COUNTY MANAGEMENT.

Thames Star, Volume XII, Issue 3802, 5 March 1881, Page 2

COUNTY MANAGEMENT.

(To the Editor of the Evening Stab.)

Sir, —I paid a visit to Tauranga a few weeks ago, and I took particular notice of the way : work was done hy both Counties, and I mußt tuy tho Tauranga portion is vastly superior in improvements—throws our most indefatigable County Chairman's work quite in tlie shade. The first named County Council has a superior road made from the town all the way, and half way through the Hikurangi Gorge, our luxurious ornament the County Chairman's public line of road is a piece of badly constructed patch-work compared with the Tiuranga line. Tliere are some culverts to be made, and some badly constructed ones (culverts) to be repaired from the Gorge, and across tho Waihi Plains. From the new bridge lately constructed across a small stream called tho .Qhinemuri River to Mackaytown, the road is partly formed, and a portion of it badly constructed on to Ohinemuri. From the last named place to Hikutaia bridge, it mostly remains unformed and the swamp crossings are just filled in with a little earth, to fjrtn a narrow crossing for man and horse in single file; and in the winter season those crossings become nearly impassable; bur, the genius of the chairman is equal to the occasion, for he gets his men to fill up the soft spongy portion with a short lived, pulpy btuff called cabbage tree, fern or manuka scrub, in lieu of stone. As a constructive genius for filling up bogs anuually with vegetable matter, the great Macadam, was a fool to our County Chairman in vegetating. The Macadam memory will live as long a 9 there is a well formed 2-Hnoh metal road ; the Chairman will live just as long ia ' the public memory as the cabbage tree and scrub he fills in the swamp with. His memory will die out of public opinion just in the same way as the vegetable stuff goes into oblivion in the swampy Kingdom. He does uofc want the Komata road opened until he and his friends can get Crown Grants for the land they were trying to purchase about Ohinemuri and Komata, I know for a fact he was trying to purohase four (4) hundred acres in one of those localities. I leave you, the public, to judge whether it was his own or the public money lie was spending in the purchase of those lends. I have heard that he was actually draining those lands with the County money. 1 think Uis constituents should investigate his whole proceedings, and if they do so they will think that fche present County Chairman ia wasting the public money, and that it is a County calamity to have him holding the position that he does hold at present, in his official capacity as County Chairman. He is organising a very bold scheme at present; he wants to form a railway to the moon, or to his friend's 40 acre section, or he may construct a bridge across the Thames River, and run the railway up to Mr Bagnall'a sawmill, then he will have beer and kahikatea on the brain.— I am, &c, H. Aleey. Hikutaia, March sth, 1881.

(To the Editor of the Evening Stab.)

Sis,—Your contemporary having published through, his columns statements regarding myself, which are false, I beg to deny them by the aid of your paper. The former part of last week I had two men engaged assisting me to get out fencing posts. On Thursday I was preparing to take out my crops when a friend from Paeroa came and said I had better clear out as two Maories were hanging about my place, determined to shoot me. I went into Morgantown, and was advised to go to the Thames, via Hamilton. I remained in Morganfcown two days, and oon3idered that the Maories had then sufficient time to prove thut they were in error, and would not molest me, I returned home, where I have remained ever since These sensational paragraphs of his are like many of his editorials, conceived in imagination, and fully matured by " down pourings." I. am termed by him the noted Pakeha-Maori If in had not been for my spirit, of enterprise and jeopardising my life years gone by, I very much doubt whether he would have been the proprietor of the Advertiser or occupant of the Civic Chair at the present day. From the time I landed in this country to the present, I have always possessed an ardent desire to search after and bring to light its mineral wealth in those places which have hitherto locked up against us, and have managed to explore into places where no other white man at the present day dare plant his foot. Twice in my expeditions I have been taken prisoner by the Maories, and released again when they saw the advantages to be had by any discovery made on their territory. If this spirit of enterprise neces* sadly compels me to carry the name your supererogate friend over the way chooses to give me, lam quite willing to accept it.—l am, &c, J". H. Smaumxs. Sing's Hill, Te Aroha, February 25th, 1881.