PATEA COUNTY MAIL PUBLISHED Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 1881. RIVAL POLITICIANS.

Patea Mail, 21 June 1881, Page 2

PATEA COUNTY MAIL PUBLISHED Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 1881. RIVAL POLITICIANS.

The political meeting held in Patea last week may be taken as one of many signs of a coming election. We cannot pretend to know what special object Mr Sherwood had in calling that meeting. He keeps his own counsel. There is evidence in his speech that he has not abandoned his former claim to represent the constituency in Parliament. Major Atkinson seems to put the same interpretation on Mr Sherwood’s public meeting, and asks the electors, by advertisement, to suspend their judgment till he can return to the district and answer for himself. It is unfortunate that Mr Sherwood’s meeting should have been fixed at a time when the Major’s hands are tied by imperative duties at headquarters. It is true the Patea Town Hall was not available when wanted, but while admitting that plea, it is not the less unfortunate that a personal criticism of this pointed and damaging nature should be floated on the political atmosphere just when the person who has to answer it is precluded from doing so by higher duties. As to the criticism itself, it is specific and comprehensive, though lacking the quality of friendly conciliation. No public man could escape the necessity 0* offering some defence to such an indictment. It must be apparent, too, that there is much truth in the general charge of slackness, in not securing expenditure of money for this Coast Railway in the early period of the Major’s representation, when the money was there to spend, but the energy was not there to spend it. It needs a largo imagination to realise the difference which the early completion of that Railway would have made to the prosperous settlement of this Coast. Such effort as was made when the money had been first voted was made at the Taranaki end, and nowhere else. The Major’s mistake was that he left this end of his district to take care of itself. It is no answer to say a railway can be made cheaper by beginning at two remote ends like Wanganui and New Plymouth, working to join midway. This Railway was to be made with the utmost speed, to pierce debatable territory and end the native difficulty. The dearest method of making the line would have been cheap as compared with the costly agony of this prolonged native trouble. That is the opinion we had formed before Mr Sherwood’s speech supplied any new evidence. It is not desirable to harp too much on what has been and what might have been. This local grievance may be atoned for, without bitter words. The Major may recognise that the settled part of Patea district has had its prosperity kept back by want of that early expenditure which is now represented mainly by lapsed votes instead of a finished Railway. The line is now being completed as quickly, we believe, as financial exigencies will permit. There is evidence that the member for Egmont is earnestly pressing this work forward, and to interfere at this time will only embarrass his action in Parliament. One other thing he can do for the district with a good grace, and any lingering dissatisfaction may be thereby appeased. In his capacity as Treasurer he has to require the Patea Harbor Board to provide a sinking fund for repaying the loan of ten thousand pounds. He knows it is not much use trying to take the breeks off' a Highlander. Let him put his energy into-the shape of a bill for endowing this harbor on a reasonable equality with others, to enable the Board to pay the loan by instalments, leaving sufficient margin to continue the construction of the breakwater at a moderate speed, and so provide the commercial outlet which the district needs. He will find there will not be much to answer for after that.