CORRESPONDENCE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4643, 9 February 1894, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

The Pastoral Industry. (To the Editor W, D. Times.)

Sir,—A recent article in the Star, (of the 30th January) on the Branoepeth Station, gives one the idea that-, the" Able Editor" assumes that the bulk of his readers in the Wairarapa are men upon whom refinement of style «nd delioaoy of language would be thrown away, Like Theodora Hook's hero, he puts things "right up, straight down, smaok, smooth, and no mistake." No doubt the Editor forma a correot, albeit uncomplimentary estimate of the tastes and mental calibre of his readers. He is to oast pearh before a strong distinguished who is now engagga j Q endeavouring to BK&fteminds of the < W-gazing iuhahitants of the Wairarapa against the owners of Brancepeth was, some four or five years ago, engagod in the less immoral and far more useful occupation of poisoning the rabbits on the Brancepeth Station, at the wage of £1 per week, and "allfound." Possibly the amount of his wages since ho left the station has not varied as much as the nature of his occupation. If, as he elegantly suggests, the men who esteem and respect tho Messrs Beetham may " get black in the face" i with their exertions, I fancy his own face must be of an unhealthy yellow,. | suggestive of jaundice.' What does ha call the trash he preaches 1 socialism? Does ho at this day require to be taught that has this one radical and fatal defecfH namely, that it is nolsociull AreH latter day saints (without capital) -ioB be like the early Christians', and V "have all things common?" Does .1 he practice what he .preaches? If>| (whioh God forbid), he were J making £SOOO a Star, would he share and share alike ■ with his employes, or spend his money « in setting eaoh of them up as a little M editor or printer on his own private ■ account? If a relative were to die I and leave him 70,000 acres of sheep I ran, would he start off to Wellington, I or go amongst thepoor starvelings I ivho have been settled on the land .J [and very effectively " settled " too) : iM ibeFortyrtnile Bush, and bring ba fl 383 poor families to settle them A 500 acres a-piece ? For I assume th\H aking the coontry all round, 'bout a fair, estimate of the /JH lossible extent of-these iraagf^^H arms. Would he find them 'ears subsistence in advance, s capital ? We will not now bat knowledge of farming, ical experience, as well as

industry and .suitability consequence, And, ho^^^^^^^H in all HsJ^^^^^^| ramifications? How "J^^^^^^^l without thj^^^^^^^H And, <^^^^H^^^H amount spe^^^^^^^^^H the monj^^^^^^^^H labour, anj^^^^^^^^^^H through of an ing abo^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H work^^^^^^^^^^^^H

the rabbilera get 26s a-week, and the rent 208,' besides their food: that food, ; on the liberal scale in force at Brancepeth, would equal 10s per weok por . man; that ia over £I2OO a year. And this is only taking the' off' season, the expenses being greatly inoreased later id the Beaßon when poisoning on a larger Boale begins. This estimate allow? nothing for wiro netting, poison, tools, etc. This expenditure represents, therefore, the interest on £BO,OOO at 5 per cent. I have no authority for declaring those figures correct, beyond the fact that 1 know more than one man actually engaged at the Work, and that there can he no dispute as to the/lumber of men employed, and, their wages, I have beeJ on Vstation myself, and have had>nmr-years oipenencu of the frightfuWnjclity with which money disappears^!'" necessary expenses. 1 If this industry disappeared, would all the men who are iuw living in plenty, and seouro of good wages, bo doing better as small farmers, or hanginsyyjtving about the towns ? Are srlmTarniers flourishing ? 1 know Bcores who are not. Js it not a fact that iu very many places a man who is well" found," and is getting even as low as 15s a week, is far more comfortable than the small farmer who employs him? It is quite certain that this" Able Editor" (as Oarlyle would contemptuously have called hii) cannot know much about the weight of a bale of wool or ila present value, ho would know that his figures were ludicrously incorrect,-in which direction I leave him to discover, You, sir, in your interesting little artiolo on the Brancepeth station, stated that it was through the courtesy of MessrsDeetham that you were enabled to give certain facts and figures, which you rightly thought 1 would be interesting to your renders. It is a poor 1 and unworthy thing for the editor of the Star to assume that he is cble thereupon to construct a balance sheet for cho owners of tho property, and make public particulars ffhioh are private. This vice is only too coramou. It reminds me of what Henry Fielding said of a sister vice; "A person who prys " into the character of others with no "other design but to discover their "faults, and to publish them to the '' world, deserves the title of a blqii- " derer of the reputation o! men: boi"oiety produsss not a more odious "' vermin." ) Iu the present instanoe the "A.E.'s" conclusions are, however, as selfgvidently erroneous as they are malicious, and are, therefore, sb harmless as bis very stupid cornmunistic nonsense. Ask, sir, any of the men employed at Brancepeth, ask thote who have at different times worked there, ask tho men who have gone there to look for work, how they have been treated. The answer will be tolerably unanimous. Does the Editor of the Star know of any four men iu Now Zealand, or any-

where else, who have a more blame- ' . leas record than the four gentlemen, ' k Messrs Williams and Beetham? or who havn dono so many kindly, thoughtful actions e goodness and human sym- c an almost womanly kindlikept their hearts soft in this * world, and their l purses upon even at the risk of their goodness being now and then imposed upon, I have talked with a great ' many men in the last few years in ' the South Island, as well as in the ' North, who* ave spoken in terms of c warm gratitude of kindness received, v and I bave never heard a contrary E opinion expressed, With three of these four gentlemen I have only a ' speaking acquaintance; from tho J fourth I received most generous and' considerate help at a critical moment, j and when I was a total stranger to ( him: kindness which altered the cur- ' rent of my life. Thank God I I fell « into Bach bands and not into those of a l ■ man who for merely business purposes ' can indite such ungenerous and gra- l tuitous insults as appeared in the Star. If the . Messrs. Beetham 8 would only present the able Editor [ with a cheque for the sum over > and above the "A,E,'s" estimate of their profit on wool, which they I will, as I hope, receive, the heart of that A.E, (if be has one) would "Jean in Jjis boson, aeeing better t 'dayfr' His domestic and editorial c cares would be lightened, He would, J I feel certain, begin " moppiog up land," (I cannot try to improve on Ms I Own expressions) and. alter a short interval, during which be would pro-, bably overstrain himself amongst ' the" black-faced " ones, the Ethio- ( '•-I pianwouldohangchis skin, and his ' I ' beaming countenance, bright as the * 1 VVairarapa Star, (a star of the first l \ magnitude) would shine benevolently ' on the many poor familiefl who would ' share his good fortune, and who in ' their torn would, of course, become ' blaok in the face. But after all, this little obeque, which might change the political views of the said Star, < may not be forthcoming, It is, per- ' baps, too much to hope that a sense < of fairnesLand good feeling should 1 a change, Take, ' article tu the Star What do many really for the one were God's owftf couliar peoplo, living onder a Theocracy, wero there no rich patriarchs with immense HV jlooks and herds, and no poor ■■Hebrews? Is it true that "the HR more thrifty and industrious among HL us" are " compelled to starve" ? Are not the starving men in a vast of oases, the men who are thrifty nor industrous ? Many will refuse to belieye that the can solve the "great industrial has been sold for a mess of says the Able Editor, and to be restored." Then Zealand back to the the British Jacob Native Esau his birthblessing. "The proone are Where are they do guestion a ' ettor I^^^^^^^^^^^^^Baud

I men to write rubbish in newspapers. I suffer from this complaint myself. I am, etc, Nek February 7tb, 1894. [We would have liked this lette 1 ' better if it had been a little less personal towards oar local contemporary, and a good deal shorter. -Ed, W.D.Times.l