CORRESPONDENCE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VIII, Issue 2289, 7 May 1886, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

. 9 —«■*--• ■' TO THE EDITOR, Sir,—Owing to the rivers being in high flood on Saturday last, the day of nomination for the Alfredton Road Board. Only one candidate was nominated, this will therefore' noccessitato another election, which I understand has been fixed for the 24th May,. The one member nominated was Mr Eli Smith, who, with his nominators, had no -rivers to bar their way to the Board Office, The Chairman of_ the old Board docs not desire re-election, and he was the only other member of the old Board available to the offlce'on Saturday, with this exception, and Mr Von Reden who is now cut off from this district. Probably all the other old members will be returned. I notice that tho election of a Councillor for each of the proposed ridings of Alfredton and Pahiatua is advertised for the 29th hat. I am not in a position to inform you of the probable candidate or candidates for this Riding, possibly no steps have as vet been taken, but 1 understand that Cr Macquarrie does not intend to come forward again, as he finds that under the present financial position of local bodies, with no monev to spendsave what will keep the road in tolerable repair-there is no return to the distrjct commensurato with the loss qf tinie and labor to tho representative ill travelling eighty'miles to each meeting. This is, therefore, an opportunity for some young aspirin? public man to comelorward and hy his hand at making bricks out of straw. I am persuaded that oven now the Oouucil would be wise to hand over for say a year the maintenance of all roads to the Road Boards; and thereby save a dual rate in the County, and at the same time reduce the County's permanent expenses for olorical and engineering work by at least CO per cent. The Engineer could be paid a retaining fee, if need be, and bo allowed to do private work. I am satisfied that if properly managed, Road Boards cai) much more economically than tho Council maintain the roads within their districts, and quite as efficiently. When I affirm tliia, lam making no haphazard gueßs, for I am told that the expenses of tho Alfredton Road Board for tho year ending the 31st March last was something like 0 per cent of tljo income. I shall be much surprised if the County at tho end of the present financial year, with an infinitely larger revenue can look at this result and refrain from blushing. This resulton the part of the local Board is not the least surprising, and the same can be achieved'by any Road Board,- whose members make economy the starting point. By the way, what a storm in the teapot has been raised by your contemporary over the now much threshed out question of wages of County roadmon. One would imagine that the prosperity or ruin of the Colony hinged on the result, whereas on the contrary it is.simply a question of supply and demand. The roadmen may be, and probably are goud men but to say that they are'all'better than can be had, arid that at 0s a day, and are all,, moreover, old and expert hands, can be questioned. The fact is they are not all old hands, but this is beside the quesTo put the matter briefly, Jin my opinion, the attack'ia directly aimed at the big squatter, as he is called, tk friend of the working man, but strange to say the smaller settler is attacked as well, for what? Simply for the opposite reason that the big one is, the one because he is a large employer, and the other because he employes few, if any, hands. Consistent, is it not? Showing plainly that whatever some may do, should they .in this differ from a certain party in the community, they are wrong and no good can emanate irpm th'em. . Let, the m(#fo In tffc OojuVo* * .'{ft t^io'n ■ ■•;•'' '.•'■'•. •• "c

stand true.to their matured -convictions,' and they will lose by so doing, for assuredly, sooner or later, the public will appreciate thei man who speaks what ho thinks, without fear or .favor, but not like the : weather cock that shifts with' every shift of, the wind, lt Beoking rest but finding none." Why! to apeak of'a man not being able to live on £93 18s a ycav a tendency the reserse of. an economy ;of living. The advocates of inflated wages would do well to look beyond their own noses, and ponder the .fact of skilled mechanics in other countries—countries quite as civilized as New Zealand—for instance Great Britain —receiving only 30s per week, probably less in these hard time times, and thousands of the same unable to get work, and to talk of ecpeii men, your roadmen, shoulders hiß shovel, and gets six shillings a-day, without a day's training, my stalled mechanic serves from 5 to 7 years apprenticeship—first, and then receives, supposing ho is. so fortunate us to get on as journeyman", 30s a weok, or at the rate of £7O a year. I could venture a very good guess ae a reason, butiio names niußt be mentioaed; but why this district cannot receive the slightest attention from the present Government in any public mat: ter. suggested or requested, iB very aggravating, It is now much nvw than a year, perhaps eighteen months, since a strong request was submitted to the Government that a block of land in the I vicinity, for which'there were a number of applicants,.'should be surveyed and thrown open, but'-what has the district got ? Promises, and plenty of them, but to no further purpose than to be again broken as soon as made. Again an application was made for a piece of land for a school site, &c, but up to the present the matter has showed tne same fate, What makes this the more aggravating is that thosame piece of land morally, if not leaally, is the property ior public pur-, poses, and the new holders of what once' was the Bmall farm block, and the settlers ask only a thirdof the section. Further, a sum. of money voted for continuing the Dreyer's Ruck road-tho natural outlet to thisdistrict—has been, to all appearance, expended .elsewhere, leaving locked up ono of tho finest blocks in the province. I fear lhaye been too long- , winded this time.

I am, etc., Via Media, Alfredton. 3rd May, 1886.