CORRESPONDENCE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 5, Issue 1474, 4 September 1883, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

.# _ , [to'THK BIDITOB.] Slit, —In ytm. iaaoe.ef the 22nd inst. I saw the extract from tEe Star headed " Tm Littln Game of Land-grab." Not only ia it a vile slander so far as Mr Geo, Beetham is concerned, but cth®r parts of it.ai* untruthful The sftata-

iHaat, rt#arria| to Mr B*e4ha« k uu"wbdtf of fata* r saoU<k »ttt the «tfa*>erth« Ste la hiring himself tifea $1 tmeii mmgmm aMsHkret. His fep«**a at the '.tWsd s&esting certainly kit'lis© kaprafeisn m Ute iaiada of the au&ieKtae i&ai h« wsa witbavdiriug to ssmks tkesi bellava that hfe w*g o&e of thdss dklsifrsressteti Individuals who hod fats private- interests i« »#rv«, but Jras ouly a&xioia) ft* the jpubHd food ia advoeaUiiig auspeaaioa of the County Cotisctl 4«A, bat the "derail foot" was visible. H<u ought to ha\U r«eollected " abuae is no argumeni" Had bis wisbea l»««K cOsaplisd wifci in certain respacls, i&stead of being against the County Council he would have coma forward «a one of their ss&st staunch advocates. The meeting held at Masterton on the 15th inati" was cßrtSuly not a repre-' sentative one, aa up-country settlers were aa deeply interested} and had as much right to be beard as! resident* of Masterton, Opaki and Ore Ore; due notice of the proposed meeting should have been sent to the dffieten'fcdistriats. A person maj give a fancy pries for a town property j or a building site, but a country property for farming purposes is only worth what a man can mate© out of it . If they have been valued too high under the Property Tax about Masterton arid Opaki that ought not to make them do hastily that which will afterwciJs give them cause for regret. I have too great a respect for the majority of the Masterton and Opaki settlers than to imagine that they have gone into the abolition of the County cry. AfWdueeoaiidention, on the contrary, I believe the> have been misled, or the natural irritation a man is apt at tat to feel when his pocket is touohed, haa bean takwi advantage of by certain peoplo to giin their own ends. The cry is, why istiould we be frttod to pay for roads to benefit settlers in the Oasttopoint, Taue -U, Alfredton, I and Timuiae* districta? I would mk \ all ilia old M&fiteflonarsd Opaki settlers to remember the, early days of the eetttament j the hard straggle for yearn; the difficulties in obtaining necessaries for their families, even by paying £ls par ton carriage from they only got some relief from tba eeastelesti struggle when the Provincial Government began fco make roads Iroro thf* foot of the Kimutaka to Masterton, In the c6mvo of time rivers were bridged, they then could get supplies froia Wellington at, I believe, £4 per ton, or drive to town in their buggies. How jrere all those advantages obtained! Principally from the land revenue, a great deal of that revenue was obtained from sale of Crown lands in the country districts that are now suffering from want of good roada. But the people in the outlying, districts did not begrudge their fellow settlers in the Wairarapa. thesa advantages, as. .ooeqisob. sense. told them they must begin fro;u tins' town ©ad asd work gradually outwards. How that the time lias coma for those outlying settlers to expeet

goese retunti for the [assistance so : willingly given to thosej nearer town, sorely it will not b« withheld 1 I will" not believe:that the old settlers will be so unjuafc when they take time for reflection. j But the : ease Las another aspect: Will Magtertbn residents be acting in their own interests by! agitating for abolition of the County} I think not, aa it would virtually 'amount to a

severing or the business connection between Master ton and the districts I have already mentioned, and which business is - capable of being enormously increased (by [aid of good roads) in a/few years. [Those attending the meeting on the 15th inst. who voted ft* abolition of the County appear to have lost sight of what their position will ho ; wh«n the juisctieii of ■ the Wairaraps and Napier railway lines is completed; the tr&iSc from the country beyond Mastarfcon along the railway line will thou pass Masterton, not make it "their depfit. If there were qood metalled roads, most of the traffic from Upper Tauera, Upper Whareama, and a greai deal of the Oaatlepoint district, would go to Masterton. Masterton andjOpaki settlers should therefore, in their own interests, cultivate the connection instead of trying to sever it. I They should recollect that in unity there is strength. Rather go in for " united unity " than allow themselves to make the* mistake of sweeping away what we have got. It is something wonderful the amount of wilful misrepresentation by some of the speakers at the meeting held at Masterton on the 15tk. There is one speaker I must mention. I can't help expressing my great surprise that a man in his position should give utterance to sentiments so shortsighted and selfish. I maun the reputed Editor of the Star. He said that they were better without the £3 for £\ than with it. " Let the Government do their own work. What did they care about opening up new icountryj I Look after Mo. 1." • He was apparently trying to' make those present overlook the fact that even ifthe -Govern 1 ment. did the work, the money would in the end come out of the ratepayers' pockets, so' that by taking his advice they would have the pleasure' of paying without having the slightest control over the expenditure. The r&tea are no doubt at present very heavy, soma of us will doubtless have hard work to pay them, but. theftvwjil;be an simple return for the outlay.; ; r lf we wa must py,|or" - the : rssesurcea of th«Ce»iaty 'without them.-T'iea..;ihe vast sums "spent in opening ihe ■ g«ld-fie3ds, liec&uae it felt a sueeeasi in. that was a baneSt to. the whole colony. So will it' be with any other industry. Many designing speakers raiseirthe cry about the injustice of a few acquiring 1 large landed properttas and, making roads to benefit a few at the expense of many. One thing is certain, gottd roads would be the most likely meatus of breaking up those krgg eetatss./ , It! is . oisly m«jn .with :'njpnay at t&eir eoesKiaß*!, can. accomplish tae«femng-api of many newblocks of country. : :The Manchester blookia an iiostanoe. -; : One reason 'advanced jby 'thorns rwho advfieste suspft&sioa of the County Council Act is, to keep down the expenses of keal governing bodies, so that we

will lave 1&« i&x«« to p»y &*«3 imm tuamy 4© jsfcjr ©a em- roKiK I imtefc doubt it' iSjosa two very dtulrable «»ds will be ttt&k&l fey what they Oit the Gentry, should tlify uufesiHmtely audited ia doing whiit •tfe®>s f jw&Jkmss, I fi«r twsfc only will otMll««i oosjhsioa.;.smHMk kiti m? present bar* ii«3ia " ,;. 1 ag&k'r feste&i it wstkM We well for;; our fallow sefctkra in Hasfcsrteti kai' Op«Scl to rem«B»b»s-, " in imlty t&«rs tor «tNBf(Uii tt aadi by so deiag U««y will be looking sitae No. 1. ' 1 aaa, «te., . ' Taoa. W. Tblfokb. V

JFUPITEEI To tub Exmvok. Sib,—One sj/aod term dessrves' anot-lier. I was pleased to sae& kindly and Clirlatbuii spirit displayed by yoar «oateta|HSrtory yesterday. " Secretary" it woald appear kaving given Mai w airing in the columns of tks He*;' Zealand Ts'hmss upon « att ynfcabs^' wsmedy'ffos: "& aaind diseased" 2ms hi. „ kis turn gives « Secretary" an airing. Is ■ & sMaewfiatmildly written.lsader/xW - ; Star is' ; ;iooaag. sp. I verily fed*®*®' if " Secretary* would idee $s to give '.biasv'i lew more wipiags he woaid fflooa tweoms quite ake : £j*«r respactabk, ". ', , , ■' ' ■ • *»> &c. 5 .,~ ~'i :■