RAGLAN, THE DEAD-ALIVE.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 December 1916, Page 7

RAGLAN, THE DEAD-ALIVE.

To the Editor. Sir,—ln Wednesday's Dailv News vou quote the Waimate Witness something of the sayings and doings of Mr. J. O'C'onnoll, said to bo (, wellknown Manaia. settlor, who lias taken up 200 acres (think of that, now!) in the Raglan district, and therefore considers himself entitled to discuss hi* new neighbors in terms v.hii-h are hanllv .complimentary. He describes the land as "good grass country, and should be wei] adapted for sheep." So it should be, seeing that the official- returns for R,ag!an county alone. April llll.j, flowed flocks totalling 181,070,. on which just •half" were breeding ewes, beins an increase of 100.0 DO in 11 years. 'The population is summed' up as "small but happy," and it is to be hoped that Mr. O'Connell's advent will not'prove a disturbing factor. The chemist who sup'plies the town with milk and opens his shop once a wook is a venerable gentleman who "made his pile" at his business in Queen street, Auckland, but sold out many years ago in order to onjov the climate and restfulness of Raglan, whore lie 'has attained to a great age, but is still actively to the fore in every movement calculated to benefit the community. The little lock-up drug store simply exists as a convenience to the public, for the health of the residents is so good that the popular local medico is able to attend cases, dispense his own prescriptions, and find time to take a load in the out-door recreations which help to make' life plensant in the town by the sea. The ; 'rouse-about at the local public-house" who officiates as barber is not easy to locate, for there are two excellent hotels, Harbor View and Royal, either of them superior to any in Manaia, but no doubt the artist in question feels that he is doing his best to fill the place of the tonsorial professor who, like nearly every able-bodied inhabitant of .fighting age, is at the front doing his bit for the Empire. The Plains have done pretty well in this respect, but must take a back seat in comparison with Raglan in proportion to population,. Mr. O'Connell's statement that "the town is as,..primitivo and as baekward'as it was 30 -years ago" is simply untrue and uncalled for. It is a pity that more Taranaki people do not make themselves acquainted' with the fine district vhich lies so near to us, only 90 miles up the coast. Unfortunately we have not now regular steamship communication except by way of Onehunga, though once in a way the steamer makes a call. For instance, next Tuesday, when the Arapawa loaves Waitara on the'evening tide, it w!l be ar the Kawhia wharf by daylight and land her passengers at Raglan by midday. No pleasanter trip can be made when weather conditions arc favorable, and the visitor can always depend upon good accommodation .at reasonable rates.—l am, etc., S. PELHAM, (late Chairman Raglan Town Board, now of Samoa).