CORRESPONDENCE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 4, Issue 1247, 7 December 1882, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

HIGHWAY BOARD JUSTICE.

To the Editor.

Sir,-I have before me what Mr W. H. Beetham calls his reply to my letter of the Mthult, Noionaible man c*n accept his letter as a reply to mine, for he neither wrestles with my arguments nor does he defend the actions of the' Highway Board which I havi attacked, v, He contents himself ;; with a very mild attack upon me, and . the tone of his letter resembles anything but

the sensible arguments of a public m»n. Mv I latter, of tha 24th nit. dealt with' the griev-';l anceof No.- fward, a matter which had' already bean the subject of discniHion in your.oommns, I . did not mention Mr W, fl. BeetliamV name, and my letter in no way_ called for a reply from him, although it merited an Answer from Mr Buchanan, Mr Beathim'points to the tricks Messrs V«nnell, Cooper, Burrows, and others haye ■to. trawl, These settlers certainly are badly in want of roads, and as they live in No. 5 Ward, it is the duty of (heir Warden to assist them with the funds of their own Ward, This matter, however, has nothing to do with the grievauoe of No. 4 Ward, and thore is no reason why their roads should be made with the fsnds of No, 4 - Ward. The Board Bight as well expend our rates in clearing the bush tracks to the home.-i of settieis living under the uriowy t»pd jf the Tarawa ranges, My correspondent boldly states "Mr Fergusson has no claim whatever." This grave sentence I am unwilling to accept unchallenged, My olaims are: lst-Those of a settler who has paid rates; 2nd-The olaim I have conjointly with other settlers living beyond Braneepeth . that the road should be extended; ,3rd—The claim that the Fernyhurst property has on the Board inasmuch as it has paid' rates for the last eleven jrears, This property aa far back as 1875 paid rates amounttn? to LlB per annum. Tlie rates have increased till we (Messrs Chalmers, Moore, and myself) now pay L 34 yearly. These rates have, mostly received » corresponding subsidy which doubles theso figures, therefore, the oroperty upon whioh we live has contributed to the Highway Board in rates and subsidies about LSOO. Now this clearly proves that the settlers living on'the old' Fernyhurst property have a just and longstanding claim upon the Masterton"Highway Boaid. HVhere have the Fernyhurst rates gone? According to Mr W. H.Beetkam'B argument re hare a direct alaiin for our "contributions to the general fund, minus genoral (expenses." This would leave ut» £340, which would' be sufficient to make a good rpad to Mr Moore's propel ty. In tho face of thoso Ml, and with the handßomo sum of £340 owing to uswe hare received nothing beyond Brancepeth, .with the oxception of about £2O for a small bridge. It is a source of great regret to, us that our Warden, Mr W.H. Beethamj troubles himself so' little about us, and instead of advocating our'claims, he busies himself about the affairs of No. 5 Ward, Another strong claim, I havo conjointly with othors. Tho committee 'ap pointed to settle our cUima upon No. 5 Ward grantedjiw £204, and suggested tho money should be exponded in extending the Taueru and Wainuioru ro»d. The decision of'this .committee should have been £nal andrWO' should have received their award, but orag tothejeombined efforts of Messrs Buohatian and Beethamthe decision of the Board was overthrown and we had this money tako'n from us. Mr Buchanan's action in this matter although high-haudediu the extreme was the action of a man fighting for his Ward, but Mr W. Hi Beetham's action in voting this money out of his own Ward is weak aud inconsistent. Is it surprising that many settlors are indipnant at this notion? We had fought hard with the Board and had actually gained our cause, against overwhelming influence. After being awarded this, money by_ a committee of the , Board whose decision should have been final we see the resolution of the Board revoked, and tho work of its ,committee cast to the winds. There are only six members of the Highway Board. I have already pointed out that this decision had the support ol Mr Meredith aod the three Wardens who signed it. All this is the work of tho Chairman's persona} influence over the Board, assisted by Mr Beotham, lam Ac., : - J, C, FkrocS'lON,