PAHIATUA.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 2710, 27 September 1887, Page 2

PAHIATUA.

(FROM OOR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The day of election draws a6ar, and all three candidates are • confident. Baker's attitude is that of hostility to the , Government. Ho aciijscs thera of extravagance and insincfefity. His supporters, I fancy, do not go into detail much, but they take the Government all round, and the Government candidates, auch as Hogg, - Smith, Harker, Desmond, Ivess j and they say the whole crowd aie quite unfit for power,. The candidates just, named are certainly not a bright lot. Contrast them in , order with Beetham, Baker- Tanner, Russell, Orraond, Tho distinction is *o clear, betwsen men of

education witli settled reputations oji'. the one band, and mere wind-bags' on the other, that argument would be thrown away. Of the five Opposition candidates, Tanner,. is perhaps iihe weakest. But just contrast him with Harker I Read Harker's speeches, , Smith. relies on what he has done/ ®. n( J. if you Regard him merely aa-$\.H delegate sent to' me for rt'ghc or. wrong bß^a£not done' b^,;-; He seems to get money speftt.ln his^district," there bis merits ond. : ()f •<> paker's supporle&>%>e Vint rtopa' . fcble to help in deßstenable toiliscuss' > •hew subjects intelligently, ' v 'II • - necessary d eser tbo th Hoy er and Opposition and. 'adjiport- a hew pfirty--on new lines. MfeCardle,, as an : ihde* pendent candidate, may- be considered ' quito out of it. Be fias .not the calibre - to, take up such 'a stand. At his .. address the other 'jiay h& sa&There- " tiffed from the contest in iavor of Mr Hoggf,. Surely this was.. • a mere happy inspii-ktipiu When, I. wonder, was it announced in Mister•ton? ■

Now, 88 to the Paliiai'ui,; : ; I have not a favorablti uccouufr ; t'6 giye» V We went ahead too fa'sUt first,' and suffer, from re-action,. ''The. county all ■ round 1b cut up and sofd,'Abut settlers don't come in. Conseqiiently. th^iown. •' is-altogetlier on too la'rge'4 sculo : fdr'' ; the surrounding populism;; Wohaye '.' i-v a towti hall, a large' a^ictioii : Vpom, seven genoral stores, large boarding houses,' .two cabinet-'

makers, and so on. Where thfcre scope for all there ? Sojije jAjt kll the ;; blamo on the of. .. discouraging capitalists ffp.m up land, Others say tho is worse in other places, My, own .impression is that lack of roach-has niuch to do with it. There are any-quantity of 100 acreseotions only aqcessible->bjr" rude tracks. I visited qno of the. ' nearest tho other day. It,lwas only about a milo from a metalled road,' but ' that mile was a terror, For(y;miniiteii « is considered art average pasßagt Hoir' I "anyone can pack stuff in afflout T ' 'cannot concoive. A n ordinalrmortal finds the mere walk in and out-aim-

perienco never to be forgotten. To take a family in there would be .something like going into tbo middle-of Siberia, But this was a case of n well marked short track.. There are plenty of sections where there-is no track and throe miles of hush have to be traversed, 1 cannot say too-.often : thafc were the sections say lOOOjitesi" or more iii size, they :ould all by a' road with little expenso. Jji is wheii-sectionß are email that roads-, aref sucb-a difficult problem, There;are' other, sections, especially up tbo Toritea road, which are approached by a' forflibi road ; but it is not metalled,' apd .prbsents the appearance ct a loDg pile of: tenacious clay, with a ditch oa each,side,. There is 'nothing for it but to c.ourageoufilywade through tbomud. The idei of riding rapidly iu ajttout, to gee mails, buy stores, &c., isfrepos> teroiiß, ' With a road like that a wan

three miles from Pahiutua is as badlj off as if lie were eight miles off with a, good road. The only consolation left-'-us is that' land seems to keep up in value. ' Nearly all the improved land' ' : in the market is offered at prices that '■ show a large profit over the original cost, together with improvements. Alfio.it is reported that iu the special settlements a great many suctions have 'bf>eu.transferred at a proGt to capitalists.. ;If these hated capitalists had been allowed to compete for it in the ■first-instance,'l fancy the district couldhave been mo're flourishing. The only news of the day is a ball which comes'off to-night given by the young ladiefi. of Pahiatua as a return

for a bachelors' ball some months ago t As I Write it raining and blowing, and all. the youn? and ardent are praying earnestly for a change, in the weather. ' •