THE SUTTON EPISODE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1739, 18 July 1884, Page 2

THE SUTTON EPISODE.

To m Editor. Sir,—Your paper of July 7th is to baud, and I cannot let your leider pr,ss without a few remarks on it in justice to Mr Sutton, ' I will now quote from your leader; in it i you W: " We observe that Mr Waring Taylor attributed his bankruptcy the other i day to the bad returns of his'Whareama run"; I eould see vory plainly that you were nol aware of the state of Mr W, Taylor's ; run when Mr Sutton took ollico, as I have good authority for stating that the sheep were being.'shot [down by dozens'and left rotting on the ground about the time Mr Sutton was appointed. ■ Quoting again from your leader, you statu-: "Now there is one 1 broad fact that tho most enthusiastic of Mr ' Button's friend cannot controvert, and th-it is he failed to eradicate scab within the two' years that lie held charge of the district," Now, 'air, had you known the state some of • tho runs wero in al tho timo Mr Sutton was

appointed, you would soe yourself that it: was utterly impossible for Mr Sutton, or any other man, to clean them in two years. Bet, sir, whose fault was it that so many runs, were'gazetted soabby, directly after Mr Sttton was appointed? Certainly not Mr Sutton's, as the Manawa run' had infected no less than seven runs; viz. Messrs Stillbom's, Langdon's, Cameron's, Telford's Williams', Miller's, and Cross'. These seven runs were gazetted scabby shortly after Mr Sutton's appointment; therefore, the mischief was done before Mr Suttoa's time. At the meeting in July Bth, 1883, it was proposed by the Committee then formed tor inquiry into the working of the Sheep Department,' that Mr J. Drummond be appointed Special Inspector. You state that this was a vote of cenauro on Mr Sutton, Now 1 fail to seo the justico of this, as Mr Drummond at that 'time had nearly the. same control as he holds now, as Mr Sutton's attention was directed'moie to the SouthWairarapa, trying to stay tho rabbit plague, so that virtually Mr Drummond had the working of the Whareama district in his own hands, so what real good did this meeting do? None whatever! It did one thing and that was to hound Mr Sutton out of the district. If this Committee wished to benefit the Whareama people, if instead of hounding Mr Inspector Sutton out of his billet they had turned their attention to, and assisted him in clearing the Crown lands of scab, they would have conferred an overlasting favor on the district at large. What difference is there now in respect to the Sheep Department; there is this diflerence, that there are three Inspectors now in the Whareama district instead of two as formerly, It appears to me that the motive of this committee was to got rid of Mr Sutton, and when this was accomplised there were no further stops taken in the matter, for they had obtained their object by getting the man dismissed who was doing his duty both to the Department and tho settlers in the Whareama district. It would iiave been more to the credit of this committee to have given their aid to Mr Inspector Sutton instead of being the means. of his dismissal. Query; Who were the Whareama settlers who desircd the removal of Mr Sutton? As I know they were as much surprised at Mr Sutton'B dismissal as that geßtleman was himself. I will further venture to say that had Mr Sutton been left to have worked tho district another eighteen months the scab would' not only have !>een cleared from the Whareama, but there would have been a great stride in the direction of getting the rabbit pest under as well, provided his suburdinato did his duty to him and by him, and I have no hesitation in saying that Mr Baillic wai not justified in his dismissal of Mr Sutton, and in conclusion I may state that I was myself ouo of Mr Sutton's victims while he wa9 Inspector, and also that I am a staunch supporter of Mr G. Beotham. I am, &c„ TINUT.

P.S,-Since writing the above I see by your paper of July Bth, a telegram from the Hon, Mr Dick, stating that ho has charges against Mr Sutton. If so, why does Mr Dick not bring them forward and say what thay consist of in a manly straightforward way?

10 TIIK EMTOII. Sin,-In your leader of July 16,1 observe for the lirst time during.this electoral contest the fact stated that Mr McCardie is a "Groyrte,". Sir George is an adept in throwing dust in the eyes of those ho endeavors to befool, and his followers are apt scholars, Of course Mr McCardie in his speech at the Theatre lloyal would lave us believe tliat he is an independant candidato whilst it is a well-known fast that he is a Greyite. The only indication he gives us of this is that lie prefers a laud tax to the present property tax, Now this is one of the lcadiug principles of the Grey policy (the " bursting up" policy) viz., to tax the land so that tho large proprietors and capitalists would be obliged to cut up their properties on account of being so heavily taxed, Any thinking mau C! "i easily sec that such a policy is a most suicidal one for a young colouy as it would drive capital out ofthocolouy, andla3a woiking man hold that such a policy would make New Zealand a poor country lor tlie genuine working man, I have no With those who oudeavor to sec claw against class, Capital must go haud in lu.nd with labor and labor with capital, Air JkCiralo has said (not in public,) that rabbits or the rabbit pest was oii6 of the greatest tlessiugj to New Zealand because it would compel the large pro* prietors to cut up) in other words "barafc up") their largo properties. Any ono who considers how much the efforts of the colony have suffered fiom tho rabbit pest and tho amount of capital that is diverted from improving the couutry aud expended in killing and poisoning rabbits, aud in grain, phosphorus, dogs, ferrets, &c, can easily sec that the rabbit pest is one ol the greatest curses to the country and a constant drag on the progress of the colony, At the nomination, to blacken the Atkinson Ministry, great capital was made of the cry of tho unemployed from the South, aud men going about with their swags unable to iind employment. A short time ago, when application was mado to the Government on behalf of the unemployed at Dunodiu, I met two genuine working men who had recently come up from Otago to do fencing &c, at a station on this Island, and referring to tho cry of tho unemployed, asked them ' What about Utago now ?' Their opinion was that tho unemployed were principally bafcrs who hang about the towns and would not go out to the country districts for. work. These two intended, after they had wrought a few months here, to return to the South, aud had no fear of liuding plenty of work. Only a short time ago I met tho manager of a station not 100 miles from Masterton, who informed me that he had with great difficulty succeeded in letting a quantity of bush felling at £2 per acre, These are facts aud speak for themselves, In conclusion I would say, electors bewaro of candidates with the ' Grey policy, and vote for the man who has served us faithfully and honestly in the past who is again willing to servo us aud has fitted himself by travel in America and Europo to represent us in the future Parliament.

I am, iSro., An Elector and Woiikiko Man. [Wo said Mr McCardle's supporters wore "Greyites." We don't know what Mr McUardle.is.-Lto. W.D.]