THE PUBLIC TRUST AGENCY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3102, 27 January 1909, Page 5

THE PUBLIC TRUST AGENCY.

(To the Editor)., Sir,—Your sub-leader in yesterday's issue would surprise your read- , ers in districts outside of the town of Masterton. The article shows three [ things - * 1. A parochial tone that should J be absent from the articles of a paper L so widsly circulating. 2. An absence of -consideration on your part for the important districts outside of the town. ; 3. An ignorance of the wants of ' those districts, and of the benefits of 1 the Public Trust Office to those districts. I am not taking up the cudgels on behalf of Carterton; they can defend themselves. It is the principle lam objecting to. Mr Chennells may be a good servant "for Masterton," but I venture to say that he is a failure as far as our important district is concerned. How many of our residents and settlers know that M~ Chennells is agent for the Public Trustee, or, in fact, know him from Mr Jones or Mr Brown, or how many know of the advantages of the' office with the agent thirty miles away, arid practically unknown to them. If Mr Chennells has tiiat wonderful organising ability you mention, please ask him to spare a little of it for this end of his agency, or, better still, appoint a local agent. Mr Chennells has been paid for his work, and we outsiders cannot imagine that the office was created either for Mr Chennells, or Masterton. Your suggestion of political influence would be, no doubt, applied to us if we could do what we have been trying to do for years, get a local agency, but, no doubt, the Public Trustee will be able to see that there are large and well-peopled districts cut of touch completely with the present agency. The people and the Department are therefore losing- by the present arrangement. We hope ftiat there will be more subdivisions, and that they may "come quickly."—l am, etc., EKETAHUNA. [Our correspondent accuses us of parochialism, lack of consideration for important districts outsice of the town of Masterton, ar.d of ignorance concerning the benefits of the Public Trust Office, while hs calmly misses the main point in the article to which he refers. As a matter of fact, "Eketahuria" should know that there is an agent of the Public Trust Office at Pahiatua, which town is not thirty miles away from Eketahuna. Then, again, we might gently draw "Eketahuna's" attention to the fact that Carterton is only nine miles, | and not like Eketahuna, thirty miles . distant from Masterton. Moreover, "Eketabuni" rather puts* himself ' out of Court by admitting that ne is quite unaware of the valuable services performed by Mr Chennells hence, theiefore, he cannot express an opinion of any weight in regard to the reported change. The Public Trustee, no doubt, is the person best qualified to judge as to the localities wherein it is advisable to appoint agents, and while such matters are left to that official, we feel sure that there will be no cause for complaint, though possibly those who have "an axe to grind" may clamour for subdivisions.—Ed. W.A.]