PUBLIC MEETING AT THE TOWN HALL.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 71, 15 June 1878, Page 2

PUBLIC MEETING AT THE TOWN HALL.

„-.;.. A. meeting oonvened by his Worship the Mayor, was held at the Public Hall, Palifierstqn, on Wednesday night. There was a very numerous attendance, Mr Thynne, thaGhairman of the Manawatu County Council, being amongst those present. The Mayob, who ocoupied the ohair, stated that the meeting had been called by public, advertisement, m order that ratepayers and residents generally should have an opportunity of considering and discussing matters of vital interest to the Cpunty ; qf Manawatu. It might be recollected thai some considerable time since a deputation had inter-

viewed tho Government on the subject of a survey for the Coast line from this end to Waikanae, and although then a distinct promise had been elicited tbat an immediate survey would be commenced, nothing as yet had been done, and there was really no data to submit to Parliament at the ooming Session. There were several other matters of both local and general interest to be dealt with during the evening, such as the construction of a telegraph lino to Woodville, the question of roads leading to deferred payment blocks, road lines on the Fitzherberton side oE the Manawatu, increased Court-house accommodation, the appointing of a permanent clerk of the Court, and the establishment of a District Court at Palmerston. He thought he had mentioned every matter which would engage their attention, and while calling upon Mr Linton to speak to the first question, he would reserve his privilege of addressing the meeting later m the evening. Mr Linton, said: Mr Chairman and Gentlemen : — lt is seldom that the inhabitants of Palmerston have been called together for such important deliberations as those now before them this evening. We have work before us to do ; m fact, the settlement and rapid progress of this fine district, of which, for the time being, we are the public guardians, rests with us, and if we are only true to ourselves we can accomplish the task, and give the district such an impetus as will surely place it on the road leading to progress for all time. The question will naturally be asked, — and is asked almost daily by those who think such matters over — What are the greatest wants at the present time ? I answer, m the first place, and without hesitation-~a railway to connect the West Coast, with Wellington, and increased wharf accommodation at the Port of Foxton. The question may be put, oan we get such improvements and public conveniences ? I think we can, if we steadily persist m keeping our claims before the powers that be. I have no doubt that most of you will remember that, some little time ago, his Worship the Mayor (the chairman of this meeting) and myself, with some others, were deputed to wait on the Government m Wellington, for the purpose of requesting that a party of surveyors might be despatched to the Manawatu end of the proposed, and much-needed, railway line, for the purpose of gleaning particulars from which to-prepare a report, to be laid before the forthcoming Assembly, which report, it was hoped, would have the effect of deciding which was the best route for this line to follow. We were informed that such a step would be taken without delay, and a party would be sent to explore the district. Such, gentlemen, has not been done, up to the present moment; m fact, it appears that this important matter has been completely lost sight of, so far as the survey this year is concerned, and all our trouble goes for nothing. We did not, as some of our neighbors did, ask that this line should go via Palmerston or Foxton, but felt quite satisfied that the Government should make the line where it would prove most beneficial for the whole of the County, and at the same time open up most available country for settlement. Such views, it appeared to us, were likely to influence the Government, judging from the remarks made to us. Since visiting Wellington there has been considerable excitement about railways generally, more especially about the construction of the much-needed Sandon and Foxton. line; Some very important persons have visited Sandon and Foxton, and held pubiic meetings, at which unanimous resolutions wore oarried to the effect that such a railway was really needed, and that steps should at once be taken by those interested to get this particular line constructed, under the District Railways Act. Now, Gentlemen, as an outsider, which may mean a Palmer- [ ston man, I feel much, very much disI appointed! with the action of the. Hon. R. Campbell, from whom so much was expected for some years past. Perhaps some of our friends at a, distance may say this, is no business of any Palmerston man. I say it is our business, considering that we are one of the important communities m this County, and that the making of any line of railway within the County is of vast importance to us, inasmuch as it will develop the resources of the County, and, consequently, confer a very great benefit on every individual within the district. I fully expeoted that when Mr Campbell did pay his long-promised visit to the district, that he would have said publicly he was fully prepared to furnish the required capital for the construction of this line, providing interest was guaranteed, which could have easily been done if the promoters of the scheme had been sufficiently bold to place the matter before the public as a County scheme, instead of a narrow-minded local one, as it at present appears, and one, m my opinion, as far from realization as- it was two years ago. We all knew that any branch railway could be constructed under the District Railways Act, without Mr Campbell coming ail the way north to inform us of the fact. As it is admitted on ail hands that the Sandon and Foxton line is a necessity, why could not the promoters have boldly said — " Let us make it a County question ; let us levy a railway rate on the whole of the property within the district comprised between the mouths of the Manawatu and Rangitikei rivers, and from those two points to the extremity of settlement," instead of simply taking a narrow strip of country alongside oE the proposed line, thereby laying a heavy burden on the lands of the comparatively few settlers within that strip, whereas if they had taken m the entire district, the burden would have disappeared, and a wide and healthy interest would have been awakened which would have exercised a beneficial effect upon the scheme P I know full well that many of the inhabitants of this County think that we, 'Palmerston people, are now — -and always have been-ropposed to the making of this line of railway. Why they should think so is a mystery to me, because if its construction does so much for them as they seem to anticipate, it must of neoessity do good to us. When this. me is made it will pour trade into Foxton. That trade will of itself be the means of compelling the authorities to enlarge

the shipping facilities of our port. It will increase our timber trade ; it will bring grain of every description to our doors ; it will of itself be a very large consumer of many of our products, more particularly timber aud ballast, which must be furnished by the upper district. I would suggest that our Foxton and j Sandon friends ask our sympathy and, assistance, and wait for our reply. I feel confident that it will astonish them not a little. Touching the proposed West Coast Line, what does Mr Campbell say ? He says that "he does not know much of the topography of the country, but certainly, to his mind, that the round-about way of the present line should be adopted as the main line, seems the very height of absurdity." He further says, that the line we have met here to discuss (meaning Foxton and Sandon) will, if made, eventually be a part and parcel of the main line, as at Foxton and nowhere else must the Waikanae line tap. He goes on a little further to show, as is very fashionable m such cases, that he is not governed by any interested motives, and assures his enchanted audience that he is not i taking a narrow-minded view of this matter. As Palmerston people, perhaps we may be. excused if we unite m saying that Mr Catnpbeir is swayed by personal interests — is taking a narrow- 1 minded and selfish view of the whole affair —is not acquainted with the topography of the. country j-^-and I think we may, with justice to ourselves, ask by what authority he avers that the Waikanae line must join m it Foxton? Has the Government told him that it is decided to join the line at Foxton ? If so, they should tell us. If he has not been told so, then he has simply been misleading his audience, and has quietly thrown a handful of sand into their eyes. If Mr Campbell has seen so many benefits accruing from the construction of branch line.., and witnessed or perhaps participated m the enhanced value of property through their construction, we are quite justified m saying, his scheme is now to try and divert the main line through his large block of land m the Carnarvon district for the purpose of gaining this great; profit. What about ourselves? Are we justified, on the same principle, m. trying to influence the Government to push on the survey, and so ascertain which is the best and most profitable route for this important line to follow PI think we are ; and may be excused when I say, that if the Government are influenced by the same, motives as Mr Campbell is, viz., the opening up of a large traot of valuable land for settlement, the selling of this land readily and obtaining a handsome profit out of such sales, we may safely oonolude that the West Coast line will not join m at Foxton, nor pass through the broad acres of the Hon. B. Campbell; however much he may desire .it.. By. taking the line as he wishes it, new oounfcry will not be opened up,nor valu» able land brought into the. market for settlement, as it must be borne m mind that the whole' of the land m GarnarVon : distriot has passed from the Crown long, ago, and the bulk of it is now m the hands of the Hon. R. Campbell and -Mr Larkworthy. By bringing the. West Coast line through the Fitzherbert district, and tapping the -whole Aof the; Coast between this and Waikanae, the County will have a decided gain, when it is considered that 'thousands of acres of first-class land, suitable m every way for immediate" settlement, will be brought into the market. This is more than oan honestly bp said of the land throughout the district known as Carnarvon. Gentlemen, I think it is high time that we raised our voices m order to show plainly our opinion, even though that opinion may he contrary to the wishes or interests of Mr Campbell. We do know the topography of this countryrrwe 4 .d0. know that the further you can Jtake any railway through unopened country, consisting of good soil, the greater* are y -the benefits derived from the construction bf that line. I would like to ask Mr Campbell these questions": Suppose the line cut this upper district off, and instead of running as now, passed through his favorite and shorter way, where would be the immense traffic now done dn the line ?— -echo answers, " Where ?" Who has made all this traffic ?— where do nearly all the; inhabitants t reside ?— V where does all the timber^teade' spring 5 from? — where is property )so ; rapidly .; rising m value ? — .where is population < increasing by thousands ? Why, just' along this roundabout route • of the 7 present railway line, and quite outsi.de of the wide domains of Mr Campbell'.'! Before this Railway question is finally settled, I think it. is only fair that .the : inhabitants' of Palmerston, ' Feilding, Kiwitea, and Halcombe should be' consulted a little—before the great, wordmust is so freely used. We demand justice to ourselves. We want to See Sandon connected with FoxtoUby rail. We will readily assist our neighbours in* this great work if we are only asked to do so, but we will not quietly allow a few to decide the fate of the West Coast line. That must be left to the General Government, '-who; VI believe will act m a fair and; impartial; manner, to the public at large; quite 'ignoring the private claims' of any large com-* panics, no , matter how' wealthy they may be. I hopeA Gentlemen, that ybti! will this evening bring forward and pass, resolutions that will leave ho doubt on the minds of the public or the Government as regards bur opinion of this Railway scheme. The gauntlet has been thrown down. We must now look to ourselves before it is too late. Mr McNeil said he had very great pleasure m coming forward to propose the first resolution, but as the subject matter of its contents! had been referred to at such length by Mr Linton, the task was a comparatively easy one. He heartily agreed with that gentleman that it was somewhat cool for the Hon. Robert Campbell to assert so positively that the main line of railway must and would run through his property. .To his mind the Government had been miwh to blame by breaking- faith with regard | to the promised survey, As he had not, come tothe meeting prepared to. make a speech, it was fortunate; that the resolution which he bad been asked ,to. propose was of such a nature as' to command the sympathies of those present, and require no exercise of oratory to make it acceptable. He would read tae resolution.

That the Government be reminded that as yet nothing had been done towards exploring the comity at this end of the line X with a view of carrying out the promise*, m*de by the Miniater of Public Warka to have a.9urvey made of the proposed line of the Hutt- Waikanae and Manawatu Railway, to lay before Parliament at the next Session. And this meeting urgently request the Government to have the work carried out without delay, together with some data as to the cost of oonstruotionj so that the matter caH he dealt with by Parliament during the ooming Session. Mr Thynne said that he , had understood from the advertisement that the meeting was to be one of ratepayers, and as he did not happen to stand m that capacity, he had merely attended as a listener, and with no intentionjof taking .part m the discussion. As, how- *• ever, the Chairman had invited opinions on the resolution, he would avail him- - self of itlieih vitatiori to say a few words. Mr Linton : — I would wish to correct Mr Thynne, by informing him that ho is a ratepayer of Palmerston. Mr Thynne was pleased to hear that his sympathy with the meeting ex* tended as far as his pocket. In risinjr. to heartily and cordially support the^ resolution he would take the opportunity of contradicting an. impression which; judging from Mr Linton's re- . marks, appeared to be prevalent, to the effect that Foxton was antagonistically inclined towards Palmerston, or that m 'seeking to obtain the Saadon line they ,were ! working \agaius% the interests o£A. other portions of the County. None bfiL the speakers atthe Foxton meeting had alluded m any way to the ,Hutt linetouohing at Foxton, excepting Mr-' Campbell, and he presumed that was? " merely; a casual expression of his (Mr Campbell's) individual opinion. The> people of Foxton wore not blind to their: own interests, and they knew that ther prosperity and progress of the interior, meant the success and advancement of their port. Because they advocated thY construction of the Sandon-Carnarvoa line, it by no means followed that ihbyA had a' desire to tear up the rails out other lines, or stop the traJfic elsewhere. They wanted no pecuniary help ; -they A merely .asked for moral assistance^ as ■' they were prepared to put their hand* into their, own pockets to carrVout the project. He trusted the Hutt- Waikanae line would go up ta Palmerston, but il* it. were found necessary to construct a branch to join at Foxton, and go to A Sandon as well, he hoped that the> people of Palmerston would not be selfish enough to oppose, it. -He was- much pleased to be present that night, and ho ;..., could assure the meeting that it wouioi' be his earnest endeavourto soothe those- -"■ feelings of local jealousy ;whiohuhfor*K : tunately j had hitherto existed. "Her . •thought that it would- b&to the interest .'.. of Saiidon and Foxton, and Feilding and Palmerston, to unite- together, ana increase their, power ior the weal ot the" v "County, as a whole, rather _ than strive^ >to set one place m antagonism^ to Janother. .-., ■ ■• .. . "?; ; .".y ■:■■• y.~:7 T 7 ~ Mr ! Linton said, he wished to'exonerate the .people of ! Foxton ;frctfa~ fall blame. What he said, and. What he was, that the statement made "with such an air of ! authority .by the.. . I Hon. Robert Campbell was calculated to mislead the residents of "that place. A -■''Mr Coleman said that m speaking to the: resolution it would be just as well td let th;einAueighbprs know thai j, Palmerston was the centre of the* Manawatu. j It was the inlet; ithotthe^outlet of the whole' of the County. APal« -■ merston/ was somewhat m the same posi- „ ;, tion that 1 Wanganui had been infeir' .•■<• years ago. That place had been mainly • supported' by the - Imperial troops; and- » • when it 'had been proposed to; withdraw^ i them, jmahy were 1 of ithe, opinion- that; ':-•' the place ' Would entirely collapse;' ■ Bafej .' what was the actual: case fu s Wanganui: . set to work earnestly, ..honestly and legitimately, , ? independently, T tut^ any/troops', and the oohsequenbe r was 1 that ii'-f---npw stood upon a firmer basis and m a healthier state than before, Palmerston at iorie time Adepended tupondiheiex-I y, :;■ penditure of both Provincial and Government moneys and- when 'that had <■•■ been exhausted it suffered a relapse;,and ; . , became dull for a short time. Bat like.; , Wanganui it- set to work -to develop* and tely upon its pwnfre,source,s, and had improved legitiftiatMy.-'Tt^ovr boasted of bona fide settlers. It wanted I no foreign capitalists, and what the district was doing; wasieffe6te^bv^ita<>wj-.^ 1 -hands; The district could; boast of pos- ■ sessing the richest" land m" the colonyAs Afor grazing and cropping, beside; faci^ litiesfor the successful introduction of fmahafactures: r.lti lioweverj; labored under one disadvantage inasmuch as it had for some time past .been pmpticajl£ v .. unrepresented, j&r Campbell^ w ' that m making the proposed railwar.jto[qSandon he was, actuated, by, no selfish. * ; considerations^ but > suchU an assertion might be taken for what it was worth* ; Mr Fox had made a "similar statement,, but while Mr. Campbell had complained that the distriot had been sadly ne--gleotedin the past, it must he borne m. mind that at tne^' time' referred At© 'MrFox had been, the representative of Ithe whole iof the distriot. A^in MfcC^piA j] bell had said that land had been soldi at,£9 per acre, but he had-fbrg&ten ta add that it .was; - within! three mUes,p£ v; 'P!almerstoh; that th&re had" b&ih. land sold at £10 ; and that 'there war , • some which would fetch as much as £l& ' to £20! per acre. He could not r but give* the Sandon people. the, greatest credih for what they had donie, and the manner m which they advanced that, dis- - trict. One might search a long time ahd! ' not find a bettefiClass of settlera. [The . speaker then read a long extract from, the remarks • made .at the Sandon meet- - ing by Mr McKenzie.} -He was happy , to have an opportunity .. of. supporting; the resolution ,■;. The Ckaibman would erave- the !in- , dulgence of thelneeting while he made, made a few observations. The question. ; of the construction of a -railway; from , v the" capital to. the inland districts wa* J ' not one belonging to o* affecting! individuals only, and one should not spealtof 'it as touching at' 'Palm^rstoh oirtapptng Foxto|_. Thep^uestonwailv'hethepaline! , would b0 ;i pushea';Ott ; withbdtfdtAay s whichj would, obviate the Necessity of a> a dreary journey along the Coast. . Luckily ... . the matter, , had many sympathisers m, „' WeUingtonv and he thought it wduld bewell if the Chambers of Commerce,. or some p^her influential body, wereitojoia A with them m order to elioit a \distincfe pledge from the Government to the pro-

ject. There was sufficient land to repay the expenditure one hundred per cent. There could be no doubt that whatever tended to the advancement of Feilding, Sandon, or Palmerston, must necessarily have a beneficial influence upon Foxton, and therefore he would be most anxious to see the whole district form one bond of union m order to get the Government pledged to the survey. Instead of one section scheming or plotting tb outwit the other, all should unite, agitate, and Work for the common good of the county. The resolution was then put avid carried unanimously. The Chairman stated that the next question to be dealt with was one affecting the interest of the settlers, on the Fitzherbertbn side of the Manawatu.- { When Provincialism was dying out, Mr Bunny has striven to obtain a sum of I money to be devoted to that district, j but although £5000 had been specified, the vote lapsed and the money was not received. Since then the Fitzherberton residents had been m a deplorable state, with no roads and the settlers compelled to actually wade knee-deep m the mud. He thought the matter one which called for assistance from all, but as there was a representative present, he would call upon him to address the meetingMr .Bruce 7 said that theAresolutioh upon which he had been called upon to speak had not the advantage of being a Colonial or national question. It was not even a county , question, still it was a local one, and of very consi derable as such. Thousands of acres ' |jgd been sold, purchased, and paid for, WI still not a single inch of road had been formed or metalled/ It would be i'ust as impossible for a settler there to inng a vehicle to his door, as it would have been for Robinson Crusoe to haye taken a drover's waggon to his island home. Last year Mr McNeil had had an interview with the Hon. Mr Larnach, the Minister for Public Works, at which a promise was received that £1000 should be placed, upon the for the opening up of roads m the dislriot,T.ut the pledge lmd been uiifulfilled, and consequently the long-suffering settlers were left but m the cold, with no roads, and no money to construct them. He went to the meeting as their representative' to ask those present ,to lend their assistance to obtain some meed of protection and justice. He would' read the resolution for which he' claimed their support— ' x That this meeting considers it desirable that the .Government, he requested to place on the Estimates a sum of money to be expended on the south side of the Manawatu River, as follows:— The grant of £1000 promised last year, ' but neglected to be placed on the Supplementary Estimates, to assist m opening the road leading to the township of Fitzherberton. Mr McNeil had great pleasure m supporting the resolution, inasmuch as Ithe distriot named having no representative at the Highway s Board, was placed at a considerable disadvantage. Beside , which the land had been purchased by the settlers on the faith of roads being formed through them,; and consequently the past policy was not only, a grievous wrong and injustice, but caused a large tract of valuable country to be com- . pletely locked up. y. The resolution Vas carried unanimously. The Chairman said he would next iatk the meeting to express an opinion with' the' view of further action neing taken with regard to making roads through unsurveyed lands for deferred payment blocks. No doubt the meeting was well aware that the proposition had feceived the warmest support, of the Waste Lands Board; which had unanimously recommended its adoption by the Government. While the Ministry endorsed the action and views of the Board, theywere unable toputthe scheme into execution for want of funds, and -had promised to take measures during the coming Session to provide the means.' The Government was not asked to undertake the work without a guarantee of a refund, as it was' proposed that the outlay for- fprmation should be added to the upset price. He went a few days ago to Ipolc at, land which a. few Ayears ago .was not : worth 5s per aere^ but now by the'formation of roads was valued at £7. The Feilding Oorporation A were - doing what it was proposed to the Government should oe done. That .energetic body was 0- forming and metalling mile after mile of road, and making their land sell at i an enormous ■pftfcvAv:;!^.;^. '[-Ai Mr. Bbuce : . said, that . the question of defer^ payment had been discussed almost threadbare. The system of selling land before the roads had been formed inflicted amonstrous wrong upon the bona* fide settler, who was bone sinew of the .Colony at large, beside retarding settlement. Generally-speak-ing they" were not men of wealth, whili. the s^ctdator could aJfford to let land lie idle ' : until it • became increased m value, '.by the toil and sweat of the true lettleri A Mr Linton perfectly coincided with the remarks made; and would theref ore confine himself to proposing the following resolution :— • That this meeting considers it desirable that the Government be requested to place , on the Estimates a grant for the purpose of forming roads through the deferred payment block lying to the south of the Fitzherbert Block, .and, connecting the same with the Manawatu Bridge, the amount thus expended to be recovered by being laid on the upset pnee of land m question. Carried. The Chaibman called upon Mr Coleman tb propose the next resolution. Mr Polehan said there was no ne-„ cessity on his part, to comment upon the adviuitage to be derived from the formation of the road m question. He would rend the resolution placed m his hands-— That this meeting deemed it expedient that the Government be requested to place On the Estimates a grant m aid for the purpnse,pf opening up the. road between the Manawatu Bridge and the Lofrer Ferry on the south tide of the riyer. Mr Linton asked if that was the road' which; had been discussed m public some time past, and On being informed that it* was, spoke m strong terms of the manner m which the resolution had been 'brought forward. He denounced the proposed road as a scheme of the land speculators m Wellington, and .protested against the interests of settlers of many years' standing, who had made Palmerston what it was. being sacrificed to a clique m Wellington. He freely

admitted a x road was wanted on the Fitzherbercoji side, perhaps as far as Mr Dalrymple's, but entered a protest against its extension to the Gorge. Mr BRucEregretted the matter should be met with antagonism, and as an old settler with' considerable experience, he assured the meeting that if residents had to continue fording the river, sooner or later some accident would occur. Mr Marsh was of opinion that a portion of the road w&S' an immediate necessity, but could hot see that its continuation to the Gorge was at all needed. The resolution, on being put, was declared carried. * The Chairman said that the meeting had now advanced a stag<v and had got from roads to wire. He would call upon Mr Keeling to propose the next resolution. Mr Keeling said the matter he had to speak upon, though secondary to railways or roads, was still of importance.. It was, the construction of telegraphic communication ! with Woodville. Although that place was m another Province, still its residents appeared to look upon themselves as part and parcel of the Manawatu. There was now considerable traffic between . Palmerston and that plaice, and the establishment, of a telegraphic wire became a necessity. .' The resolution which had been placed m his hands was as follows :— That the Government be requested to construct a telegraph line through the Gorge;to Woodville to Palmerston. Mr Marsh supported the resolution, "and instanced that, by the. provision "of a wire, carriers coming or going without a load would be obviated. Mr McNeil stated that there were two special settlements within twenty miles of Woodville, notwithstanding which, it was sixty miles from a telegraphic office m Hawkes Bay. Mr Linton would only make one remark, and that was, that the Manawatu had need to be flattered at the resolution, which went to show that Palmerston was admittedly the centre of the' district. The resolution was put to the meeting, and carried;without adissentient. Mr Staite proposed the next resolution, to the effect: That m the' opinion of this meeting the Government be urged to establish periodical sittings of a District Court m Palmerston. He spoke at'considerable length upon the advantage to be received by putting the resolution into effect, both as a matter of convenience and saving of expense. Mr E. Wabburton supported the resolution, and m doing so, instanced the loss and inconvenience experienced m having the trial of Coker and Fisher at Wanganui. Resolution carried. Mr McNeil proposed the following resolution:— That this meeting approves of the action taken by the Manawatu County Council and Highways Board m asking the Government to make sectional roads through blocks of said land previous to sale on deferred payments, such cost to be .added to the upset price of the land. . „ •'■ • Carried. . Mr Linton proposed the following resolution:—- . : That m the opinion of this meeting the present Court-house is quite insufficient, and the want of a resident clerk is greatly felt. The resolution was carried by acclamation, after which it was resolved that the Chairman should take steps to have the different resolutions forwarded to their proper destinations. A vote «of thanks to the Chairman terminated the proceedings.