The Standard AND PEOPLE'S ADVOCATE. (PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAY.) WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1875.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume III, Issue 311, 29 September 1875, Page 2

The Standard AND PEOPLE'S ADVOCATE. (PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAY.)

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1875.

" W« shall Bclttp.no mai| j’irtire or right: We shall deiijr tjo do niaujjnstice orrigbt: We shall defer to do man justice or right.”

A MOST important and numerously «ig»od petition, fronrGislMtne, la.the House of Representatives,. wiljbe transmitted to Wellington, to-mOrroW,. by the Rangatira. It prays that the' sale of the Patjitalii ?lock i>e deferred jun til after the Abolition Bill is in force ; and that the sale do take place in this district, of which timely notice should be given. A more ’reasonable* reqttdft Could not,- wethinky be made. To HioLd Abe sale , elsewhere, and that, too, at a short notice, and before the Abolition of the Provinces is would be subversive bf that which %he settlers of Poverty Bay are entitled from the General Government, and which ought to’ be' accorded to them without being necessitated to havij tlQ-a manorial an£. thur occupy "the position '"of hUtrffife -supC pliants for their just rights. It is, indeed, painful to contemplate that almost every concession made by the Government now-a-days has to be extorted from (hem by agitation—a proceediug; Jf djgagreieable,, mtfst not be shrunk from when the requirements of the public demand it, as' is, undoubtedly,- the casp in this instance. Nothing is asked for in the petition but what is undeniably reasonable; and we cannot see how the Government can refuse tortimply with it'. Our local members —Messrs. Jojinson’ and KellT—witt’”' if be hoped, strongly support it,- qp its joaerita, being, as they are, well acquainted with the unmistakable feeling that! exists in Poverty Bay in regard to the disposal of the land in question. Comprehensiyp.jirid ? aa ; the petition is, it does not, in our opinion, fully meet the'circumstances of the case. A clause, should have been added setting forth' thd' J a'bsislufe necessity of erecting the bridge 9y,eF the Waipaoa—-for which tenders have been already the sale of this valuable land, which is capable of being utilised'to-the greatest’ advantage.. It ip admittedly the richest rmiil'ih the Bay,’ and’ the most* should be made of it. Tq -cut it up into small allotments for farming purposes mnder ‘ the * “’Homestead System” —the Regulations for which appear in another eoluinn—would realise a handsome amount of money* as compared to what it would by the disposal of the block in large sections, Hot to speak of the additional benefit vyhich would accrue from the settlement of an industrious class of agriculturists amongst us. But how can this be affected without the bridge ? At present the' Pattftfihi is all but impracticable, and with such , a formidable drawback it would be absurd to suppose that the “ Homestead System ” could be effectually carried out there. Small settlers would require greater facilities of communication with Gisborne than are available until the bridge is constructed, and this the Government cannot possibly be ignorant of. The tillers of the soil who “ earn their “ bread by the sweat <jf their J brows,” Would naturally feel indisposed to settle dowij -in a • locality like Patutahi, where they would be surrounded by rivers whieh J ''ai*e frequently uncrossable, and thus so cut off from the town as to make siifih’is'olation an intolerable inconvenience. As it will take ten or twelve months, at least, to erect the bridge, and as it is very probable—nay, sure —that unless it is completed by the time the sale takes place, the land will fall into the hands of capitalists, who may convert it into a sheep-walk, the work should be proceeded with at once. The money having been promised for the structure, and plans and specifications having, no doubt, been prepared for it, we cannot conceive why any f urther delay should take place in building it, especially, as the Government hare been repeatedly importuned, to do so. When the tendeW were"’’ invited we took it for granted that prompt action in the matter was meant, but in this we were sadly disappointed, and our faith in the Department of Works, which was never very strong, has been, consequently, completely shaken. Now that the summer is approaching, and the weather becoming more and more favorable for undertakings of agigantic character, the Hon. Mr.' Richaubson should lose no time in entering into a contract for the erection of the bridge. He knows that his inexcusable prevarication and dilatoriness in this affair have already provoked the indignation of the people of Poverty Bay towards him, and that the only way in which he can appease their righteous anger is to set about the performance of this most urgent work with alt -convenient speed. e| . ;