THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, MAY 20, 1912. THE TRUST BALANCE-SHEET.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10640, 20 May 1912, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, MAY 20, 1912. THE TRUST BALANCE-SHEET.

A great deal of unnecessary and un-cal'led-ifor energy and eloquence have been expended upon the fact that a ptrinted balance-sheet had not been circulated pr v to the annual meeting of voters of the Masterton Trust Lands Trust. One would think, from the turn of events last week, that the .object of calling a meeting of voters is to enable those wdtili a grievance to traverse and criticise the actions of the Trustees. It should be unnecessary to say that the Act contemplates no such thing. It .merely provide® for the preservation aud "receiving" of a balance-sheet, Wby such a provision should be contained in the Act at all, we are at a loss to know. In no other local body is it considered necessary. The reason it was inserted- was probably that at the time of the framing of the Act there .were no newspapers circulating in the district, and the election's were 'held tnennially instead of annually, as at present. For years the annual .meeting of voters has been a farce, and the sooner it is wiped out by an amendment of the Act, the better. So .far as the balance-sheet itself is concerned, it is merely a statement of accounts of the Trust, and can only be criticised as such. If there is reason to think that the accounts have Ibeen wrongly kept, or "that the funds have been applied to purposes far which they were not intended, it is right and proper, that the balance-sheet should be held u,p. Indeed, it would be only a very few months before the Audit Department would make a discovery, and take action. But are we justified in aasum-iiiig--that nine business men, with the accounts before them at every meeting, audi .with the knowledge that their actions are being closely scrutinised by the public, would allow a written statement, to be read to a public meeting unless it were very nearly accurate? Taking the position in the abstract, we cannot help thinking that a eroticism of the financial statement of the Trust, which has never previously been impeached, is presumptuous and ungenerous. A discussion of the policy of tlie Trust is quite another imatter. This policy was clearly re- ' vealed in the statement., printed and circulated prior to tTie annual meet-' ing. The position of each fund was

indicated, and voters, by asking questions on this statement, could have elicited any information Aey desired. The place for .eniticflsing the conduct of tiie Trustees .in their administration of the Trust is.not at the annual meeting. The public press and tlie platform .afford ample scope for such criticism. No self-respecting body of men, having done their duty to the best of their ability, and without fee or reward, would allow themselves to be cross-examined or heckled by disgruntled electors. An election of three Trustees is" held annually, and if the people are d'Lssaiis'fied with the policy wihich is being pursued, they will express their dissatisfaction through | the balitot-box. Imagine the Borough bor County Council, or any .other selfrespecting body of puMiic ,men, submitting themselves to cross-examina-tion at the will of any dissatisfied elector! The idea as preposterous. So

long as a statement of accounts sufficient to enable the electors to form a conclusion ais to the policy of the Trust is submitted prior to an election, there can be no reason for complaint. What good purpose can be served by the holding of the public meeting on Wednesday next? Can the lhatanee->sheet, if printed and circulated,, present any facts concerning the administration of the Trust that have not already been revealed? And if it can', wihat right lias a public meeting, convened by the Trust—quite improperly, we maintain— to oritacisie those facts? The Trustees aire elected by the vote of the people. Tbey do their duty, as a rule, conscientiously and swell. And if they are to be pilloried, it must not be a,t their own expense, or at that of the beneficiaries under the Trust.