The Manawatu Times. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26, 1878.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 74, 26 June 1878, Page 2

The Manawatu Times. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26, 1878.

We a^e glad* to see that our word of warning has had at last some effect, and* that the men of Manawatu are ,at length arousing from their lethargy. In another column a notice of the convening of a public meeting will be found, having tor its • object the discussion of the following questions :— To carry put a comprehensive scheme of wharf extension at Eoxton. ' To obtain increased rolling - stock and ' ; attention on . the railway between Feilding and Foxton. To support the reduction on the carriage of white pine timber. "We must certainly congratulate the convener upon the subject matter of the : programme to be submitted, and also— as all the matters vitally affect the interest of every portion and resident of the county— that the meeting should have been made a public one, m which all could take part. We have been. informed that m addition to the general invitation embodied m. the advertisement, special letters have been forwarded to Messrs. Halcombe, Botheram, Cross, and others who attended the 3?eilding meeting. While perfectly agreeing with the step taken, we cannot see that Mr Botheram can avail himself of the invitation. He is a servant of the Government, and it is well known that as such he is not ; supposed to move m public matters, or even to correspond with the Press upon matters affecting his own department. If it be intended, however, that Mr. Botheram should be m attendance m order to bebenefitted by " valuable statisticsi "which may, and no doubt can be supplied for his information, it might be well if he would act upon the suggestion, and attend the meeting. With regard to the three questions to be dealt with, there can be no two opinions. Wd have written, so much', so strongly, and. so lately upon ithe absolute necessity f 6r a comprehensive scheme oif wnari extension at Eoxton, , /that we will pass now to the secbnd point without further remark. On the question of increased rolling-stock and attention to the section between Feilding and Foxtou, much could bei' said; and much should be saicl upon the ■matter. Aithoug^t^/ line from , Fozton to Wanganiii •jb but eighiby-six.milesj still it is a road of a peculiar character, possessing conflicting interests rarely, i$ ever, to be met with upon other lines, inasmuch as its termini are both ports, and consequently each end is a rival of the other. We have before now given our opinion as to the relative merits of Wanganiii and Poxton as outlets for our export trade, and consequently will leave the further ventilation of the matter to the speakers at the proposed meeting. However, there is one. point which we feel it our duty to bring prominently forward, m case it might, . escape notice on the night m question, and that is, that we feel convinced that the settlers, and exporters from the Manawatu will never j be dealt fairly or impartially with until i the Foxton section is again, as heretofore, placed under the charge of a manager resident at that end, thoroughly conversant with the wants of the district, and prepared to do it justice m defiance of the* pressure brought to bear at Wanganui. We fully recognise the very invidious position |n which the General IMfonager, Mr.; Botheram,, is placed, and ! sympathise with him m his dilemma, but the fact remains that before the '

junction was made between Halcombe and Marton the residents of Manawatu were far better served by the Railway Department, and there is no comparison to the facilities given to shippers between now and then. If we seek for a reason it will be found m two causes: First, a scarcity of rolling s^toek on the whole line ; and secondly/ fo meet the emergency,. Foxton has been sacrificed to Wanganui, inasmuch as the trucks and waggons virtually belonging to the former section have been transferred to the other end to relieve the want, and consequently its traffic was allowed to be at a positive standstill. As, no doubt speakers will be prepared with statistics upon the matters to be touched upon, we shall refrain from trenching upon their province by 'the publication of any, but will conclude with the reiteration of our assertion that while the antagonism which exists between Wanganui and Manawatu holds sway, the Foxton end will never, receive the " attention" asked for, unless a resident manager be appointed who will be out of the reach of fear or favor, op the influence wielded at "Wanganui.