CORRESPONDENCE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3195, 22 May 1909, Page 5

CORRESPONDENCE.

To the Editor. Sir,—l have omitted to reply previously to a letter which appeared in your paper signed_by Mr E. C. Carlton Holmes, as „other matters of more importance have engaged my attention during the last few days. It is quite true that a party, including myself, appeared on Mr E. C. hyphenated Holmes' property, wnich he says is called "Te flbpai," and it is well named, because "I hope I" will never have cause to go there again. pitched our he alleges and thereby occupied some square feet oi swamp. Next day, while shooting, or attempting to do so, up to our armpits in water, ari uncouth person came upon the scene and ordered us off the premises, so to speak. Mr Holmes, the gentleman in [question, says I pleaded to, be allowed to remain till next morning, to which he granted his royal permission, and I was very grateful. I allow this to be true, seeing the depth of mud and water in wnich I was immersed, which is not conducive to a successful argument. The whole matter is this I hadjnever been to the lake before, and took advantage of the opening of the season to make one trip. Naturally I did not exactly know my bearings I encountered a "Robinson Crusoe" (although that famous individual did not call himself E- C. Robinson Crusoe), who struck an attitude in the middle of a lagocn and said:— "1 am monarch of all I survey, My right there is none to dispute." Mr Holmes (for short) has the arrogance to say in his letter that he and some other lord of the su'l try t> preserve the lagoon as a sanctuary for ducks, "only a'hwhg a fe • ; our personal friends to sh> it,'' but unfortcnit< ]y though he stated this in his letter he entirely forgot to mention the fact to me at the time. The season be in,? open to all sportsmen what right has Mr Holmes to reseive the ducks for his "own personal friends," an'! if he wishes to reserve his hgoon (a mudhole about four by two miles) from trespass had he not better have notices posted on fhx sticks or some other mode adopted to warn the unwary shootist? If Mr Holmes had come on to my property under similar conditions I would have made him welcome, and endeavoured to treat him with that courtesy whjch one gentleman (if he is a "gentleman) should show to another, but I- am afraid it is useless to expect this sort of thing from individuals of the Holmes type, who own duck ponds or eel lagoons on the Wairarapa Lake. It is about time the Acclimatisation Society took the matter firmly in hand, to see that its efforts in the interests of sportsmen are not rendered futile by greedv autocrats, who order people off their mud flats on : the ground that their cattle are being disturbed a mile off, which, by the way, is the only argument he adduced at the time against us being there. I used an ordinary breechloader, not a Maxim gun, and I beg to enter my protest against Mr Holmes' action, not as F. Collison Turnor, but purely and simply, Yours truly, F. C. TURNOR. (To the Editor): Sir,—The recent fire in Queen street, and the action of the-members of the Town Lands Trust calls for some comment. A Masterton paper, in an article headed "Rebuild or Reinstate." might have been more appropriate if instead of the above they had printed "Hesitate." Your, readers may exclaim why? Well, the "why" is this: —It is an acknowledged custom that when local bodies through effluxion of time, or pother circumstances, become moribund or under reconstruction, that any matters of public policy should be held in abeyance until such reconstruction or re-elec* tion of new members eventuates. What I wish to'know is, is there any necessity in. the circumstances for such undue haste as displayed by the existing holders of office under the Trust Lands' Trust.—l am, etc., HASTEN SLOWLY.