The Wairarapa Daily. WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 1882. THE WHAREAMA FERRYMAN.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 4, Issue 1064, 3 May 1882, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 1882. THE WHAREAMA FERRYMAN.

The letter written by Georgb Smith, the late ferryman of the Lower Whareama, which we published in our last issue was, taken in connection with his melancholy fate, of special interest, He tells in plain, graphic, and apparently truthful terms, the talo of his grievance and disappointments, and there will ho few who will read it without a profound feeling of sympathy with the man himself. It has been supposed by some that the unfortunate man while suffering from mental aberration, consequent upon his troubles, himself caused the fire which consumed him, his wife and. children, We foil to see the slightest ground to justify such a supposition. 'A grievance such as the. one he labored under does not commonly result in a suicidal mania, much less is it likely to lead to the additional' horror of homicide. Even if the man had been the victim of extreme hunger and poverty, he would scarcely have been driven to the length of destroying himself and his offspring. We. have his own evidence to show that he was possessed of some means, and was able to earn money by tho trade to which he had been brought up, We see not the slightest reason for throwing the responsibility of his melancholy death either directly oi indirectly on any person or persons, and if we dwell upon the recital of his troubles with the County East Council or with Mr Andrew, we must in fairness disconnect them altogether from the catastrophe which terminated his existence From Smith's own narrative it appears that the late Provincial 'Government placed him in possession of a Ferry Reserve to which it did not give him a clear title, The Wairarapa County East, as successors to the Provincial Government, were unable to obtain possession of the Reserve, We believe that we are correct in stating that the Council did endeavor to obtain a legal interest in the Reserve in question, but failed in so doing. The Rjv. J. C. Andrew claimed the legal right to the ground, and asserted his interest in it by preventing the ferryman from enjoying the undisturbed possession of it, Old settlers in this district do not require the testimony of Smith to know what Mr Andrew is like. He is a just man, but somewhat hard in the tenacity with which he adheres to and maintains any point upon which his mind is decided. He is, with all this, a kind hearted man, No one will he surprised to learn that Mr Andrew insisted upon poor Smith recognising his title in the alleged reserve, and at the same time offered him the undisturbed enjoyment of it if he were content to concede the ■formal admission which Mr Andrew desired. There are many soft-hearted persons who will blame Mr Andrew

for the extent to. which he vindicated his claim, but no man. of business will for one moment question the propriety of his conduct. On sentimental grounds Mr Andrew's conduct may not be approved, but by any rule of right or wrong, observed in. legal or social circles, Mr Andrew was justified in the course he took. None the less poor Smith had a grievance which will now claim for him general sympathy, though it was of little use to him a few months agojwhen he penned his long letter •to the County Council. The number of people who have suffered grievances anddisappointmentsthrough defects in the administration of the General Government, the Provincial Government, or the County Councils is a very largo one, In this particular case the grievance was not one of exceptional magnitude, The appointment to a ferry is never considered by any Government a permanent one. It is not one in which permanent vested interest or rights can be admitted. In the opinion of the County it was a ferry which was not worth maintaining, and the paucity of fees which poor Smith deplored was almost of itself sufficient to indicate the' insecurity of tenure which is incidental to an unprofitable undertaking, An attempt has already been made to express sympathy with the dead by creating a feeling of antipathy against the living, and we feel it our duty to deprecate any course of this description. Profound sympathy with the sufferers in a horrible calamity does honor to all who entertain it, but it is an irreverence to such a solemn visitation to place any false construction on the scanty records which surround it, or to cast aspersions for which there is no justification in the plajn facts of the case. It is possible that if the Government sent up an able detective officer to investigate %> case fresh facts would be elicited which would throw more ]igl|t on tlje affiijr, and we cannot too strongly urge on the authorities the expediency of taking this course.