THE HOUNDBURN HILL DEVIATION.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 169, 31 May 1872, Page 3

THE HOUNDBURN HILL DEVIATION.

( To the Editor of the Mount Ida Chbostigle.)

'' Sib, —A. letter upon the subject which heads , this communication appeared in. your issue of last w,eek under ,the nom deplume of " Fairplay " To. that letter, or rather to its author, I desire to say a few words in reply. To my mind, sir, as a person perfectly unprejudiced in this matter, the whole assertions —for they are nothing else —of, " Eairplay " are erroneous, ' and his .deductions therefore alike, illogical and absurd. . Without going into the matter of the time of tae year for road making being the .worst possible,.l must demurto the propriety in this case of. dragging in. the old axiom of " better late ,than never." . With what, you said upon this subject in a late issue (the date of which I have not at command) that as the matter had been allowed to stand so'long we could afford to wait a little longer rather than accept a half .measure such as proposed by. Mr. Oliver, I cordially agree ; neither - can I see any individuals, save two or three roadside publicans, who would not be benefitted by the line passing through Nasebv.

With more than one squatter -resid- I in£ upon the Maniototo Plain I have ' spoken upon this subject, and their admission has been that the benefit conferred upon them by the . general disuse of the present road would be immense in keeping dogs from their flocks j and horses and cattle from knocking down their fences. But. sir, even .if such were not the case, and the squat-. tosracy did and do side .with M.v. .Oliver in ais opinion as; to the proper line to be adopted in. this deviation, T for one hold that their wishes and opinions should be held as valueless as compared to the wishes and opinions of a large 'and important goldmining community. How' many of these lords' of the creation are there resident at .Hamilton, the Sowburn, and the Maniototo Plain, to whose interest, according to " Fairplay,".all public interests are to bo ■ satisfied ? But I have, I, think, some slight notion uf who the person is that signed himself " Fairplay," and I am also of .opinion that no squatter had his finger in the pie, though Mr. Oliver himself nriglnV and I daresay had.

The remarks which " Fairplay " no doubt thinks not only witty but conclusive with regard to the valuelessness of the traffic passing through JSTaseby are too puerile to receive notice at my hands. I, therefore, leave him to his opinions, while at the same time I claim the right of retaining mine, and mine are those which, representing facts and truth, must and will find the greatest favor with the public. . "Fairplay's " observations with regard to the ill effects which would be produced by. the adoption of the line which your, paper has consistently and in my opinion very properly, advocated should a Sludge. Channel be brought up, are. equally fallacious,and unhappy as are those which have respect to the traffic. Even granting, sir, that as predicted by " Fairplay " a township' should be formed between Naseby and the Taieri Siver, the passing of the road through Naseby would be of far greater advantage, to it than would its continuance along the old Dunstan road. ' Whatever "Fairplay" may'think of the propriety of the Government rejecting the prayer of the petition of the people of Naseby and adopting Mr Oliver's line,, I have ,no hesitation in saying' that if jsueh be the case that the public interest will be sacrificed to.the

interest of a,few; publicans and a p„3eudo engineer.

The fact that such is- the case must', be evident from the-concluding words ' of " Fairplay's" letter, which I' quote : " I think the Grovernment will act ju-. diciously in rejecting the prayer of the peop]e of - Naseby,. and adhere .to the , road suggested by Mr: Oliver for the ■present.'''' Why, sir, if " Fairplay's " arguments mean anything, they mean that Mr. Oliver's is the best line, and should therefore be -maintained ; why then conclude, with the .words for /the, 'present ? These few words disclose,if there.were nothing else to do. so, the shallowness and the tfpllowness .of you;*, correspondent's ideas, up.,<n, the. subject of this important deviation, and that' he is- actuated by • motives other than those which he has thought fit to disclose'in his letters.— I am, &c, Yeeitas. .