GERALDINE ROAD BOARD.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2270, 22 October 1891, Page 2

GERALDINE ROAD BOARD.

, TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —With your kind permission I wish to lay before the ratepayers of the Geraldine Road Board how things are done—how the ball rolls. At the last meeting of the Board I called their attention to the necessity of lowering the water in the culvert on the Swamp Road, that was backing up the water on my crop, but they took no notice of it because the injury, was done by a member of the board. Now, sir, I will be as concise as possible, but it will take a little space to explain this matter. In ordinary weather, and when the water has free outlet into its natural channel, the depth of the water in the culvert to which I refer is three or four inches.. One of the members has placed a dam at the outlet and backed the water 2 feet 6 or 8 inches, and this falls back on my land, which is low, flat, and swampy. It must be patent to any, honest, thinking man,, what an amount of ■ damage'over,

two feet of water will do when backed on a man’s crop. There are other features in the backing of this water which affect the ratepayers. It rises into the watertables, and keeps the road (which is of a boggy nature) soft, and when any heavytraffic comes on it it is soon cut up. The member who blocks this outlet received £lO or £ll to deepen this natural watercourse, and when ho gets that lie turns round and blocks it up. It is true, and the Geraldine Boad Board says it must be because a favorite member of the board does it. Now, sir, I think you will agree with me that this is piling on the agony with a vengeance. My crop must be sacrificed and the road partly injured, because a member of the board does it. Apologising for trespassing so far on your valuable space, I am &c., P. H. McShane. Geraldine Flae, October 16,1891 P.S.—Since writing the above I received a note from the Geraldine Boad Board letting me know that they put in a culvet low enough to give outlet to all the water. True, they have done so; but one of the members has dammed up the water 2 feet 8 inches in the culvert, and the other four sit on and say uothing, giving consent by their silence. P. H. McS.