CORRESPONDENCE

Te Aroha News, Volume II, Issue 98, 18 April 1885, Page 7

CORRESPONDENCE

Under no circumstance is the' Editor responsible for the matter contained in corresponuence.

(TO THE EDITOR.) Sir, — In your tissue of lant Saturday appean a letter from Mrs Barker, addressed to the Chairman of the JPiako County Council. As I have no wish that the public should be led by the misstatements in it, to believe that I would act harshly or. unjustly towards a poorer neighbour, I shall be obliged by your publishing the following facts in your next issue: — A roadwaj between Barker's two paddocks to the wharf has existed since the formation of the settlemeut. C n application to Messrs Grant and Foster's agent, I was informed that thid roadway was not included in Barker's' land, but was reserved for the use of the put>lic, so I declined to pay Barker's, demand for th« use of it. Mrs Barker had a post and rail, fence put'acro«B it, so I applied to the Crown lands office and also to the agent/ Mr . E. W. Hsiuiner. Pending replies, at the

only way of getting to tt 1 ':1: 1 uhai'F, which", is the ?«'ie poi'it at which horses and cattle run be c ns?ed, I «mU the two wiro fences which, jrVrker hud put across the public real way on the rivur reserve. On vtareh 23rd I received a telegram from Mr Hanmer, stating that the Commissioner of Oovvi t dvnnd.<; fnfornied him, that the road through Barker's wis a. public one^and 'cpufd noVbe {slopped by, anyone. Acting on this, I~ requested Mrs Barker to remove the fence, and as she declined, I did so myself. I have also received a letter from the Crown Land? Office stating thai; the toad is a p'lb,-' Le ove, shown on the plans in the office This dispute about the road, in which I have acted as much for the public, interest as my own, is the only grievance that I know of Mrs Barker having against, me and she cannot or will not vmderstand that where the land on a river reserve is required for use, the public have full right to make «se of it, but where it is not so required it is customary for the owner of the adjoining land to make use of it. If 'the public were shut out from her road, ( the Government road would first have to he formed through a piece of swamp to the (idgo of the rivet, and then as cattle could not be crossed at that point, the road would have to be continued round th« river reserve to the wharf by which Mrs Barker would have to give up the use of three times as much land as the area of the piece occupied by the road ! in dispute— -I am, &c., Edward Y» Cox. The Pines, Shaftesbury, April 9, 1885. [The above letter was not received by us till Monday morning last, so that we had no opportunity of publishing it as requested in last issue.-— Ed. A.M.]