The Wairarapa Daily. MONDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1882. THE COUNTY QUESTION.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 4, Issue 1199, 9 October 1882, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. MONDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1882. THE COUNTY QUESTION.

Our Greytown contempowy £or„t]ie nonce, but our Carterton contemporary in anticipation'/ has published an, article advocating—;fh'Bt, the amalga-.i matlsn of Counties ;■ second,' Carterton; being the town, If any pledge! could be given $$ in event ofamalgamation this township jrljiould be the County town, we do not jij.Q,ubtj that its Highway Board and itsj Town Board would be supporters of the' union • project. The 'two bodies we refer to are, we think, a little better informed oil this point than our contejnpprary. .They know that the pubjijj jjtyrjgfof the united County, or of the Novti '(jQuijty, must be, administered from Masterto#. Tftey areiaware that.in the northern division of the present County there ig almost a& large i- population as in the southern part, and that though the latter returns, sjx members to the Council, the former only senda, three,' They do not require to be; told ithat ; the inequality of . representation ; which : now exists necessarily-be adjusted, and that the .change which has been procrastinated' inevitably take place, even without' the .special urgency" of the Counties fy,. -Even, if ,a pledge were given,, it' yould not; be binding on the new Council which would be elected { nop can we! believe : that any public man ; professing ,{o be guided ' by principle could oonseientiously agree to such a,condition, It would be; the duty of any new Council to fix its place of meeting at that, centre where its business could be most efficiently' conducted, 'and its right to determine, this ought neither to he forestalled nor prejudiced. We have, as is well-known, no unfriendly feeling, towards Carterton, and the reference we now make * to a question on which there, is a strong }osl feeling is penned with regret. Tiierespwhpy.ijf initiating it does not rest with us, but yp <Jee?i, it necessary now to take solics 'of it lest some settlers who may be unfamiliar with the various aspects! of the r county question be misled in & matter to which they doubtless attach considerable importance, We may also say a word in reply to our, Mastortcn contempoi'ary who has accused'us of .vacillation on the question of amalgamation.';, We have always advocated and still do favor the principle;) but the; practical .'adoption "of it has been forced, into, a,; new channel by recent, legislation, and we are not-so weak! as; to refuse half a . loaf because we cannot obtain g, ivhole one. In other words we -are not; prepared to saorificei the : tinioti 'of. the'Wjjareaffi?, with'the Mas;tertoii and'Alfi-edtoh Distiipts jbe,caiise one Wairarapa'coiinty is unobtainable;-- 1 We. have guaged the feeling of.the distriqfs and foiind that at: present' the proposal -for, one,, cotinty ; . .'cannot be carried. We foraaw that difficulties like the question; of. the county •'tow'n' would be mooted, and that they would be absolutely; fatial' to an "arrangement which requiredithe unanimous jconsenfc of. i jail i local: i bodies interested The time for action has b*en prenatarel.^

forced upon\us and the lßSueTpfjeventa? •11 i i'' » ii i : tiyo, -we htiVor aooo^t^d) is \ miifet .npcessa'vily, bead 5 regarditoo a-lTorth'^i§(«p^||y. .as a'^ppirtg^tonejojk am|)gamfttMi counbyr triots breaks up old lines of eeparatiofi, , and furnishes abetter base for.ultimate union. j