PUBLIC MEETING RE CEMETERY.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 179, 20 November 1886, Page 2

PUBLIC MEETING RE CEMETERY.

On Monlay evening lasL a public meeting was held in the To Arolia Public Hall to discuss ami lake acton re the present neglected condition of the Te Aroha Cemetery. Tho mooting was a largely attended anl representative one. Rev. Jas. Marshall was voted to the chair, and opened the meeting by stating the purpose for which ib had been convened, and expressing the great gratification it afforded him to see at last something likely to be done to improve the cemetery after all the past years of total neglect. lie considered the present condition of the cemeteiy was a disgrace to any community, and .also he believed contrary to law. To Aroha Cemetery •was tho burial ground of a very large district, embracing in addition to Te Aroha, Waiorongomai, Shaftesbuiy, Waitoa, Morrinsville, Te Aroha West, etc. INot only hail the cemetery been left unfenced for years past, but no byelaws were -in force for regulating burials, and everybody could go and bury as they liked, as the cemetery had never even been laid off by proper surveying ; and if this sort of thing were allowed to continiiCj by and bye it would be impossible to have the cemetery properly laid off, as graves Mould be in the way. Prompt steps should bo taken to h,iv.e the cemetery fenced, laid off, planted, and otherwise improve 1 r.'id cared for. It was for that meeting to try and find out why such neglect had been shown, ami tiiko, some steps to remedy it. Mr Devey (convener of the meeting), said the last time he visited the cemetery he found the pegs he bad put down shortly ( before to mark a grave disturbed, and had to dig and' search about to find out the position of sa-ne. One of those present that night from Waiorongomai had promised to raise £20 towards a fund for improving the cemetery. Mr 11. McLiver said : It gave him a certain amount of pleasure, but also of sadness to be present and take part in their meeting. Perhaps he felt more deeply than some present did on the matter, as the only tie he had got had lately been laid to rest in the cemetery. With respect to the Trustees he did not wisli to say anything, but hoped tint as public action uaa being taken all would work unitedly, having so woithy a matter in hand. He and some of his Mends were prepaied to find £20 to start work, if others would take up the .natter arid assisf. The Chairman said : He thought it would be well if any trustee weie present for him to stop forward and state why the cemetery was in its-present neglected state, as if 'there were trustees who failed or neglected to do. their duty in such an important matter, and who still stuck to their seats, it would be necessary to take steps to compel them to resignV ' . ; X ] .- t In response to this request, Mr <J7 Lavery said : He was one of the Trustees, and only last week saw Messrs Stafford and Whitaker (two other Trustees who had long left 'the district) in Auckland and asked them to resign, "which they had promised to do ; . whilkt just about three weeks ago he had received a letter from Mr E. F. Roche, another Trustee, resigning his seat, on the ground that he lived too far away! to attend, and ho never had attended any meeting of the Trustees ; this resignation he had given to Mr G. Wilson to forward to Government. Mr Lipsey was the. other Trustee, and Mr Lavery further stated that they never had been able to get a quorum. He had written to the Waitoa Road Board,- asking for. a grant, but they had declined to assist ; ho had also frequently asked people to subscribe but was always refused, and it was .not for .- the Trustees to pat their hands. in* their ownipookets to provide funds,l ''Mr WMtaker-wheri' member ;of thc"Eiako~County Council for Te Aroha, had got the promise* of a grant of .about £20 for the cemetery, and Mr Purchas, the engineer to the council' at that time, had beeir instructed to call for- tenders for fencing it in, etc., but when the tenders w,ere sont in Mr Whitaker said ho thought no tender had better be accepted until the goldfields tramway which was then in course of construction had been completed, as it required all the monpy they could 'find; and nothing furthjer being done! tho grant' was later km-with-drawn by.the.cpunty* , > ' The Chairman :• From Mr Lavery's own statement that they could never get a quoium, etc., it appears. '.evident', the right men were not in the right place, and never have been ; and it is quite evident the ! Trustees have totally neglected their duty.' ' l ' ' i Several others' present took part Jin -the discussion, that ensued, and the opinion was generally expressed tliat there had been great neglect somewhoro or the cemet'eiy would never have been allowed t6 remain in such a disgraceful condition all these yeai's. If there were

Trustees^ \villirig to "act, but unable to do so .through the Mndiffconco of others, they, could have made some effort* long since to hove them replaced by othei's who woidd attend the meetings, or failing that have brought things to an issue by resignirig themselves. For three' "years nothing had been done, and it looked as if for years to come things would have gone on much the same if the public had not taken the matter up. - Mr-llott stated he; had communicated with Government some time back with respect to who the existing trustees were, and had received the following telegram in reply dated Wellington, Sept. 22, which he handed the Chairman to read to the meeting : " The names of the Cemetery Trustees are C. S. Stafford, E. F. Roche, G. Lipsey, 11. E. Wintaker, and J. Lavery, but Messrs Stafford, Whitaker, and Roche have resigned/ Messrs Lavery and Ilott both stated that Messrs J." and T. Wood, of To Aroha, had very generously some three years ngo lent a pair of horses, etc., for several days, whereby some of the cemetery land ha 1 been improved by being ploughed and sown clown in grass. Mr Mills proposed that Messrs H. McLiver, F. Pavitfc, and J. A. Dobson be nominated to fill the vacancies on the Board of Trustees. Seconded by Mr J. Comes. Mr D. J. Frazer : I think the Roman Catholics should be represented on the Board, and with that object in view I beg to propose that Mr P. Quinlan be nominated in the room of Mi* Dobson ; the seconder to the resolution acquiescing to this change, the motion was put and carried. It was further resolved that the chair-, man be requested to forward the names of those nominated to the Government, requesting if approved of, that they be gazetted. A further resolution to the effect that this meeting viesvs with regiet the present very unsatisfactory state cf Te Aroha Cemetery, and that the chairman be authorised to forward the names of those nominated to Government, and at the same time requesting that the apJ pointments be confirmed with* as little delay as possible was moved. i An amendment was proposed by Mr -Mills and seconded by MrWhitehouse, to the effect that the forgoing resolution should contain nothing which would be condemnatory re the conduct of the trustees originally appointed ; but on being put, only the mover, seconder, anil another voted for it. It was decided that steps should be at once taken to collect money for the purpose of having the cemetery fenced, laid off, etc., and Messrs Frazer, Heathcote, and Me Liver, were constituted a committee for that purpose, with power to add to their number, so that when the new trustees are appointed the Board may have some funds to work with. The meeting was in every way a satisfactory one, and closed with a vote of thanks, to the chair, moved by Mr Ilott