FEILDING.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5131, 3 September 1877, Page 3

FEILDING.

(from our own correspondent.)

August 29. The question of county separation lias now reached another stage. After the petition for separation was sent from here to the Governor, a copy was forwarded to the Chairman of the Council, who reported on it without consulting the Council. In his report he made three allegations in reference to the petition, but did not think fit to request the Governor to appoint a commissioner to inquire into the matter; neither did he, as I understand, make any communication to those specially interested, but allowed the affair to rest until the action he took became known at a meeting of the Council, when it was left to the Councillors representing the petitioners to take the initiative in applying to the Governor for the appointment of a commissioner to investigate into the truth of the allegations set fortli by the chairman, which were as follows :—First : That some of the signatures to such petition were false. Second : That some of the persons whose names appeared to the petition were not entitled to sign it. Third : That the statement that the petition was signed by not less than three-fifths of the county electors for the ridings comprised within tKe proposed new county was not true. His Excellency the Governor, in response to a request made by a section of the County Council, appointed Mr. Robert Ward, R.M., a commissioner to investigate the whole matter. The Commissioner’s Court of Inquiry was opened atPalmerston on Monday last by the reading of the Governor'-s proclamation constituting the commission, and it was arranged that Mr. Thynne, the county chairman, should appear on behalf of those making allegations against the petition, and Mr. A. IV Halcombe, the member for the Manchester Riding, on behalf of the petitioners. Mr. Halcombe urged that as the county roll never was open for public inspection, it was but right that an opportunity should be afforded to purge it of names that had no right to appear on it more than once for the same riding, and also to erase the names of persons who were under age. The commissioner considered this to be a fair and equitable course of proceeding, and it was agreed to, several names being left open for further enquiry at Feilding at an adjourned sitting of the Commissioner’s Court. Mr. Thynne then pressed his objections, and the number of names on the petition was considerably reduced by the process. The commissioner brought his enquiry to a close at Redding on Wednesday, the 29th August, with the following result. . The number of names on the county electoral roll of persons who were entitled to sign was found to be 481, the exact number stated by the petitioners, and being 33 less than was alleged by the Chairman of the County Council. After purging the petition of 23 or 24 names the number allowed to remain was 289. The commissioner at the close of the enquiry said he found that the first allegation against the petition was proved to be incorrect, there being no false names ou the petition; but that the second allegation was proved, as there were some persons who had signed the petition who were not entitled to do so. The third allegation was found incorrect, as there were three-fifths of the county electors comprised within the two ridings who had signed the petition. He concluded by thanking those present for their attendance. I I am glad to be able to tell you that the petitioners, after the strictest investigation pressed against them, have shown that after all the deductions which have been made they have signed in sufficient numbers to warrant the expectation that the prayer of .their petition will be granted. The question of how long it will take to open the railway to Wanganui is being anxiously discussed. It is of great importance to the interest of the district to have the railway opened through at as early a date as possible, to enable us to exchange our commodities with those of our northern neighbors. We have timber in abundance, and can supply it sawn and split to the Rangitikei and Wanganui counties as soon as railway communication is open. At Halcombe, which is half way between Foxtou and Wanganui, an important station, depot, and workshops will, it is thought, be built. There has been a dulness for the last few weeks in the passenger traffic on the railway between here and Foxton, ' : but" the depression is probably only of a temporary character.

It is rather remarkable that since the engines on the line have been fitted with cow-catchers cows do not trespass so much on the railway as they did previously. The Manawatu Dramatic Club gave a capital entertainment at the Immigrants Depot at Fielding on the 21th August. There were many visitors from Palmerston, and the affair was most successful.