THE UPPER DISTRICT IS REPLY.

Manawatu Herald, Volume I, Issue 48, 11 February 1879, Page 2

THE UPPER DISTRICT IS REPLY.

(From the Manawatu Times of Saturday.)

" icWoneUfcency, thy name is Gower ! " These were the words of one who evidently knew the member for &awa Kawa, and a perusal of the mass of Vet biuge ejected from that very flatulent gentleman nfc the Sariddri meeting would confirm rather than dispel ttie iinprpssion. We quote the utl«r--anance3 of the attove-iiaraed gentleman, as he is evidently looked updfl as the Demos-, thenes of his party, the speaVera who follow beinsf merely chorus singers who are* permitted to join in the refrain Mr Gower ia certainly gifted with the gift of oratory —of a certain kind — bnt Mr Gower is no stickei' fit trifles, and so that he can present a sweetly- scsnted boqiiet to greet the nasal organs of his audience he is not particular as to whose garden ho plunders for his flowers. There is a story told of a certain lawyer who made a most eloquent speech, producing convincing arguments, which quite carried away judge and jury, and was astonished to learn at its conclusion that he had gained the case for the opposite side. And this is exactly what Mr John Gower did at Sandon. Ho went into the sublimity of his eloquence about the hundreds of thousands of acreß and the millions of pounds represented ; but would it be believed that all the while this enchanting panorama was unfolded, Jifc was of that very country through which tho line to Fitzhorbert is to be brought ? If not where, is it ? for frjm tho very centre of I'uiaka to the boundary^ of Sandon, you cm look in vain for a stick of timberj He says, again and again, " they could not dictate to the Government where the line was to go," yet in the face of the assertion we find the following resolution carried' almost unanimously : — " That in the opinion of this meeting it is exceedingly desirable that the work of forming the Wellington lino should bo commenced at the Foxton end." How now, Mr John Gower ? Surely your first assertion was absolutely false and uttered as a blind, or you must have inoculated your followers with your own inconsistency. The conduct ia characteristic, and reminds U9 very forcibly of the pioug young gentleman who, being thwarted by his parents in the choice of a wife, always finished his prayers in the following spirit of resignation : " Thy will be done, O Lord, but be sure and give me Betty." Again, Mr Gower says: "If the railway were formed via Foxton, the sawmillers would be within a few miles of tho port, and white pine would become a valuable article of export. The s iwmills would have to draw their supplies from Foxton ; but without the line from Wellington being constructed via Foxton they would be no nearer than at present." In tho free of the opening portion of Mr Glower's resolution, proposed a few minutes afterwards, to the following, effoct :— •' lhat tho settlors of Bulls, Sandon, and Carnarvon having determined to form a district line of railway between Greatford and Carnarvon Junctiou," &c.,— wo would ask him kindly explain away the apparent paradox. To our dull comprehension it would appear that if tho people of Sandon construct a district line lo a point which will tap the present railway near Foxton, they will bo brought just the length of their district line nearer to Foxton, and the formation of a railway on the south side of the Manawatu is a matter totally basido that particular question. Mr Gower Rays no; and of course Mr Gower claims in all his utterances to be oracular. With regard to his imaginative facts as to the quantity of land to be opened up on Fitzherbert, we imagine t'ue Government are a little belter informed as to the exact quantity - sold than even Mr Gower, and we can well leave that matter in the hands of the Department ; but ns a matter of curiosity we might ask Mr Gower how much land is still unsold between Paiaka and Sandon ? Echo answers none but a few acres of sand, which to retain in position the lucky purchaser would require lo have pegged down beneath a tarpaulin, else he would wal<e up some fine mor mug to find it, like Alnddan's castle, vanished in the air. Mr Gower made one statement — " that they were simply asking for a mere act of justice, namely that the merits of the lino through Foxton should be taken into account"— which could wo believe it to be sincere, would claim for him and his endeavors our heartiest sympathy. We do not blame either him or his fellow workers for their exertion" to get the line ; but which* ever direction it may take, let the contest be fought out fairly and honorably between the T/pper and Lower Districts. Yv*e regro to say that such has not been the case wit * the Sandon men ; false issues have beeuh raised, and dodges resorted to which do nothing more than prove the weakness cf their side, and hawking a petition around Wanganui, the seat of the old enemy*isono of tho last. Does anyone fora moment imagine that Wanganui cares one jot through what country the propoßed line will pass, whether it be dismal swamp or fertile valley ? Certainly not ; and so long us passengers can be whizzed between Wellington and its town, it is equally oblivious whether they come borne on a crow's back, or shot by an electric current along the telegraph wire.