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

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 953, 19 December 1881, Page 2

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

By C. R. Carter. (Continued,) . ■

(4.) Now, as I hope I have dealt conclusively with two cases in dispute, may I not hope to see a 'compromise effected in a third ? I allude to the 48-acre reserve at Greytown. My opinion is, and always has been, that, of right, it belonged to Greytown. I notice an old letter republished in the Daily of August 12th, dated May 24th, 1970, and signed by the late Joseph Masters. In this letter Mr Masters states that Mr Allen told him that, with £25 he (Mr Masters) had collected, he (Mr Allen) had purchased the 48-acre belt at the back of Greytown. Now, this statement-is entirely incorrect, as the Land Office books will show. In the first place, in referring to my printed statement dated January 19th, 1860,1 find, this item: " By purchase, March' 29th, 1856,40 acres for Greytown Reserve, '••Js2o.*' Thus, only 40 acres were purchased at first. These 40 acres'did. not extend' the whole length of the town. Eight acres more at the north end, were'required to do that, and, jearing, some one else might buy' them, .with •■ money (M) out of my.own pocket,' boug'at them fqr GreytODte.pn the 30th of

I of £9 2s 6cl bliowu in my statement of accounts above named as owing to me January 10th,-1860, and'was repaid me. I will not further refer to Mr Masted letter just quoted. Not long after it' appeared I pointed outits inaccuracies and random statements, I nay further remark that he sided with If r Allen in opposing myself Mr Juckonand Mr Benall, which added to !he difficulties of settlement Let that ass. I have a suggestion to make, ml my letter is getting far too long. as we expected. Masterton has pros- , pered more than was anticipated. Therefore, Masterton can afford to bo generous; but, if the moral claims of Greytown are to be ignored, and Masterton will only stand on its legal status, then, in that case, I humbly suggest that Masterton should take the commercial value of these acres at tea times their original cost,, which would give the sum of £240; onehalf of which (£120) might be paid by Greytown for extinguishing the claims . of Masterton. A public subscription might be got up—towards which I am willing to give £5-in order that peace and goodwill may exist between the twin townships of the Small Farm Association. After the above explanation, I think I have a right to expect that the trustees and others, who, in the heat of debate used harsh expressions and attributed unworthy motives to me, will, on reflection, admit that they were not justified in doing so. lean forget and forgive what Las been hastily said. Life is not long for the , longest liver, and my lease of it is getting shorter and'shorter. With you, or absent, I always feel an interest in Wairarapa affaivß,'and have desired to end my days in the Valley, and I do not despair of that yet. I had hoped when I recently offered myself as a candidate for senatorial honors to find employment for an active mind, and settle myself down 1 for life, Not succeeding in this, my love of travelling and my health sent me abroad again! I have never shirked any work" the Wairarapa people desired me to do. If I am wanted I am still ready to serve them. I have the satisfaction of believing that I shall bt kindly remembered by those who understand me most, and those who know me best, ' I am. &c, 0. R. Carter. r.b.-It has just occurred to me that I may as well clear up another matter by a post-script to this letter, that is about my being the jfroi to introduce rabbits into the Wairarapa In the year 1863 a few rabbits were running about my homestead on the ... Taratabi. My neighbors and myself did not object to them. Some of them ; even rejoiced at the prospect of "rabbit pie," Bunny, in these days, was thought a very harmless creature. Mr S. Oates, I believe, had the honor of i first introducing rabbits to the Taratabi plain. All I know is that I was not the first to do so. What I did do was I Jthis:—While in England, in 1865, / and during the time I was first actin* as Emigration Agenffor the province Of Wellington, I received a letter from Mr H, H, Jackson requesting me to send out a superior breed of rabbits and being in the Koyal Borough of Dmgwall, in Scotland, selecting emigrants, 1 purchased, I think, 8 or 9 rabbits and sent them out in the emigrant ship "Berar." ■ I also sent out some pheasants. The latter diedseveral of the former lived, and were turned out on my place on the Taratabi, Mr Jackson, when I saw him some time last year, honorably reminded me of this fact. I told Mr Beetham, JLH.fi., when I was out last, that, in ■ his evidence before a Select Committee of the House of Representatives he I was told had wrongfully stated that I wasthefirstto introduce rabbits into the Wairarapa, or ontheTaratahi. He did not recollect, but promised to look the "evidence" up. I heard no more about it. I plead guilty about beint? the first to introduce red deer and pheasants into the Wairarapa; also that I afterwards sent out and landed m good health 6 pairs of goldfinches, 0 do red poles, 6 do starlings, 6 do chaffinches, 4 do blackbirds, 3 do thrushes, 5 pairs of partridges, rod 5 rooks, Inese were all turned out on the Taratahi in the year 1873. The history of the red deer is briefly as follows •-■ Red deer were first introduced into the province of Wellington in the year 1862; for this introduction w« are indebted to his Royal Highness the late Prince Albert, who caused four hinds and two stags to be caught at the Home Park at Winsor, and had them Joused for a short time to tame and fit them for the sea voyage, Two hinds and one stag were shipped i„the : ''Tnton for Wellington, where one bind and the stag arrived safe The other three deer out of the six mentioned above were sent to Canterbury but as only one-a hind-was landed there, alive, it was sent on to ton to join the two deer already there, lie three were kept for some months in a stable in Wellington. The public complained that the Superintendent t* M ""? knmv wkt t0 do with' them. day 1 offered to pay the expense of taking them up to the Wairarapa, to which-he at once assented, and in January,'lß63, I had them safely placed onmy land on,the Taratahi which they soon left for more extensive pastures- Such is the history of the deer. Having given you the facts confleeted with rabbits, deer, and insectiverous birds, on which, first and last, I suppose, I expended a £IOO I finally now leave your candid readers to draw their own conclusions, \__ , To k continued.