MR RENALL AND THE SMALL FARM SETTLEMENT.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 849, 18 August 1881, Page 3

MR RENALL AND THE SMALL FARM SETTLEMENT.

[To the Editor qf the Dajlt,] B{H,—Nnw that Reiiall has come to the end of hit tether of u]l sorls of wild assertions, and unsupported statements, ; as towards the origiii of tho Small Farm [' Settlement of the Wairarapa, and of his - continual blowing about the valuable services lie rendered to this district; it is refreshing that a change has been infused into this monotonous and ivretched slate o( thipgs,',and that the people will noiy jikve'a'n opportunity ofseeiiig both sides pf'the quaistioh iintl judge for thouiselvea. 'Jn lq7o whe)i the Trustees of • both townships wpre endeavoring to procure an A«t °f 'h ß General Assembly for the • management of all the aurplui acres, which should have been, sold lung before, under the regulations, of the Association, and A which now constitute our principal town reserves, a feeling of distrust crept into the mind of ene member, that, our reserves under the management of a particular person would not be safe. But,-when the Act of 1871 became law, f lis feeling abated, as jt was found under , 1 provisions fjiatall land' iiiclud'M in the Urjdultl iibt bWi)togaiiy dealt'with, ' 'a recent number of the Daily I have rpad' I* ftatempnt addressed in JB7O, to the the electors of the Small Farm 'Sottlementi in tho Wairarapa, by Joseph Masters. No doubt, when lie issued this statement, he intended it for the ininformation and guidance of those who subsequently came among us to reside, as well as well as for the information of : the sons of the first settlers of the district, Wheij.Mr Masters wrote tljis letter—pjifon i> wbrthy of a careful perusal—he fai i) 6 doiitit' prompted'fb do so, (l) |haf his sojourn ampngst us was coming to a close, and (2). That the work he had 10 nobly began should not'be forstalled or . aisumed after his demise, by cunning or . dishonest persons as their work and not his. • , . :i Up to the appearance of this statement in your journal, Mr Renall ! r has endeavored 'at every ineeting, and t at all times and seasons, to impress upon the minds '-.'ty SO3O perppjis 'jrho liavj but little knowledge 01 the. matter,; tlie valuable services-flie rendered to thejtown as a member of the first Commitiee of management ; and hat not failed in his rambling

and Iflppnerent atatoment, to impress upon hii hearts the perils be hadto encounter on the plains, and the discomforts ho had to endure in liia yarious journeys on foot into the wilderness to seek out the promised land for his fe|low men; indeed the graphic description of these travels over the Rimutaka, and country beyond, you know, as described in Mr Eenall's lettor to the Hon. Mr Roileston, must no doubt elicit the warmest praises of the Minister, for the long sufferings and hardships which the ox-chairman of the Maetorton Town Lands Trust had to endure, And no doubt, Sir, all these discomforts, journeys, and trials which Mr Eenall experienced ill thoße early days of travel -were borne by him, with Christian fortitude as they .were necessary for the benefit of his follow creatures, Oh, what a saintlike man must llenall of 1853 be to the Renall of 18811 Now, Sir, we will turn over the other side of the picture, and there wo will find the statement of our old and respected settler, the late Joseph Masters, We find in his public statement the following" In the beginning' of the year 1863, I had an interview with Governor Sir G, Grey, and after that inveiview I procured apack homo with tent and other artioles, and with Mr H, Jackson we started for the district. Saw Isaiah the native (who is still living) and other natives, and told them what the Governor said about the purchase of the land, and soon after this Mr M'Lean, the Land Commissioner, came apd purchased the land. I soon after called a public meeting (in Wellington), and had a committee elected, by whom the land was to bo managed under the rules ond regulations, and then the public were invited to become shareholders or purchasers in the undertaking. Mr Masters then Ejoes nn to say, "I then proceeded to the Wairarapa with Messrs H, Jackson, Chew, and Tucker, met Capt, Smith, B.A, (the Government Surveyor), and pointed out the site for the farthest town (now Masterton). I next went to tlio Land Office and paid 150 (as the Association had no funds) for tho site of the town,"

There is more valuable information given in the statement, but I think Ilpivp referred t« sufficient. I 9 it "nut reasonable to suppose that as money, in the first'instance, paid for the whole of the land belonging to the town of Masterton, town acre 42, which Renall unjustly interferes with, so as to prevent the town getting it, was Mi' Masters by right of purchase i bqt Mr pensities pi him to squire what he \yelf knew tp the' Unyp, (i? he was refun(}et} i)!l tj)p monies he aclynnpeij out of the purchase money of the settlers, I air, i\t tljis atnge it will not he ponsjdpred unreasonable for nie —after havitijf heard Mr Reriali lime after time blowing about wlwt ho did for the district and the town in particular—to ask where he was all this tiino when Messrs Masters' and H. Jackpoi) wprp espH'ing thp jnterjor o( the Wairarnpa for email farm settlements, Ko 'doubt you will agreo with me, and so will my fellow sufferers, that he must have remained at the' Hutt, where he then resided, comfortably grinding hi? sn'jsj; fyr the' benefit ofhis/elloff |j|en, " ' '' ' ' 1 1 To Masters'and Jackson ivo therefore owe'our gratitude for haying explored the Wairarapa for small farni purposes. But I won't be unjust to\rs,rcj!i Mr Re|ia|l, 'for hp djtf liqt 'fail tq pay us a visit Beycra] years afterwards, wlidn our reads pro in an advanced state, and when the settlers began to show signs of progress, and tyith his bpsjnejs like habits nought out a sitp for a f|our mill, wliero 1m qoon began to grind the settlors' wheat at eighteen pence per bushel. It is to be hoped that my fellow citizens will carefully read the statement of the late Joseph Masters and not suffer themselves to be any longer led astray by the claptrap sayings of cunning and unscrupulous persons. lain, Ac., R, Hake.

A Fact Worth Knoivino.-lii these Hmep of retrenchment and enforced economy, toili public, and private, if is consolatory to know that the "wind is generally tempered to the shorn lamb," and that th re (ire few mitjforti|ii(« without; compensating advantages. With money in lesß abundance its purchasing power is greater—a pound ' >ow will go its far as thirty shillings in tlie'era of prosperity. As a proof oi this, tie readers uf this' paragraph need' dnly pay a visit to the large'sale of surplus stock at Jnnic.{Spii(/i% Te dro Wcjjingtjm, Awy full ami plaborate catalogue''of the many large reductions mailti in the'pnci s of goneral drapery and clotiiiijg is inclosed with Sutnday's (July 2nd) isstic, and" merits ii pjph|l perusal 'oil jiayb of all stationholders, iiotelkeepefSj heads of families, and residents generally, "Special opportunities, like {lie 0119 fl r, 'ser)t qn<jer consideration, pp'cur bi\t se|do'm j and it is therefore of importance that the fullest advantage should be taken of it at the earliest period. To Arn Houso has always stood well with the public as to the undoubted veracity of its advertised prices, and 91} doubt inany country residents a lively recojleptjoii'af (he sWisfijctory bargains they spciued m'tlio p'jtst 'Equal, if not superior advantage? are now being offered. Qwing to the unp.re.cedently low rates 'at which the goods are marked n.| discpupts cau bp alIqwed dpflg the pie. kfl ap additional attraction, the sale will include a special presentation to each purchaser of £3 worth and upwards of a beautiful chvomolithographic picture, mounted on the best white oardboavd, size 24 inches'by 18 inches, No time should therefore be lost in paying a very early visit to the surplus stock, sale at James Smith's Te Aro House, Weiington.—[Adyt.l