THAT EXCHANGE QUESTION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9092, 19 May 1908, Page 4

THAT EXCHANGE QUESTION.

One of the questions of chief interest in connection with the approaching election to fill the vacancies in the Tnist Lands Trust will be that relating to the exchanges of sites. We do not propose, not on this occasion,, at any rate, to traverse the whole history of the dispute, but the statement is now made that the Government are prepared to give the Trustees the right-of-way in Queen street in addition to the frontage specified in the Enabling Act, provided the Trustees will agree to pay a certain sum in addition to handing over the Hall and Chapel street frontage to the Government. No official communication appears to have been received on the subject, but we are informed that a member of the Trust made the "discovery" in the course of an interview which he had with the Minister. Candidly, we regard the statement with a good deal of suspicion. Private and unauthorised interviews with Ministers are not generally of a satisfactory character. Assuming, however, that the statement is correct it is a little curious that the Trustess have had no official communication on the subject. Here a little explanation, at least, is required. But to proceed, assuming that the Government would accept £1,300 for the right-of-way in Queen street, and agreed to a level exchange in regard to the rest of the section for the Hall street section, already mentioned, we are certainly of opinion that the Trustees should "let bygones be bygones," and accept the offer. If the statement that has besn made to us, aad to which we liava already referred, Le true, then we must say that we view the' decision of the Minister in the light of a tardy act ol justice. It should, however, be noted that unless the "progressive" party can secure the Queen street right-of-way at a reasonable price their case, and the case that they have argued up to the present, fails hopelessly.