AROWHENUA.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2407, 4 October 1892, Page 2

AROWHENUA.

TO THE EDITOR.

Sir, —Where are the politicians ? Are they all so Conservative as to be frightened to take up their pen to thank you publicly for the way in which you have championed the cauße of the ratepayers again t the Timaru Harbor Board ? Surely no one can doubt your sincerity after seeing the fearless way in which you summed up the disgraceful waste of the ratepayers' money. Surely people must must know that you have their cause at heart, and that you have done the best that lies in your power to protect th6m. Sir, I would ask a space in your widelycirculated paper for this letter, as there may be some misapprehension in regard regard to the election of the same mem* bera of the Arowhenua Town Board again. Those who read yotir paper may think it was because their doings were so satisfactory to the ratepayers. Nothing of the kind. It is the cursed law which gives a few the .claim to a handful of voting papers, and they can put in who they please. If it was one man one vote not one of those on the board now would have a seat. To prove my assertion I must speak of some of their doingsi First, they actually spent nearly the whole of one year's rates on a wheelbarrow bridge or a daylight bridge—for it is not safe by night to drive over—and is not required by any people living in the township. lam sorry to have to say it, but had I not used my influence many of the roads in the township would be lost to the public for ever. The late board would have done so, and would have been glad to have taken, two more roads to be tak*n away from the public for over. They have received money from the Land Board to make them with, M t'11.93 6 r oads are in the deferred-payment portion of the. township, which they are disregardful pf. Mr- Russell set up his opinion against thirty ratepayers and three of the public, saying they WW not required. Now before . Arowhenua was made a town district I wrote to the Temuka Road Board asking for Maude street to be opened up, as bemg on© of the two roads across the town leading out and into the country. [ It was six months before they did it. Onca more I wrote to them asking for Princess street to be opened up, and the clerk was instructed to report upon it next board day. RernomV ring the six months which it took to open up the, other road I wrote to the Irmd Board ai;d explained it to them. They sent to them to Hjfm it, in a week, which they did. The clerk's rpport was that a dpqy might go that way once in three mpirths. Now, if that road was not required, why did the late board spend the ratepayers' liioney in forming it right through from one of those *oads t,p the other ? It shows t''« r >gard they have for the town and £hg ratepayers —the town especially—or tftey would not have allowed the Land Board to uurrey and take away the market reserve when they were, told it was the town's. New the Government will ppl} it aud make £ls a year of it, and it is losfc to the town for ever ; when, if they had refusod, they could have made the £ls yearly themselves—if not, it would still remain the town's market reserve. X will leave the public to estimate what hunqr there is nuo to them.—l am, etc.,