CORRESPONDENCE.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVII, Issue 5051, 12 November 1926, Page 1

CORRESPONDENCE.

DRAINAGE ISSUE. LTo the Editor..} Sir, —Your, articles at different times together with correspondence in your ciiiumns regarding drainage and drainage matters, aje very instructive, helpful, and good reading. Surely, u'tier all the lunges and spasms at the above matter made during the l^ Sl iew years and the wrangling that is now going on about the same, theie must be or should be some solution to be dragged from the dregs or what is left of all schemes put foiiward W committees of ratepayers and drainage boards. Now that amalgamation is to be an established fact we must look to and hope for something really substantial and beneficial .to all as a whole. We all know the face value of the Plains to-day is not what it should be, for want of drainage and more outlets in particular;, and with sufficient of these the economic value will increase time and again. I. notice in your issue of the sth inst. “Gunner’s” letter, and to my mind he has hit a bull’s-eye ; in fact, a dead centra i.e., Merit. Merit does not shield any sins or shortcomings to „a very great degree, but is to my mind the real dinkum par excellence. I would respectfully draw ratepayers’ attention, to the ordinary common-sense method of judging drainage merit ,when the candidates duly appear. The man for selection should be, firstly, one Who has made a success pf his. own affairs here under local conditions, and whose farm is drained to the best advantage of drainage offering and producing to 'full capacity under the circumtsances pertaining to his particular locality. If tehe satributes are lacking and he fails in the example of his own small plot how, then, cap he stand up to such a proposition as draining the Plains, ? Unfortunately cheap notoriety is sometimes sought a the public’s expense under the cloak of Public Service. Therefore let us look well to the personnel of the new board and always consider merit first. However, both boards have had a difficult time, possibly made more sol by the fact of there being two boards, and no doubt have done t.heir best, even although sometimes retreating to the old smother, “the ratepayers’ interest,” but even at the same. time getting plenty of abuse and littlei credit. No doubt the new board will either make or finally break the Plains, so let us hope for a successful issue of a Anal ‘ and permanent general improvement ' all-round. POSSUM.