(To the Editor.)

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 194, 26 October 1871, Page 6

(To the Editor.)

Sik, — Allow me through the medium of your paper to address a few words to Messrs. Eeid and Bradfihaw, with regard to their dishonest action in disposing of 50,000 acres the inheritance of the people to big Clarke, for far less money than otherwise it wotjld have realized, thereby depriving the residents of Moa Flat and the surrounding districts generally of ever enjoying their right of occupying, one single inch of the land. It is, I presume, still fresh in the reccollections of tho elec- | tors of Mount .Benger that a feY months back they took Bradshaw by I the hand — a common adventurer, no^f conspicuous for any particular talent— | and ia opposition.' to reason and common' sense, pitchforked him into place and power, utterly .regardless of the evil consequences of their, strange choice, i when no other district in the .province • would take him at any price. I say this advisedly fcr ,the simple reason i that I am fully aware of his having [ jnade himself* very unpopular in the of his former constituents ;' [Hut in. the liberality of their intentions I ftnd hollow^faith, it seemed that an un;accounted for influence amounting to £fotuity"'enwrapted the political seoti•~ments of our leading men, that if an. outsider hinted the *iaroe of a more suitable candidate to represent tliis,' one .of the most important districts in the province, lie would have stood a "chance ' of being anathematised in the local journals ' air an arrant traitor to popular i feeing, so strong- -was their sentiments : to /Uvoar of JSvacfahavr, for reasons $icy I could not explain. Butodic^he not exfc;ylaia to all- ami sundrf that by his lenergutic defcl^fnacy 'he sjfwd the peo^

pie of the Wakattp district from ruin and desolation ; that he defeated Yogel and Macandrew, and fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, "when the hands of these spoilers were hanging with evil intent over that beautiful and prosperous district, coutrary to public rights ; did he not have the effrontery to tell the deluded electors here that he himself averted the evil consequences of their intentions ! Clap-trap and electionering bunknm in their coloured guise, and divested of truth or the semblance of it. If there was any shadow of truth in the statement that he prevented the sale of the "Wakatip runs, surely the people of the Lake would have sent for him ; but strange to say they did not send for him, because they found out that he was a perfect conundrum in the line he professed, far-fetched and full of nonsense, will he respond to the requisition calling on him to resign, or will he add insult to injury by sticking ' to the loaves and fishes 1 Oh, deluded Mount Benger, I earnestly pray for thy safe deliverence from the grasp and wiles of political adventurers, who would sell the rights of the people for a groat. I must openly confess that I committed an unpardonable offence against my own intelligence to nllow myelf to be persuaded to vote for a man who has now been in our wonderful Parliament for the last five or six years, and that can't show any of his public acts upon the recoi'ds of that Parliament — not even his action in reference to the Wakatip runs. My reasons for voting for Bradshaw I will briefly explain. Reason No. 1 ; owing to the great talk about him on all sides, I took it as grunted that ho- was a reformed politician, and as for personal appearances, would have mure influence in the House than his opponent, who was a very indifferent looking politician, app:ircntly impressive*, but very tatne in lv's principles. "Rmson. No. 2 } it was made unmistakably clear to my mind by others at the time that he would in connection with the champion of the working people, throw Mount Benger open for settlement at once. Messre I{eid and Bradshaw introduced their liberal land policy with a vengpaftce, did they not, when they sold to big Clarke thft very land they pledged themselves to redeem for the use of the district. There is a screw loose somewhere, which requires fastening. Politicians of the Reid and "Brad-.haw stamp roust be fastened pretty sharp with a different sm-sw to which was probably attached to this lasb dirty job, otherwise the province will suffer form these bad intentions and utter incapacity in matters financial. Some of our local agitators are stranglv silent on this dirty piece of jobbory, for- reasons better known to themselves, espocially one individual, who, some two years ago, at a public meeting held within the environs of Moa Flat, while speaking on the land question, in a feeling hurst of oratory introduced Bradshaw as the future saviour of the district to our credulous gaze. Tt is a pity that a nan evidently possessing no ordinary talents should shrink from his duty to the district at such a time. "Without any further comment on the unjust precedent established by Reid, Bradshaw and their following under their vague reading of clause 83 of the "Waste .Lands .Act, allow me to remark that they luck those good qualities which ought to endue every public mf.ninOtagoand which isf-ssential to the advancement and prosperity of a new country, viz., honesty of purpose. Hoping you will kindly insert the above and leaving the rest to a better man, I am, yours, &c,

A Would-be Settler.