The Wairarapa Daily SATURDAY, MAY 9, 1891.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XII, Issue 3806, 9 May 1891, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily SATURDAY, MAY 9, 1891.

As the municipal election turns upon Mr Renall's water supply, it may be of advantage for the burgesses to obtain a clear idea of the position which this enterprise now assaines, In the first place we might point out that everybody is in favor of a supply, and the main objection to Mr Renall's particular scheme is that it is liable at any moment to break down, Mr Benall has constructed a dam in the Waipoua river, and we venture to affirm that even the Mayor would scarcely deny that this action on his part is illegal, Several settlers claim that their properties have been ' damaged. by this illegal action, and. at least in one instance, within our knowledge, au eminent Wellington lawyer has advised a Masterton client that Mr Benall is liable for any damage arising out of his blockade in the river. At any moment an action for damages might be laid against him. If he did not care to face it he would be compelled to at once remove the obstacle he has placed in the river, and his water supply would collapse. If he defended it he might find himself liable for possibly a sum of five hundred pounds for law expenses and damages, and even then be would be compelled to abandon his project. We can hardly expect Mr Benall to see the matter iu this light, because he is a man with an abnormal enthusiasm for any hobby which he undertakes, but we do expect his "Worship the Mayor to appreciate this aspect of the question. There is perhaps another alternative, and that will be patent in the event of Mr Renall and his friends winning the present election and controlling the Council. In that event they will probably saddle the Borough with the responsibility of the supply, and in the event of an action for damages the borough rates will have to provide the five hundred pounds instead of Mr Benall. This aspect of the question ought to be faced by the Mayoral party. We can conceive that a layman with the best intentions might lead the borough, inadvertently, into a trap, but a Mayor who has received a legal training is in a very different position. If Mr Benall's blockade of the river is illegal the Mayor cannot aid and abet him without laying himself open to grave censure. On the other hand, if the Mayor can show that Mr Renall's action in throwing a dam across the stream jo legal, he will

materially strengthen the hands of his party in the coming election. But we hardly anticipate that he can do this, because a very decided opinion to the contrary from a solicitor of greater eminence has been given. The burgesses, we feel sure, expect from the Mayor of this town a right guidance in a matter of this sort, and it it is only just that his Worship should feel this responsibility and tell them candidly whether he contemplates assisting Mr Reuall to maintain an untenable position at the cost of the ratepayers.

The city papers are accusing Mr Hogg of being the writer of the letter which occasioned the late Land Board inquiry. He may or may not be responsible for it, but whoever did write it acts the part of an informer. It would be well if the name of the writer were disclosed, because there is a prejudice amongst most people against " informers." Mr Charles Beetham may belong to a well-to-do and respectable family, but he is entitled to fair play, and it is not exactly fair play to stab him in the back with a secret letter to a Minister. We think that a private settlor ol good reputation who takes no part in public affairs ought to be protected from a persecution like the one which was instigated the other day. If this sort of thing goes on the Waste Lands and Money Board will become a sort of Star Chamber, a modern investigator, where settlers will be dragged for examination regardless of expense. It is said the late abortive prosecution cost the Government £250. If the Government choo>e to go on paying money on this scale with a view to harrass and annoy the Beetham family they will disgust all right thinking men in the community, and even the working men in the Wairarapa will ery chame upon them.

We hear that Mr ff. E. Eton has issued a private circular to the burgesses in his Ward, recounting his past services and expressing his views on certain leading questions. We hava not seen the document, but we question whether he will strengthen his position as a candidate for municipal honors by a secret missive. It is true he escapes criticism by such a course, but as a rule it is the man who openly faces and courts criticism who scores best at an election.

Our local contemporary in his last issue raves about the Wellington Evening Press in the following terms.

Undor its present control, with which we profess no personal acquaintance, it has, however, reached the grovelling condition of a sycophant that licks, the feet of its masters and draws sustenance from a diseased diet. We pity such a journal. It has no freedom ; it is a slave. It has no soul; no spirit; it is dead, and inanimate, squeaking forth the utterances of its masters, after the manner of Edison's phonograph. Such a journal, living on misrepresentation, and distributing the venom that is peculiar tc. the crawling reptile, is a blemish on a free press, and an insult to the intelligent reader.

No doubt one journal or the other is thoroughly disreputable, and we do not think the public will have much difficulty in distinguishing between them.