TO THE EDITOR.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1637, 18 March 1884, Page 2

TO THE EDITOR.

SiR,-4Vill you kindly allow me a jsliort space in your paper re the county ;'siispensiori, and a word in, reply to Mr •McGregor. I will not attempt to follow the county report, but content ■myself by referring to portions of it, 'ln'the first place, clause 3, the report .points out that 35 persons appear to have signed the petition whose names ,do not appear on the county roll. Now •to my mind-this is a queer point. The suspension committee appointed a*« gentleman.: to , prepare a true copy therefrom. He waited on the county clerk for this purpose. He made out a list from the one handed to him, and subsequently handed it to the suspension, committee, they believing the list to be, a correct one, acted on it.; I have heard persons blame the suspension committee for wilfully placing names on the suspension petition, knowing at the same time that they had no right to appear thereon. Now I am quite aware that sensible and thoughtful men , will not for one moment entertain such an idea. It must appear quite clear that the Buspension committee has been had, either wilfully or by mistake. I leave the explanation of this point to the gentle.man appointed to prepare the list and the county clerk. Clause 4,1 take it, that the ten names here; objected' to have been guiltyof, signing their names correctly.' The,county; haying /put down their; : names' incorrectly spelt. Are those 10 persons to be debarred from all political rights, or rather 9 persons, because the county has a roll

With thoh' names wrongly spelt 1 Clause sis in tho same position. [lf the county will count again they will find the numbers are 9 aiid 3, not 10 and_3], Clauso 7. The person ob- ! taining the names has made, it seems, n small mistake. Only a man of some wisdom would over notice such a mistake, (But, by'tho* way, I Imve'sceu at least one of the persons write not only his name, but a letter of some length). Clauso 9is another frivolous objection. (6 names are objected to). Clause 10. The namo of Mr J. M; Girdlestonc appoavs twice (i.e., in chauses 9 and 10), which will leave 12 not 13, as is stated in the report. A numberof theother names arc occupying and improving their land at Pnhiatun. Clause 11. Six names are objected to because they could not write the'v own names, and no evidence on the petition that they had' made their mark. Now, I think the explanation of the person' obtaining the names should be quite salisfuctoiy. lie says he believed the correct thing for thoso persons to do was to hoM the pen while he wrote their names, He further declares before a Justice of the Peace that the names attached to the petition are'correct.' This has also been done in each and every case. Surely the Council do not mean to say that the gentlemen obtaining the names contained in the various petitions''are guilty of a false declaration? I anV sorry that I could not attend the last meeting of' the County Council. ■ Hud I been there I should have had something to say, not that 1 think I would have been able to have induced the Council to abandon their frivolous

objections to tlio petition; But I i could Lave raised my voice against of the frivolous objections tliat ' were brought forward in the report, What good can the Council expect to derive from a stubborn opposition to tlio almost-universal wish of the people. The County Council, by their action re the petition are only widening the breach between llio Council and the settleiF, They are, it is true, fighting for an existence Hint they as, men endowed with wisdom and learning must see only too plainly cannot existbut a very little time longer, The settlers, though ignorant,'have just a little learning (a little learning is said to be a dangerous thing), so the County Council will find tlio saying will hold good in the case of the suspension party, The settlers will not he put off by the Council finding faults with the petition. ] f needs )jc, another will be at once started, and the names required obtained in accordance with the Act (and the County Council).' A new roll will shortly be made up, and a very largo number of new names will bo added, In Paliiatua alone I think, there will | l(l „t feast fifty, judging from the number of 'small sections sold by me and others. It will be therefore be a much easier task to get the required percentage o( names than in the case of the late petition, But setting aside all future efforts, the suspension movement has already done good, The County has been reduced, the ferry charges are to bo made less, and the ferry is to be let by tender, Now that I have come to the ferry, I may as well reply to Mr McGregor. Mr McGregor is reported to have said that at a recent meeting at Paliiatua some startling statements had been made about tlio ferry. Mr McCardlc had stated that the Council had let it to Mr Carver till the bridge was built, but this was a misstatement. Now, what I did say was this: A resolution was moved by Mr McGregor, I think, that the ferry be let to Mr Carver for twelve months This was afterwards amended by adding the following works:—Or until the bridge is open for traffic. I belong to the suspension party, honco the mistake I have made in supposing that the resolution being so worded meant more than twelve months. I am pleased to find, however, that the resolution only means twelve months, But I must confess I fail- to see why the amended words should have been added if they convey no other meaning than simply aro contained in the words: For twelve months. Ido not think after all that Mr McGregor's remarks aro at nil called for; lior do I think any remarks I made' at tlie meeting to which he refgts were such in their nature as to demand an explanation from him. Had'Mr McGregor been at all a fair manV would have explained the resolutiorAio the' Council, and his reasons for arriWjt at the opinion that twelve months 1? on ty meant as the term of lease, iW m > M- 1 ' McGregor knew I was absent and therefore could not reply, so f ie embraces the opportunity to make/it appear that I had- been attempting to mislead the meeting. When Ml l ' McGregor finds me tripping it will bi time enough for him to commence J li |ie ': of action such as,the one ho indfed ' n at the last County nieetino* I n conclusion, I hope Mr McGrcw mfl y find his new circle of friends'f' s ready to screen his faults and extof'liis virtues as were his old friends, to whom he has for somo time past given tho go-by. Yours, etc., W. W. McCiRDLE,