MEETING OF DELEGATES.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 1882, 7 January 1885, Page 2

MEETING OF DELEGATES.

A meeting of delegates of the North Wairarapa County Settlers' Association was held in the Upper Room of the Institute at noon ■ to-day, Present—Messrs R. S. Hawkins, E. Meredith, W. H. Beetham, A.'R. Bunny, G. M. Park, S.; Bacon, R.-. Welch, and E. E. Chamberlain, ".'" '.. "■ ;• -.

■. The minutes'',')kying been confirmed, .the Chairman ppinted.tm.tf that no date had' been fixed.'for the.public.meeting authorised at.'the late meeting" of the Association.- Jt.was'resolved that'jibe fixed for Saturday,.the 17th inst. A letter was -'.read from the UnderSecretary of the Crown Lands Department re Puketoi Block, stating the application •for a special settlement in that district wpuld.be considered. "' A letter was read from the Hon. Mr ,-Ballance. .acknowledging, the., application of : the,Association forra reserve"of 600 acres for a public ..park, and stating that •the'lGoyenj'rtient '.Were-unable to comply with the request."' The following letter was received from Mr G. M, Park, resigning as a member of the Association:—

-. Bowlands, Masterton, '; '. ". ;£.; . January 5,'1885: ' • ■ Sib—lt Beams to rae,..iraposßible--io : reconcile the very.prominentpatfc you are flaking in ptiblio' matters, and notably irj. tjie' Wairarapa- Settlers'Awoctatiou, wiivthe duties which yw

have undertaken as.shief.pf.th_o telegraph office at Masterton. The Association is political and,-its recent action on the question of roads and railways such as to stir-up strong antagonism.- That it has .done.so in your own mind, the strong expressions-used'by you leave no rooin for doubt. Nowthat I should have opponents is in'the nature of things, and I shall bo .most;happyto reckon l yoii among their number provided; you will give up the official position Wlrich makes you master of. my, private telegraph messages. This is not only a question personal to myself, but of wide public importance. I hold that one who has accepted the high position of trust of conducting a largo part of "thTJ'.piivate, mercantile, and political cor-. .I'ospondonoe of a county should loyally ,'foregii all such share in public matters or business as may place him in competition with or antagonism to those whose open correspondence it is his duty to conduct. Ido not charge you with anyibetrayal to others of the information .which'comes to you in your judiciary'position, but it is impossible but that; knowledge, so gained should influence your colli'?.;, (if .action,. Holding these opinions I think it right to..ask..you,.if you concur with :tae, t6 choose inwhich of the.two positions you desire to give your services to the public, If you declare your intention of retaining both, then I shall submit a formal statement of the matter to the PostmasterGeneral with a view to obtaining his decision on the matter. ' I am, ' ••■ ■ • Your obedient servant, .. . Robert S. Hawkins.

MrPayk,' •'. Telegraph Office, ;. Masterton, Masterton, January 6,188i>. . Sir,—l have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the sth hist,, in which you request me to resign, my position in the North Wairarapa Settlers' Association. In reply, I havg.-to inform you thp,t> I have: 'decided, to accede -to- your ..request,' although I fail to" seo why.the request was ,raade.''.,',:_ .'.', t . ■■■ - ; - I am,'yours obediently; / :'.._' •'• 6. M.'PiKK. V To Mr Hawkim;'? vr " ■;•.";'' '■' "■'•' President Wairarapi North County Settlers' Association. ■ ■ ..... ;Mastercoh, 'January '6,1886.;:- ; Sm,—l.begtp tender my resignation as a member of tile Wairarapa North County Settlers' Association, and trust yoj will lay> it before the delegates and members Of the Association'at your earliest convenience. I also beg to request you to lay the attached correspondence before the Association for its information. I have, etc., G. M. Park.

W. Sellar, Esq., Secretary North Wairavapa County Settlers' Association, ; The President invited discussion on the correspondence. '' Mr S, Bacon asked if the President had any motive in asking Mr Park to resign, and whether he should have addressed such a letter to Mr Park without the ! authority of. the delegates. He thought the action of the President was despotic. He did not for one believe that the Government would be ruled from Bowlands. He considered that the Society was not formed for political purposes, but for fostering local industries. He considered the conduct of Mr Hawkins displayed either private or political animus, He maintained at the last Association meeting the course taken by Mr Park wa3 right, and' that taken by- the President -waswrong. Mr Park had been invited by Mr Hawkins to jojn the Association, hadbeen \ a member of it for some fifteen months, and it was not till he was elected. a" dele- , gate and came into collision with the President that any objection was raised to him, Then he was threatened with the loss of his means of livelihood unless he obeyed the wishes of the President. He "moved that Mr Park's resignation, be riot accepted, but that the. correspondence be ' laid before a meeting of the Association. ' : Mr W. H. Beetham. seconded the' Motion pro formu. It was the duty of everyone to take a lively interest in the affairs'of the district in which he resided, On the other:hand a gentleman in Mr : Park's position should be'very careful in . expressing party views. The Association was for the benefit of the-district, and it was not.surprised that "it. embraced ■ political questions hi its programme, He : failed tri see how police's could be excluded fronijts deliberations'if it were to answer ■ . 'the purpose for whicluit .was founded, \ Mr A, R,.Bunny stjited fthat the correspondence betweenMr Hawkins and Mr ' Ttfwas'a private one in which the delegates, were not interested. : Mr Hawkins,' . as a private individual; had a perfect right to express'his sentiments, and if Mr Park, concurring with Mr Hawkins' views, handed in his resignation, he was at perfect liberty to dp so.' Mr Park, in explanation, said Mr Hawkins invited him to job the Association and he did so on the understanding that it was a non-political society, and he had never taken part in discussions of the Society which had reference to politics. He had taken part in the question of fqads v railways; but maintained that this ' gubject was outside the political arena. Asa settler in the-Forty Mile Bush he 'was - interested. in declaring whether he would have a road or railway to his door. Anyone wlib:-,wbuld begrudge him this privilege was not V.man at all, but a dog. Many parts of Hawkins' letter were superfluous.;. Mr Hawkins did not object to. him as, an" oppbnont, but he (the speaker) wasiriot in the habit of tilting at windbags, and.he would give up the Association in preference to sacrificing his livelihood, At the last meeting it was so plain that Mr Hawkins was prostituting the Association to his own interests'that he had then determined to resign. Mr Meredith said the correspondence had taken him by surprise, and he must say he regretted that Mr Hawkins had, without, reference to the Association, taken such a decisive course towards Mr Park. Mr Hawkins was aware of Mr Park's position from the first, He also dissented from Mr Park's remarks on the President. He believed that Mr Hawkins had the interests of the nistrict at heart, and was not wprking from selfish motives. He had gulvinged into action a large amount of public opinion, He thought the matter should have been settled privately, The President expressed a wish that Mr Park had used, the same moderation in his remarks as he (the Speaker) had adopted in his letter.,- ; His speech revealed, the amiinus which was' so objectionable,- He had not asked Mr Park to'retire from the Association. If Mr Park had not taken an aptiye-,;p,art'iri the Association,, but merely-remained as a men)ber,',the present' difficulty would not have arisen, It had been said-by Mi' Bacon arid repeated by .Mr Park-that, he had said that tho Association was. not, a, political body. He defied anyone to. prove this. fronx..his speeches.. Throughout he had affirmed -the contrary;. ; He did Jiot pbject to Mr • Park as an,opponent fr'he"did#.ofrpossess; : the key to all his private correspondence.', : and it was impossible to. efface from Mr/ Park'B mind all thekMericfeiAvhiehwerev' impressed upon it by his official.' know-! / He denied that he' wrote to Mr - - Park in his position as a president, but at • a. private'individual. He was:wilHng 'to •hear alone the respqnsibilityof hjgabMon. ' Messra...Meredith and3eltt'~made' .furthw:»maib,'3ji which•'tfay'.tfte£;tb-' .throw oil/on;-ffie':%>ubled' waters; aft*" wWohtheTOat'te'diopped; • thoughtbefore the :

meoting.the question.of a public dinner to the Hon, J. Ballance on the occasion of his visit to Masterton,.". He moved that the Settlers' invito Mr Ballance to a public dinner.

Mr Meredith seconded the motion, but thought that the outside public' should be •invited to co-operate with them. After somo.discussion it was.resolved, That tlie'Mayor, County Chairman/and Messrs Hawkins, Lowes, Hogg, Sellar, and Bunny be a committee to take the necessary steps to arrange for a dinner to Mr Ballance, ''■'■,