AN ACCOUNT OF THE WAIRARAPA SMALL-FARM ASSOCIATION AND OTHER MATTERS CONNECTED THEREWITH.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 952, 17 December 1881, Page 2

AN ACCOUNT OF THE WAIRARAPA SMALL-FARM ASSOCIATION AND OTHER MATTERS CONNECTED THEREWITH.

By 0. R. Carter. .' (Continutd.)- • . :' ! •/' In concluding this first, longest, and, ■■: \ most important part of my statement t \. may Bay that MrMaßterjpa#d ; ''Mn ,; _'■*{ Allen, the former l>y |iia '^. advocacy, ami the, busineasabUity r ren4ered'gowwrvio9iiy ; to the cause of our s'majl form settle' W?' ment in ita early: ; da^| ; ;but majority of the wirJjfnitW ! M, and 'seribui r^nii\&^'q^iy>^a>.^!:» venjuig tfujitee. rmjj|Hf into 4* • matter, Ijit <vj the piftiea infeJWdd .;■•■ v ■ : '• '■.■',-. :'•";■'7.. :

cannot npw'kpeak for 'themselves, T think-it' better- to forbear doiiig sp., Mr Allen proposed, and it wai agreeii' to, that, the ..upper towtiahip should be after Mr Masters, ahdalao,'as some recompense for his services, that he should MaTO (for his son-m-Jaw, Mr Perry;) right— a- first !choicft.; o f sll the surveyed. land on the /T^lij,,,which 'he exercised'by < i°^Cssf a of busll hlul I ,lllin [anM6thfl extent of about3ooacres. be 'seen that our late friend andWrmer colleague, Mr Masters, was of the eommitteo who received an acknowledgmenkior his services in -connection with the Small Farm' Association, As'for myself, I accepted the position of trustee with my eyes open; 'I feared' it might be many yEOTtyfp're. the settlers-got the conveyances ipr their towiiacres, sol entered'. into,,.. the responsibility of trußteeßhip,;aiitl'without fear or.favor, to the - best of • my "■ abilitf and' iudgraefit, "^iscliargwl, the offico imposed upon-me. Pot'my . services ,I was promised;nothing,'! asked nothing, and got not eveh'ihe traditional vote of thanks!Yet'l Jiave>the pleasure of feeling and knowing that .'it was the Small Farm' Association, which laid the foundations of the., present, .power, population, and prosperity of the Wail' rarapa.

(2.) I now wish to say a few words on the position of the Masterton .town ..-•v acres' numbered 106 and 111. ■ These acres are.notvested in roe. Yearsagol signed a deed conveying them tpthe parties whoso names were on tlie'smafem map. 'The parties in question had not fulfilled the.conditions, but it had been agreed that other persons in the same position might have their acres granted to them ; so these, at the time, were allowed to pass'with the others. Inow hold these grants expecting the owners to claim them. -I am in the position of a railway company that.undertakes to deliver certain packages to the persons'they are consigned to. and is held responsible till its contract is completed by delivery, to therightiperson, When it was brought •■under my'.notice that , the Masterton Town .Trustees were going to taTc6 v possession, W let acres 106 and M/,! felt jt my duty to inform them, that these two acres belonged to other; persons; lest it should be understood'that they were taken, possession of with .'toy consent; and, when the clerk to'the Trustees verbally asked me to .hand oyer the two conveyances of'the acres in.question," I considered foe. .was-requesting me to give up. thejoeds'of-another man's, property without that other man's consent, so I thought it but iright to decline doing so.' I thought, once I .might let them'myself, r account; but'then, as I had noautbo rity to do that, I gave it up, Perhaps the owners -may never turn .up, In that case the-Masterton Trustees have most right to them from a public point of viafr; but'sucli strange things do hapten nowadays that great caution is necessary, '"if the trustees can get an Act passed in -the. General Assemby to relieve me of all responsibility I beg most respectfully to assure them I shall only.be tpo.glad tohand ova; the two deeds to their safe custody. To give them up as the matter now stands, I venture to say, would be wrong, and I will not do wrong to'please any one. Would the trustees or tho people of Mastorton indemnify me against all loss if I surrendered these conveyances! Hear not. It ,is- w great ; shame that dishonest and unscrupulous persons should bo allowed to take possession of • lands they have hot the slightest claim to, The present law is defective. It should be amended so that the Public' Trustee should take .possession, and, after a certain period, if no owner, heirs, or assigns turned up, the funds in hand might go to the borough or in which such lands wero 'situated. : (3.) So much for town acres 106 and 111. I now come to the third and last-ftp. 42—which is still vested in and was, 1 believe) left put of the {schedule giving it to,, tlw Mastorton Trustees by mistake. At all events, I am not to blame, for I. was not in the colony at the time.'. JBut why all this bother about it? Why do the trustees, aftor the handsome way wo endowed them with a profusion of valuable town acres, come after one acre which still belongs to the Association,'and who do not want it themselves, and- which they aro anxious the, public of-Master-ton should have full benefit of 1 Granted this acre ought to have gone to the Trust, yet.ifjtcan nowbe put to a bettor public urgent requirement, 1 think, the-Town. Trustees would be wise in waiving their claim ■ It. When I left J thought this imattH all 'settled. I had'ijeeh written fl from Masterton to ask if this.acre M could be given for an endowment to ■ fire brigade. I consulted with •ml two colleagues, We all agreed to giyj (he acre for that purpose, aid then 1 I thought there was an end of it/ Therel : wasonlyAnted ail; Act to.enable-the brigade jWeal with ; it ( - - Mr. Buniiy.-I kcwjpd get' thisvAct passed 'tor you!*fWry year a fire brigade station becomes of mora Importance to Masterton. Giving this acre for that purpose" has my hearty assent, and the sooner it is transferred from me to the Master,: ton % Brigade, the; betterl/shall like it?-I asked Mr Recall to f see that no one squatted on'the .three townacres in dispute, To } k continued,- '.:..