The Temuka Leader. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1879.

Temuka Leader, Volume 2, Issue 119, 5 February 1879, Page 2

The Temuka Leader. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1879.

A discovery has just been made in connection with the Raukapuka Riding of the Geraldine County that must put a damper upon the hilarity of the promoters of the scheme for converting that riding into a separate county. It is surprising that the L-aders of that movement, particularly those around Geraldine, did not take the trouble to inform themselves what was the acreage of that riding before they went the length they did. They would have been saved the humiliation that now awaits them. An accurate survey shows the Geialdine Riding to be only about 138,000 acres. As the County Council Act requires that before any new county can be formed it must be able to present a petition signed by 100 ratepayers, and have within its bounds an area of not less than.2oo,ooo acres of land, and as the Geraldine Riding has not that, all the work of the agitators tor a separate county, oo far as Itaukapuka is concerned, goes for nothing. The only way that this riding can get away from the much hated Temuka Riding is by joining the Mount Peel Riding. This we fear would be only jumping out of the frying-pan into the tire. Now that the excitement about separation (stimulated by the 'Timaru Herald,' and fed by the persuasive, self-interested, speeches of the member for Geraldine) has passed away, it may, perhaps, not be unprofitable, so far as these agitators are concerned, to calmly review the whole case. When the settlers of Mount Cook Riding began to agitate for separation no oue in the Temuka Riding expressed a single word of dissent, being of opinion that local self-govern-ment would be more effectively carried out by that district having a county of its own. Had the matter rested here no ground for ill-feeling could have been laid hold of. But through the ingenious action of Mr Wakefield, who, although the member for the Geraldine County, and iu duty bound to consult the interests of his constituents as a whole, the Levels Riding were prompted to take action in the matter as well. Enough has been said to show that the whole thing sprang from the 'Herald' office, thtrefore we will not recapitulate the history of that intrigue. Like a revolution in a country, wheu the mob is once acted upon by a clever stump orator it is prepared for anything. So was it with the other ridings of the Geraldine County. Every Road Board district must be a county. Hot words were spoken, and hot articles were written, the result being th it the separationists went too far, and made a mess of it. If they had agreed to adopt the whole of the Counties Act separation, as far as necessary and legal, might have become an accomplished fact. As it is the Council meets on the 25th of March to divide the funds accruing to the county. This accomplished, separation would be perfectly useless for the next twelve months. Personalities were freely used during the contest, the least excusable being by the member for Mount Cook Riding. Under the influence of a Timaru conclave that gentleman seems to have lost his head. The member for Geraldine Riding, if lie held the views he professed to hold, had a grievance. If he believed that the Milford Harbour promoters aimed at expending the County funds on building a harbour instead of building bridges then ho was right in trying to guard against such expenditure, but any attempt to thus use the County's subsidies or bank deposits ho knows would be perfect folly. If it was a fear of being rated for the purpose of carrying out this work it was equally unwise. Suppose, for the sake of argument, it did turn out that the dislrict should be rated to raise funds to pay the interest of borrowed money to build this harbour, would the settlers be the losers if a tax of a shilling in the £ had to be levied all over the district between the Opihi and the Rangitata ? Would not a good harbour add pounds to the value of their property for shillings they would have to pay 1 We cannot understand how Mr Postlethwaite is so short-sighted in this njatter. Himself a large landholder —he must know that land is getting stiffer and stiffer in the market every day

—surely he would bo largely beiu fited by .Milfonf IL.rbour becoming ;\ realiiy. So would the wlinlc of South Canterbury. What is it that so enhances the value of land? Is is not ready access to good markets'? Did not the land near Timaru mount up enormously in value the moment it was certain harbour works would be proceeded with there ? Would it not be so all over this district—even the town of Geraldine would be more benefited than Temuka township? How then can Mr Postlethwaite, or any other landed proprietor in this district, adopt such a suh-idal policy as to set up an opposition to this work 1 Would it not he better for them to put their shoulder to the wheel and help on the work that will be the making- of the district, and would it not be better for the country to keep together and attend to the interests of the inland towns than aL ow them to be swallowed up by one large domineering city ? This very day the ' Timaru Herald ' cries out against the large towns depriving lie smaller ones of their j'et it never loses a chance of drawing off the support that should be given to the small struggling inland townships in South Canterbury, in order that it may aggrandise Timaru ! We warn our fellow settlers that if they continue to give countenance to this policy Deither the Geraldine, Winchester, Temuka, or the Point townships will in a few years be worth half the money they are now worth. Let not the industrious classes of this large and wealthy county be hoodwinked by plausible speeches, or deceived by personal animosity. Let them see to it that they show to their leaders that they will not be blindly led by the blind. What is there to be gained by separation of the county ? So far as our interests this side of Timaru are concerned will it bring more money into the district 1 Will it give it greater weight in Colonial questions? Will it increase the value of land ? Will it help to bring population to consume our produce ? These questions we leave our readers to answer for themselves. There may be other reasons for opposition. Some people, for instance, are unhappy if they see another prospering, and are o-rieved if any good windfall should happen to them by their exertions, and will even keep back if they can anything that tends to enrich their neighbour. Others there are who can see no good in anything that is not of their own originating. Others because some of those who are connected with the enterprise may have offended them. Such reasons ought to .have no place in the councils of the rulers of a country, especially a new country, nor should they be encouraged by those who «re the bone and sinew of a country such as ours. One misfortune this colony, even this province, has had and still has to some extent to contend with, is this : the large land or property holders have been accustomed to rule the country as they thought fit, and when this power is attempted to be wrested from them they cannot stand it. One class, and one class alone, in their opinion are only worthy of being consulted. If any fearless spirit dare's to speak the truth and to say we will have this no longer he is immediately branded as a contumacious disturber of the peace. Let us tell such arbitrary rulers that times are changed. The rich are in a good many cases becoming poor, and the poor becoming rich. In this generation a remnant may still try to lord it over the tillers of the soil, and may still keep up si mock aristocracy, but the next generation, possibly only a few years honoe, may teach them that those they try to crush will have the upper hand. We bear no ill-will to any man, however rich. It is not the men but the laws of the land that allow such privileges as we condemn, and when speaking of a class it is not the individuals of that class that we oppose, and when we say a change is taking place it is the conducting the business that we have in view. Who so blind as not to see that the squatters for instance are losing ground in the favor of the country ? How difficult has it already become for a large landholder to get elected to any post. As times wear on this will become more and more the case. They have only themselves to blame. By abusing the power they had in their hands they exasperated many who had as good blood in their veins, and as fine a pedigree as they had. Tne result is they are losing caste. One chance remains for them, and that is to come down from their high pedestal and mingle more with the people. There would then be more unity in County Councils as in other matters. Possibly there is a little pride mixed with this County Council division. For this, or fcr anything else, whatever it is, let us lay it aside, and not let the Geraldine County be the only county in New Zealand that does not adopt the whole Act. Unity is strength, let us be united. At the risk of being called selfish we must tender our advice in this case.

Coursing Club.—A special meeting of tlie Committee was held on Monday evening, to consider a telegram from the Secretary of the North Otago Coursing Club, asking this Club to send a delegate to Dunedin on the 6th inst, to meet delegates from other Clubs re the holding of a New Zealand .Waterloo Meeting. It was resolved to send Mr B. Thompson in the interests of, and to represent the Club, the Club paying his expenses. A "Wakning.—At a late sitting of the R. M. Court at Ashburton several persons summoned for allowing cattle to wander at large neglected to appear. Mr Campbell stated that a person so offending ran the risk ot having a warrant issued for his apprehension. Milfo-rd llaebouk. —The following are the names ot the gentlemen gazetted as members of the Milford Hrrbour Board : —Messrs Tripp, Postlethwaite, Talbot, Beswiek, and Smith, Chairmen of the fivo Eoad Boards in the County, with Messrs Eolleston, Ilayhurst, Mendelson, and Wilson, as local members. We understand the first meeting will take place on Tuesday, the 11th inst., at 3 p.m., in the Temuka Eoad Board Office. Magisterial Inquiry.—Tuesday's' Mail' says : Yesterday a letter signed by all the barristers and solicitors in Ashburton was despatched to the Minister of Justice, asking that a public inquiry might be held regarding the official competency of Mr Alexander Le Grand Campbell, Eesident Magistrate, and also as regards the conduct of the general business of the Resident Magistrate's Court, Ashburton.

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