BAD MANAGEMENT.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 429, 3 April 1880, Page 2

BAD MANAGEMENT.

. To the Editor of the Wairabapa Daily Queen-st., March 31. Sir,—Can you inform the public who is responsible for the state of affairs just beyond the Waipoua bridge; quite half the Waipoua River is running over the road, aiid has been for nearly a fortnight, and is rapidly destroying it. I measured one of the holes so,made, and it- was four feet six inches deep. These has been no, provision made to accommodate foot passengers or to facilitate traffic, which has been carried on under great difficulties and dangers. A cart-ioad of grain' was capsized - injthe river to-day. Now, Sir, there was no difficulty or reason why the', greater part of the water should not have been turned back into the regular bed of the Waipoiia, A week ago two pounds judiciously expended would have been sufficient to.Ra«g accomplished that great undertaking; and hklf a day is ample time to do it in. "It will have to be done before the road can' be repaired or bridged, and the sooner the Government set about it the better the people will like it, and as the road is allowed to remain in such a state, at Masterton out-settlers are likely to fare badly under such management. lam, &c., Wm. Fjkakois THE FLOODS.■ . To the Editor of (k ffAiE/RiPA' DAiLV., Sir,—lf we Maaterfcon people were a tribe of Ancient Britons, instead of having more or less luxurious houses, and shops with plate-glass windows, and looking for the latest fashions from Paris, we should be living in rude huts, clothed in the skins of animals, with our bodies painted sky-blue, and no Wairarapa Daily to remind us of our sins of commission and omission. But I will undertake to say that immediately after the late flood every able-bodied man amongst us would have' turned out under our leaders, and cleared the bed of the Waipoua of the flax, Btumps and logs which are turning the river from its proper channel, and in other ways protected our settlement. But we are such a highly civilised community that we prefer living on from day to day, doing absolutely nothing to guard against a very great danger, that, namely, of a large open flood-gate, through which the river may at any moment burst in upon the town, and if this happens in the night there will most likely be loss of life as well as property. One worthy councillor wishes to be making soap, but perhaps- he will be washed off hiß legs before he has fixed his boilers, and another, who seems to think himself the embodiment of the concentrated engineering wisdom of the whole world, has almost in the same breath expressed the following highly consistent opinions:. That any; money : spent on protective works would be thrown away," and -''That the .only cure., would . be to. fascine th6:whole of the river." . What is everybody's business seems to be nobody's business. : A second bridge is talked of at th© foot of the cutting on the • Opaki road. A small one would be useless, :and;less than a quai'teif of-the timber : require&for such a bridge would make a solid

where the rivet overflows. Half-a-dozen men with a light pile-driver could in thiß way. stop the overflow . there in" a few hour'fc'~lam, '' v : ; Action. " HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE." —+ To the Editor of the WairabapA Daily. Sib,—An answer to my letter re horses straying in Queen-street appears in. your ■iaaue'.. af":i:yester'day's: date, : '' Hercules,He states that he disbelieves my: statement, of horses being at 1 large, and further that I must have .been under the influence of some stimulant and have made a mistake.: Now; air, as J; am a ■ member of the I,O.G.T.,that does away to . a "great extent with'the. "stimulant busi- n. ness," and I can also inform " Hercules" that I haye two witnesses who can.- testify ™ .to the truth of' my, statement! ahd'ialao, from the fact- that "the animals. w.erlrjnjthe act of breasting, my-frontfence,-prepara-tory to breaking in, and. eating .the grass. Cn a former occasion I drove horses out of my paddocks fronting the same street, and as I knew the owners I thought it the wisest plan to give them a gentle, before laying the matter before the K.M. I must say, sir, that Hercules, keeps very late hours, as lie states he came into town between the hours of 12 and. 2a. m. Perhaps he was thirsty and going theirounds of the pubs before they shut for the night or morning, arid it is very probable that . he could not see a horse even if there had been a dozen. He. states he had a friend with him—probably to take care of him and lead him home again. ."Hercules" seems to be the keeper of the . Acting Inspector of Nuisances, as he speaks of his doings in a very high handed manner. If I 'were the Acting Inspector of- Nuisances I should feel proud at having such a champion. I may mention, sir, that' I have been informed by a I'esidont in Cole-street that there are horses in plenty roaming about the road at nights, getting into people's, gardens and doing other damage, and bo I am not the only complainant. ..I am, &c., Ratepayer,