MR SHERWOOD AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS.

Patea Mail, Volume III, Issue 303, 13 March 1878, Page 2

MR SHERWOOD AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS.

(To the Editor of the Pat la Mail.) Sir,—l must again ropiest you to afford me space in your columns to refer to certain

public matters connected with the abovementioned person. In the first place, I notice that he stated in ins last letter; that I must comply with a certain condition before be will take notice of any letter signed by me. I may state, once for ail, that I intend to make no further apology. I apologized to him 'personally immediately 1 found out my error, ami wrote to the cnairman of his meeting at .Manmahi, which letter was published in the Batka Mai:, by Mr Sherwood —so, if he wishes to -take any legal action* he can commence as soon as he likes.

In my previous letter 1 questioned the ability of Mr Sherwood to conduct public affairs, and now intend to prove tiiat be is unfit to carry out trusts reposed in him. In his letter he states that the object ho had in view, in applying for the sections fronting the river, was, that the Carlyle Town Board should hold them in trust for a particular object, and prevent them being manipulated. I must, however; say, that when Mr Sherwood endeavoured to get them handed over to the Carlyle Town Board,- nothing was said about holding them in trust.

If the Carlyle Town Board had obtained these reserves in trust, they would, I suppose, have been manipulated by ihe Board,like the Cemetery, Jail, Hospital and Recreation Ground trusts.

Yesterday, as a ratepayer, I inspected the books of the Carlyle Town Board, and found that Messrs Sherwood am! Tapingtwo of the members off the Board, had been appointed a sub-committee to square accounts between trusts mentioned ami the Board, with the following results :

that the sum of Ah has been charged by the Committee lor management Of the' reserve®. Ido not say tlial the amount is excessive, bat consider I hat, m.-tead ofcharging -Ids each, any person, with business capacity, would have charged in proportion to the amount collected—-(The Board lias received 4172, three half-years rent from the Cemetery Reserve ; and £B, ond half-years rent from the Jail Reserve). The sum of £5 is charged in -Jail Reserve account for survey and sundries, which, I suppose, can be divided in the same way as the £d charged in the Hospital Reserve account lor survey, jaw expenses and pegs —therefore,the amount charged for survey of those two reserves is £G. Mr Fraser received the sum of £7 11s for surveyin'*' these two reserves and a huge number of Town Board reserves—so that these trusts arc debited with mo huge a proportion of Mr Fraser's account. Any surveyor wottbl survey these reserves separately for £1 Is each. The next item is that of law expenses. 80s each. 1 could not obtain any information as to who had received these amounts. The charge 10s per .section for pegs is also excessive. I understand the Jail and Hospital Reserves took six pegs between them. The Board pays Gil each and charge As -Id each—not a had profit. Willi reference to item £7 charged in Recreation Ground Reserve account for survey and sundries, there is no data in the office to show that .such a.u amount should have been charged ; and the reason that the item £lO, for compensation paid to John Collins appears, is, that the Board leased a piece of land twice over. The Cemetery Reserve seems to have been a good milch cow—£lo has been obtained from it for sundries and survey. How - the Committee managed to arrive at that amount, I cannot say. Certainly there is nothing in the hooks ofthe Board to warrant thorn in charging this amount or any portion of it ■ Survey fees arc charged separately in the account, viz., £lO Is, and £5 for a man, and the receipts in the possession of the Board amount to the sum mentioned. Even the item of 2s for seeds is particularised, and yet tin's £lO is charged to the account ami no vouchers to show for it.

No doubt the ratepayers of Carlyle arc the gainers by the trust accounts being manipulated , but I do not think (he ratepayers require their representatives to charge more than a fair amount for managing the tresis ; ami it is to he hoped that now attention has been called to the matter, the Board will appoint a more competent Committee to adjust the amounts, and I think Mr Sherwood's stylo of managing trusts will not meet with the approval of ratepayers. I understand .Mr Sherwood intends to devote the guinea lie obtained from mo today, as costs in the Harbour election petition case, to some public institution, If I had thought of it at the time some institution would he minus the amount, for I should have allowed him to sue me for the amount, when I eouid have put nr a contra account as a set off and thereby saved a guinea.—l am, &c.. W. DALE. Carl vie Bth March, IB7S.

Dr.- Hospital Reserve.- £ S. cl. £ 1 To cost of sale 0 U) 1 P.y real revd 2 "g To Crown gt, 1 1G 0 By balance 7 7 To survey ... 2 0 0 To law exps. 1 10 0 To pegs ... 0 10 0 To uianginnf. 2 i» 0 £9 11 I £9 11 I Dr.- Jail Reserve.Cv. £ s . cl. £ s. a.To co ;t of sale O' 11 ■4 Bv rent reed 2 0 0 To Crown gt. 1 1G 0 By 1 ulaneo G 12 4 To survey k sundries ... .1 0 0 'To inangmnt. 2 5 P £9 12 -1 £9 12 4: Dr. Rl-XifL-VATiON C HOUND RESERVE. Civ £ s.d. ;£ ;s d,Cost of sale 2 1. 4 Rent revd ;.S 0 0 Crown irrun-r- 1 1G 0 Balance ... ~> Di 4 Survey an<l simdric; 7 10 0 Cm pn-rvion J. Collins 10 0 0 Duty stamp 0 1 iV Managment 2 (> y 22 111 4 jd;; 12 4 Dr,- Cemetery Reserve'. Cl-. ,2 s. d. £ S. d.Cos! of sale 2 .19 1) Jem': revd 72 0 (I Seeds 0 2 0 Phare of Srvy re map 2-1 1 0 fen c- i n g Fencing ... 29 12 s (■ SuitRiy ) J ;) 4 Calcs *.* 11 o Crown grant 1 hi 0 Survey and sundries U> 0 (J id anagment. 2 A 0 Bukin eo ... <* 2 K £77 9 4 £77 ‘V •1 In Use above '■eun’s it will be SeVil