The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. FRIDAY, MAY 24, 1884.

Thames Star, Volume XV, Issue 4796, 23 May 1884, Page 2

The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. FRIDAY, MAY 24, 1884.

I The Hon. the Premier ba£ indulged in Tain regrets that the means at his disposal have compelled him tq^allow deputations waiting on bim-iiere to return empty banded; and, although we are, of course, aware that money is not plentiful, and that a deficiency exists in the revenue, yet with proposed retrenchments and the I many means of saving money open to r Ministers, if they honestly mean all they say, some attention could bo paid to our wants as expressed, and some relief granted to applicants. In the first place, the request that the Big Pump should be subsidised to an extent of oDly £ for £ ! was not at all unreasonable. As was explained, the payable working of the lower levels on the field was not only of local, but also of colonial importance. In relation to.the questioned power of the County to, B«ie the Government for a sum of £500, 1 long in dispute, in connection with Obinenauri miners' rights, the Premier would ' give no answer until he reached Welling--1 ton". It is frequently very awkward to give a straightforward reply to a question leading to a disagreeable, answer. The , Btock phrase that there-were no available | funds for aeveral purposes sought to be aided I was used, end a new argument brought to i bear against any-land beiog granted to our Eailway Company in the matter of an assertion that no land not immediately adjoining aod benefit ted by the'linlS^could be granted to aid its construction*''^Th.e unfortunate Cemetery Koad deputatiomlts met with a like fate, being told thaf;t»hey could borrow the money tbey'*wanted given to them, for fourteen year Vat' 9 per cent. ,Taken.altogether, the visit of Major Atkinson to Jthe Thames , has, been productiveVf little benefit or satisfaction to the place. Perhaps, ttio Premier likes noHo raise the expectation of/lhe people, and would have;^them .: beliew;. that Blessed are they that^rpect nbtpDg, as they will not be disappointed, but whether -ibis be fhe case or not, he has left behind few hopes of Governmental blessings .being showered upon us in any direction. This district lias the uame of being, at the present time, an Opposition strong? hold/why, it is bard to say, except it can be accounted for by the neglect it has met with at the hands of the party in power. Even in the one instanca of our railway, we havobeen unjustly treated, and were we to rely upon that alone for the substantiation of an indictment against them in the matter of unfairness, the result could be easily anticipated. -As we have hinted, Major Atkinson may be keeping our joys in store for us, he perhaps intends " when be returns to Wellington "—-as he frequently remarked—to make up a list of gratifications* for us, and surprise us by granting some of those legitimate and necessary requests made during his recent visit.