PIAKO COUNTY COUNCIL.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXII, Issue 42784, 28 September 1905, Page 2

PIAKO COUNTY COUNCIL.

(To the Editor.) SiR, —At the last meeting of the Council, two members voted for selling the horses, all the others voted against. They all admitted they were not gotting value for the expenditure incurred on men and horses. Some of the Councillors stated that if they sold the horses they would be at the. mercy of the contractors. I have penned the following few lines on the action, management and coming election of our Co inty Council, to remind all Ratepayers what their duties ill be at the olecti m, trusting you will find space for my few lines. I am, etc., Reform. THE REFORMER’S BATTLE SONG.

Am —Tramp, tramp, tramp, the boys are marching. 1. Hark, the battle has begun, Let us give the Councillors a run. Raise on high the flag of freedom with a cheer, Gather round us faithful friends, ~ J ’bp right that Ged defends,

Clasp the standard of the people ever dear. Chorus.—-Fling out our banner well and proudly, March together to the fray; Victory shall be outb to-day, Chant aloud our song of freedom high and strong. 2. See your foes are drawing near, Mark, their faces wear a sneer. Honest contractors they all decry, Dress your ranks before the crew, Show what Reformers now can do, All their scoffing sneers and insults we defy.—Chorus. 3. Now is the time to show your strength, And the day has come at length, Seize the chances and strike your foe with might and main. Teach them such a lesson too, That their administration they will rue, And they needn’t try their dirty work again.—Chorus. 4. Men and women, voters all, Listen to the trumpet call, Strike for home and reform to the last. Fling yourselves upon the foe, Rout them, scout them, lay them low, For Reform Candidates let your votes be cast. —Chorus. Refobh. (To the Editor.) Sir. —ln view of recent poetical attempts in your columns, 1 should be glad if you • could find room for the enclosed which I have just written, thanking you in anticipation, yours, etc., Roland. FOUL WEATHER. O you stormy, stormy Petrel ? You’re a fighter to the core, But you don’t retain the carefulness You did in times of yore. 0 what’s this latest scheme of yours, To rope the ridings in ? To rob us of our spending rights Is really worse than sin. We love our country gee-gees, They are our faithful friends. And yet you’d have us throw them o’er To gain your monstrous ends. We fear yon not, alone, nor with Your gang of followers cold, But don’t annoy the Council With your fallacies untold. Our roads are true os one oould wish In weather dry or wet, So keep your hair on, Stormy One, Sit down, and don’t forget. —Roland Sir,—As I seom to have offended your correspondent, “ John Williams,” I will make no further reference to his letters, but proceed to show that Te Aroha has very little indeed to thank the Seddon Administration for. Let any reasonable man compare Rotorua’s and Te Aroha Votes on the Estimates, and say that he considers the paltry £3OO. we are promised a fair share of public expenditure; s *me people argue that the Tourist Department expenditure in salaries, and upkeep should be taken into account, but they will find that it amounts to very little indeed, when the income from Doctor’s, and bath fees are deducted. Again, the Government know that they have a valuable property there, and one that is bound to be more extensively patronised as the curative nature |of our Thermal Waters becomes known ; therefore, the expense of development is a repr iductive investment. Their neglect >f the Railway Station is disgraceful, when one reads th«ir high faluting Tourist literature, which in viten the halt, lame and sick to pay an excessive railway fare, and at the end of the journey coolly dumps th°m on an open platform, which is cold and wet in winter, or smoking hot# in summer. Our Mayor seems to have lost interest in us, as one sees but little of him in Te Aroha now, so I suppose we must be content to wait till we get Candidates for Parliament before us, when local eloquence should be organised to make an effort to shake up the laggard crowd, who are sure to go back to power again with their labour union, old age pan--8 on, one-man-one-vote backing. Truly, the North is out in the cold with Seddon and his partyone has only to read the estimates to s <e it.—l am, etc., Rip Van Winkle.

Sir. —In Saturday's supplement or th*» “H-rald” that genial writef “Mercutio” asks who is J. Barrett <* Chiistchurch, now on a visit to the Old C untry, and being interviewed by u reporter of the Leitrim Observer? ftjr Mercutio begins “ I see that he pro.nouiteed Mr Seddon to be one of the greatest statesmen of the present day.” For Mercutio’# information I can say that I knew Mr J. Barrett very well. He Ih an old West Coaster, and came to Hokitika in March, 1865. In partner ship with a Air Sheehau, he carried on a business in Wharf -street, a part of the town which was washed away by flood some years ago. Mossrs Barrett and Sheehan’s business place was on the nextsecion to Throgmorton’s, the hard ware and timber merchant. What memories th -se names call to ray mind ! Thiogmor on was a very weal hy man in those days, but he died in Queensland with hie swag on his back- -what interesting reading the history of the early colonist would make. 4 host of other names occur to my miud of men w ho have done good work for New 7i aland, aud with your permission I will give a few of them. The late Hon. A. J. Bonner, merchant and shipping agent, at one tim » representing Westland in the House, is a mm who always gained the good-will and re* epect of all who came in c mtact wi h him in the early days of Hokitika. Others are Mr Jas. Chesney, Mr D. W. Virtue, general merchant, who-<e son is now manager of the Northern Roller Mills, Mr O. W. Bennie, who is now in Auckland, Mr Northc'oft, brother of Mr R. M. Northcroft, of the Waikato, The Church was represented by the now Archdeacon Harper of Christchurch, Presbyterianism by the Rev. John Gow, and what old miner can forget the general Father Roland, whe recently died in Reeftou : ho was a Catholic in every sense of the word, and a man who was universally liked, and was never known to be stopped by w< at’ier <>r roads when going around his dis rict. The clergymen in those days did noble work, and there was a brotherly feeling between them. I will remember oue ins ance that will serve to illustrate this position. One time at a rush, a good old 1 cal Wesleyan preacher name l McLean was holding forth from a stump. The Bishop «.f Nelson was expected, but did not arrive until Mr McLean had begun his discourse* On ssalising thti^

he was late, the Bishop went to the stump, and would not allow the preacher to stop. These two men have since then both received well deserved reward, and I doubt not that they and Father Roland are good friends still. But, Mr Editor, I find that I am wandering away from Mr Barrett. There was no more bitter opponent of Mr Seddon in the early days than the same Mr Barrett, but later when he reconised Mr Seddon’s fearless stand tor what is fair and right, .he turned his opposition into support. Every old West Coaster knows that Mr Seddon never forgot a friend or turned his back oh an enemy. I notice from time to time that even when Mercu'io, as in duty bound, has a dig at Mr Seddon, it is really a very friendly one for deep down in his heart (which I believe is a kindly one), he has a deep respect for the man who from the humblest beginning has successfully climbed the ladder of fame. One word, sir, with your kind per* mission, to those members of the House who are everlastingly sneering at the West Coast. When that gold* field wis opened, the colony was in a deplorable state. I have known men working f-r five shillings a week and their food, and showing the state things were in, I recall a New Chum girl being asked where her brother was, to which she replied, “ Sure he has his blankets on his back and has gone begging the same as the rest ” The gold found on the West Coast saved New Zealand : the benefit of it was felt from Auckland to the Bluff. I scarcely blam9 the members, however, for their attitude, for some of them are to'ally ignorant of the history of New Zealand, Mr Seddon knows that no part of the colony has done more for the advancement of New Zealand than the West Coast, and in my humble opinion he has not done enough for it.—l am, etc., John Williams,