The Wairarapa Daily. TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 1882.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 970, 10 January 1882, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. T UESDAY, JANUARY 10, 1882.

JuDGiNfftfronuthe .Jeremiads which fell from'the lips of Mr Robert Hare lastFriday e.yiningj the funds of tho Mastertori Town Lands Trust would seem to be in a bad way. We are afraid, howevei'j tkt tins worthy and ancient trustee a little disingenuous on this occasion,- that while beheld up at arm's i length the debtor side of the Trust account, lie concealedbeneatli his coattails the creditor portion of it. He dwelt in : sorrowful'accents on-each and every liability of Iho Trust, and adding them . together, showed that- they amoimted'tb a crushing total of nearly one ■hundred.,pouncs; but he ignored the'fiiet' that there were rents inarfear sufficient to' discharge every debt, ; and that even ifthis had not been the case, a freehold estate presumably worth ten thousand pounds could carry a hundred pounds.■worth of debt on its back without much apprehension of sinking under the burthen. The time is coming when public attention may he drawn with advantage to the general management of the Trust, more especially as it has suffered during-the past year frour.a sort of personal fend-between two -'prominent members of it, Mr Renall and Mr Hare. In tho town acre forty-two strife the affairs of the Trusthavriundoubtedly been neglected, and if the buttlegrbtiiid-antl-tho-fellp:-gerehts who have • .cbntendefl:■:_%■ -it • could ■:• beSelomiiiat'ed; fi'oijj;. tliej Trust altogether, we -should he.-mora' hopeful. ■' as to" its futnrev On otljcr -grounds we" admit.-.the value of the' se'H'ices : rei)•clercclby' tlio tw6' militant members of Trust. Mr Ejjnall, on all Question's : in'wlii'cli lie has. been dispassionate, has ; Rctecl. liberally and intelligently, and .Mr- Hark liaf been indefatigable in .matters-"-'of .'detail, but the talisrnanic ' Words "To,wn : i'acre forty-two" are quite' 'sufficient.- at any time to incapacitate cither one or the other from doing efficient 1 public''service, The- work that really requires .to be' done by/the Trust is first the conversion of rotten agreements intb valid leases, In the next eijdaivor to dispose of the Masterton interest jnthe fireytowh town belt on equitable terms, so as .to,terminate' the "hpai't-, tjn'hings.jvliich.-for so many years'liave arisen ont pf-.an arrangement..which neveriu.gh'tto iia-ve been entered iiito. If the Trustees were to allocate'once it year their revenue between 'the local institutions which are admitted to have a claim upon it instead of doling it out by special grants when, applications | are made.in forma pauperis, they] would expend their income in a more bu'si'n'ess-lik>'manner, and less muddle |

would- lie upparent"in their finance, Our local contemporary hits recommended another improvement, which is worthy of adoption, viz,, that ■■■the Trust Lands should be let under con(litions which,wpuld.. protect a lessee if he improved his holding from losing tho value of his •improvements when his term expired. ..'(While endorsing this suggrstioiC'wc'fuilto concur in another-one from- the same quarter in favor of changing the Trust property into a municipal endowment. The objects for which a Trust is founded' cannot without very grave reasons bo varied, and wo are quite satisfied that in this particular case an alteration is not at all desirable. Though the State, ..for example, teaches bur children the rsix standards, ilus limits of this course I of instruction do not cover all.the training which it. is desirable to impart to the young generation, and money wisely -.spent in supplementing the work : done by the education department will.bi'ni; fruit for which the men and women "of the future will some day have reason to be grateful.. We say emphatically that the Mastertou ...Trustees a-good-worl- in aiding' thellociil Sehool,--;the Institute,- and the Park.' .IHorno' that the two last have been to a certain 1 "esttiiVt white elephants, but they will nof always remain so, The .'time willLsooh; .dome when we-shall have occasion: to feel proncl' of both of them and- acknowledge the debt Masterton owes to its Trust funds. The future of the Trust is an assured one. With' the growth of the town, seats'at its Board will be sought for. as an'honor by the. best business men of the neighborhood; a greater interest will be taken by the public in..its administration, and better results from its endowments will.be obtainable. While fully recognising that in many respects the present-sys-tem of management may be improved, we. do not forget that we owe in a great measure to present and past members of the Trust the Town Hall, the Institute, the planting of the Park, and the commodious school buildings, which now replace the comparatively worthless : structure hitherto in use. The,annual revenue now yielded by the ;TrusL.Lands indicates that the property has from' time been placed with advantage in the market, and if /here aid there a few acres lie fallow, it is (simply because they have been uiisiiited.f'oi'.grazing purposes','and that they, liku scores of private'properties, have to wait lor the time when the extension.pttlie.'town brings a demand' for them as building allotments,'