CORRESPONDENCE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VIII, Issue 2330, 25 June 1886, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

(To tub UniToit.) Sir.—Some time agoihe members of the East County Council were extremely exercised in their 'minds with regard to the expense of County works and decided in reducing the waVea of their few workmen, but now co'iiies it .that, while, redu-! ; fling the wagos of their workmen to the ipoiht nearest starvation wages, they have nov decided to put the amount so saved or aoraped from the .workmen as n'n extra lining to their own pookets. Wo now see that the real point aimed at was not the saving of expense iii county work, (else'why rob poor Peter to fill th pocket j>f mighty Paul), 'frwas merely to affeot wages generally in the district and give, station-holdere cheap- labor. A more' lame eseuse for the action of the County Council could not very well be formulatod than that brought forward by Mr Hawkins in'• his letter to yourp'apor dated June 19th. If Mr Hawkins did not caro td turn critio iii the matter of expenses voted to themselves by the Council I think it is quite time tho public turnod critic in their own dofon'co, as It is thoy who have to pay the piper. To show how absurd the whole Mug is, tliero is one Councillor who owns property about thirty miles from Masterton. He and his family reside in Masterton, yot he claims travelling; expenses for a thirty mile journey, while he haß merely to eomo a •couple of miles to the mtietings. It is quite evident it is from no publie spirit he occupies the position of Councillor, but from the amount of L.S.D. that may come. Mr H. says that the Council occupied 17j hours in their labors at last mooting, aniHf such was the case it was a mountain iii labor to bring forth a mouse, for the whole amount of basinoss transacted, could,"'L believf, have been done by ordinary working men in half the time and they would have dispensed with the time occupied in : devising means to rob the ratepayers according to the Act, and line their own pockets in a manner that would boar criticism.' 1 believe Mr H. and his co-Councillors did not(as he Bays) comprehend the effect this would have on the Council's revenue, No; nor the effect it might have on those who provide that revenue. It is all very well to say, "Let sleeping dogs lie," but if slooping or any other dogs try to impose on good nature, and claim the privilege of robbiug the smaller dogs of theirwell-eamed bone, oh purpose to fill their own rapaoious maw J say kick them out. The plea of retrenchment is proved to be a farce, . Workmen's wages aro reduced by oneseventh, and Councillors' wages ino«;-.: .-...- 'by nearly two-thMv. i*, sn- ; in ,\- ■ great pity that tlu ;>■;;. ■■.■■•. r. •,... counties is not available, but ai'lor this bsrelVed pooketmg of perquisites 1 think tho best thing to do is for "all the ratepayers as a body to object to pay rates to the Council, and let the Road Boards, of which there are now six or aoven, do tho work of the district. They would do it with very little expense, and from their knowledge of local requirements tho fundi will bo spent to the groaUst advantage. There will then be no necessity for paying Councillors large bonuses for attending from long distances, and the money thus saved will asuiat in making some of the present quagmires into serviceable roads. The fact of Messrs McCardle and Reeso getting £7 for attending the Land. Board meetings is no plea for the County Council increasing their own pay,. That is another point whioh requires to be seen into. How is it that two members of the Waste Lands Board come from' the same little spots in the bush ? Pahiataa is the most exporisive point in tho colony, evidently. How is tho Waste Lands Board constituted that it roquireß two niembors to represent the one favored spot ? What particular qualifications do the members require to fit them for tho post? Or is it only a general oapaolty of appropriation that rooommends them to tho Government ? It is time matters liko these were looked into. The people are "being taxed in every direotion, and the taxes aregoing to swell thebankingaccount of those who strive for the benefit of the publio profeassdly, but really for the payments attaohed to the billets. If Land Boards are allowed to absorb a good slice of the publio property at any sitting of _ one or two hours, the land available for settlement will soon be swallowed up. 1 see the matter of perquisites of. office has already beon broujhk before tho Houße. The publio ought to insist on a thorough investigation, and some more ecomioal system of dealing with the waste lands of the colony. s - lam, <fto., ■ Oohsistenot.