that .must be laid outin making roads that will be useful for future/geW rations. They are condemned for not making a track ■'' from Maori^ Greet Ho Still water Creek, and also from Greenstone to the Lake, so says the member of the district, who forgets, he hss.constituents at Paroa and the neighborhood. These parties feel that they have quite as much right to have thia|r interests oxm* sidered as well as others, besides Jhe welfare of their interest will only lead to the welfare of those in the back country. At the present time all the people on the beach, storekeepers excepted, have & fay at the rate of L 2 per ton ? and, if a road from Paroa to Greymouth is made, carters have already offered to carry goods for 103 per. ton, the benefit being , as. great to those living at a distance as it is, to those on the beach.. The Road Board justly consider their first duty is topro- ' vide a public road from the seaport, and connect it with those they have already formed in tb.B interior^ , 'CqJnmbiTseiise shows that before this is done all the money laid out by them .'merely conduces to the benefit of the tramways, and next to useless to the public, who cannot gain access to them. Public, policy .demands that where public ni6n,ey is spent the public should have free access to it. This road, then, is not intended merely for the mushroom town of Paroa, bo aptly designated by 'its honorable member, but as a connecting link to the Clifton road to be continued on to the Lnke, where the honorable gentleman so earnestly desires a track. Again, a great portion of the road from Paroa to Greyihouth, 14ft wide with 9in of metal, is. to be constructed lor L 2 5s per chain, and the whole distance then to be made will , only be about four and a quarter miles in a direct line, the present course by tram being four and three-quarter miles. Nearly the whole of

this will not cost more than L 6 or L 8 per chain, so that when this is done the whole of the district must be benefited. As regards the tramways, the Road Board has no control. Protection was given to them by the County Council, without consulting the Board, and the County Council will have to be responsible for its own acts. The road when it is completed will be a public boon, however distasteful it may be to parties in business. It will enable miners to have their provisions carried out to them, and the saving will prove immense. Whatever diversity oi opinion may exist regarding this road, and whatever errors the Board may be guilty of, I believe they have been actuated solely by the desire of doing the most good to the greatest number. Although their means have been limited, and hampered with a debt and a heavy interest to pay on it, they have striven their utmost to. do good ; but what could they do without funds? Even the very money that was collected for rates lately had mainly to be paid away for a longstanding debt, and the same will be the case with the next rate. No one knows better the position of the Road Board, or ought to do so, than the member for the district; and, : to say the least, 'he had not shewn the beßt of taste in holding up to ridicule one of the chief charters we enjoy at the present day— local institutions whose chief crime lies in not having sufficient funds and being already in debt. Instead of parties finding fault with the Board, why do not they offer their services as members to the Paroa constituency, and thereby rectify the abuses that they imagine now exist. The way to improve local institutions is not to abuse them, for that alone keeps out men who might otherwise become useful members ; to point out their failings and how they should act, would be more useful than a long tirade and abase against them. So lons as the Board acts legally and does its best for the good of the public, it deserves every encouragement, and when it is out of debt, it will doubtless be able to be of more service than it is at present. Yours, &c., A Fribnd of Local iNsnnmoNs. Paroa, 17th July.