MR RENALL'S MEETING.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 5, Issue 1363, 26 April 1883, Page 2

MR RENALL'S MEETING.

Mb Renall held a meeting in the [. Theatre Royal last evening. At 7.30 1 Pi m n fte feour appointed, the room was i but empty, but shortly before eight , pasmby began to clrop in,and after , a vigorous hunt for q, chairman, which resulted in the capture : of Mr H, Bentley, proceedings were commenced at 8.15, about a hundred persons being present.; .1 ' ' • ' The Chairman having bespoke an I attentive hearing for tlie address which 1 was about to be delivered,, called upon ' Mr Rpiifljl,.. said he fippeafed before i the meettag'as one whV'toblc'a. lirefy I interest in the affairs' of th 6: Totfn • Lands Trust,.and. also as one of the original-parties who bestowed the lands on Masterton. The town, acres ) were bought by five of them. After E selling some, they bestowed the re--1 $i e 9.? jw endowment, i He. first of $:• 5 which lig had been accused of wanting l r fa HfßSelf. I.' ®hig l}e fjenied;. t)ie acre » was left ift his charge Carter, The Town Trustees thpught pfopoi' to take it over in opposition to his wishes, but when the matter oanw .before the

Hpuse the Waste Lands Committee told them that they could do nothing without the sanction of the persons in whom the property waa - vested. He claimed with respect to acre 42, and also of acreslo6 and 111; that he had fyem atufiojis to divest himself of t|em. Tp'e' A latty ! 'act^ l had : (jeen sold originally, hut t|e purchasers forfeited jihefi). • The Triistegs had let acre tot had no right to dp so. Acre ' 111 was Ward's acre,. Ward left his . 40 acire block in'the speaker's charge, He kept it for sixteen years, and then gave it to the Town Lands Trust, who allowed Lancely ,to jump it. Lancely sold out to Morgan, and Morgan to Chapman, the present occupier of it. Jh(j Public Trustee had power to interval#!} § S# WW bvoug!)t Jn the Oonpt,. -ty ffigjodg^' 7 "3\lcf]:gan, which was speaker desired io take .the matter to the Supreme Court, but as funds were, not available foiy contesting tile-case,, Mr Woodwird itMise'i to. proceed further with it. He then read an extract of a letter 'from Mr darter, in tjiab. gentleman, offered to diveat Lands Trust pp '. Oouncil would give him a-guaranfee toehold him harmless from any claim that might tamadeupni} him. . The speaker thought that the three acres should be given to the Trustees to provide prices or an annual picnic to the school children. If the'meeting agreed withhim a memorial might be signed asking Mr Garter to agree to this; ■ He : ted' some' rent in hand from" Acre 42 which he intended to give to theMool.Committee, He was afraid, however,' that neither the.Town Lands Trust 01 the Borough Council could legally give the guarantee which Mr Carter asked for.' .'He did not believe that'Mr Uariier. would run r^! : 5 e came ; to .a ! subject wliiph not: so ' pleasant, the Greytown Town Belt Beserve, .'He was sorry that there was .sii.eh a difference between Mr faytonand himself on this subject. Mr Payton seemed to have tried to cram, as many falsehoods as possible into a sheet of paper, (Applause.) He. had represented that the speaker wasopposed to the settlement between. Masterton and Greytown in order to show how-beauti-fully he could write when he was telling a lie. He then'gave in detail thp history of the purchase of the town reserves, and . the t .difficulty .with the natives that arose at, Greytown.' He - stated that the Greytown'settlors came up to a meeting held in Masterton on

November,. 1867, when a resolution was passed to the effect that the 48 acres at Greytown let in such a maiiner'aa should'tre agreed upon by/the • Trustees of both townships, and that all monies that accrued from them should be equally divided between the two • townships, for years . the two townships worked toMr H. H. Jackson's statement that he gave a casting vote as chaihnan, They never had a, division at tfieir meetings. (Applause.) They had, no regular Chairman, _ but for years his fellow settlers put him in the chair, and all business, was • unanimouslyadopted. They mightgo through" the minutes of their meetings and they would never find a division recorded Three years ago.when they hold.a meeting on.this subject Mr Cuff, Who knew nothing, about the matter, opened the ball by saying that Masterton filched the reserve from Grey town. ' He at. that time explained that the Trustees had no power -to make any. arrangement, but that they .would have to submit

their proposal to* a; public meeting. That meeting s took r place, he (the speaker) was chair, and; never said anything ; 'except ;'tc> correct- a mistake made' by':Mi;.Carter., .Greytown wanted the townv.belt i;reserveii' : ajad he was never against their»havirig i t, but only againat them sayiif| : that Masterton had no right to. its share of it. When "Masterton.; and Greytown dissolved partnerahip Greytown:. took all the inopy and all ; the;acres it could fairly qlaim. He was a membgr of; Provincial Oouncilt()en t (MrChapman: And alot of goodyou did.) He.hoped Mp then he could have an inscription on his coffin "Died for love of. John Mar, tell," The general feeling of the meetting held three years ago was that there was nothing to show the value ef the property they were called to deal with, and on the Valentine Smith it was resoSfKhat arbitrators-, be appointed. did not appoint arbitrators, 1 and nothing more was done till lately, It did not not follow that because arbitrators were appointed that they should have extracted from Greytown a ; Jarger- sum than it was prepared to give. Carter valued the reserve at JSOO, and the half of it ,£250; was the sum offered by Greytown, It rested with them to say wh'e'ther.they should sell their-interest in" the town belt, As far as he was concerned he jis| no objection to it, Hp pul^' l, i{k , e 1 ' se' {jccause whei}' he passed awqy tj|qrp Would be no one left who knew ar\y : thing about it; (A voices Only tlje Daily.) If Mr Pftyton knew nothing about it, he would be able to paok .it out of his head : (Applause), At ,the annual meeting of the Trustees, it being ' a cold night, he was unable to attend. The Trust ought to have called the people together specially on, this questjoj). hut Mr Feist said he did not iliiji'li it neoessapy, Jlje property waq • owned by evurv one of them, and ih§ Trustees could no more take it away than they could take aore 42,, He was never against- a Settlement with Greytown. Year|ago;they. offered to give up their interest in this belt if Greytown would buy them twenty-five acres on the Manaia, which could have been got then at ten shillings an acre. He considered that Mr Hare and other memta of the Trust set the people at 1 (Jenantie py not a|]l6h(|iitg t}ie tiibsent meeting,' He 'then ceflsuVea the tees foi'not re-building the town-hall in accordance with a resolution passed at a public meeting. Instead of doing this, they had actually sold the town hall site to t|e Government for a Qourthquae.. [Dhe jnjjjj the'qld town hall was partly raised' tiy and these' jould not be appropriately purposes witliqut t'l?MPnspni flf'tln) lonors. Ho feared that the whole.pf

1 the trust lands irjlght in time bg.. ' flittered away by their Trustees, Ihey ' ' required a town hall, like a suit of clothes—it, was necessary to them, and 1 they need not ask whlethor it would • ' pay. He did not desire a seat on the _ Trust; he would sooner see that body . ■ abloto get on without him.' He con- ' 1 ffi Utis 1 the old tinyn hall sitp should bp sold tfl ' thp Government fgr a Cojirthoiige.. Mr Woodropfe seconded tlie 'resfiV'/'■ tion, He thought that the ■■ aqtion .of!" the Trustees m unprecedented an(l " : : repulsive to the feelings of every old settler, The Chairman-at'this stage made a speech endorsing the sentiuients of Mr ■ Renall. ! Mr Rapp asked if .the site was not Spjd anitheideeiijsfgned, leqse of had been signed.; i Mr Renall explained that the . Trustees;;had only .power 'tfrleise,'" Before a sale took have to tie-KroiighE "and due notice of its Ayquid be their, time to go in aud up^ ' Mr Chapman; Why ia Mr Banal! SQ , anxious to get into the I'ruffi j r Mr Renall: To teach the • Trustees better manners (a laugh), . He believed %j,t the present Trustees would-gO'' pretty|ight if-they had ;one man* to Mr Chapman said he could not see through Mr Renall's eloquence.' Mr'"?; Renall-had-pitched 'them a lot of yarns but not one of them: could remember > what he had said, Mr Renall said he could not be held responsible for Mr Chapman'sßtupidity. " Mr Hall inquired why Mr Renall • 'i should favpr selling one reserve -and' oppose parting wijih another? . \ ' ' Mr Renall' having Vepli'ecl, the Chaty: - mah.put the * resdlution, - when!! abou| '' " fifteen hands were held up for' it, and four against it, , . .. * -.ys The ChairjnMx :ii is earned unaniiki - ' J ously.\ /' /, V- ' Mr Cfayson *, Not unanimously,/ 0 The Chairman: were three against it, '■ ■ - Mr Clayson :- Perhaps you had better" put the question again, 1 The Chairman put the question again - ■when about 20 hands were held up for»i- '■ the and about 3 against it; V and he again declared it carried unanimously. "" A vote of thanks to the choir coni 1 eluded tho proceedings.-