Correspondence.

Waikato Times, Volume XII, Issue 942, 6 July 1878, Page 2

Correspondence.

[Our correspoDclence columns are im' T s partially open to all matters of interest, but we do not, in any wfiy identify ourselves with opinions expresssed? herein.] •' '■

Sib, —It is with satisfaction;'! road<CJoun-| | cillon Cummings effusion which appeared# | in Thursday’s issue of dptf it|! | contents'do not surpriffe|me, for w*|s ; opinion that any reflective mind wouldfully expect that a man who had acted', in the manner in which Councillor Cuihming has d6he%biildJibqttit'e capable of writing as he has written. What is the purport’ of it ?—revenge, hitter revenge. I shall not make the slightest attempt, however, to rebut the charges'made against my ' personal character and abilities, but/will leave an impartial public to form their own estimate, pi di,d ; not stand in the Council Chamber as a champion for Tamahere, but ,as *a champion of justice, giving facts and figures loir my/ basis of operation, whereas the whole evidence on the other side Was based on assumption, and the same course is studiously pursued in Councillor .Gumming’s letter. I distinctly stated in the Council Chamber that, if the Council had the power to make Tamahere rate herself more in proportion with other ridings, I might see the j ustice of the action taken by opposing councillors ; but I will not stand by and, because’ Tamahere may have done wrong, allow the Council to do a greater wrong unchallenged, on the basis that two wrongs, will make the matter right. Councillor Gumming’s simplicity is amusing in wishing to impress on the public mind a conversation between himself and Councillor Leslie bn the merits of his return for Tamahere. Of what public interest is it ? Councillors Leslie and Camming can talk about dividing the moon if they think fit, but does Councillor Gumming wish to make ah incredulous public believe that, if at the time of his candidature he had hinted the proposition that Tamahere riding, should be abolished, he would have been returned by Tamahere, even (as he considers) to represent Kirikiriroa. In conclusion, I Councillor Gumming has been waging an unrighteous warfare, and is fully aware that ho has gain’ed an inglorious victory. If one in leading strings may advise him, I would say the less said about it the better for his sake.—l am, &c., George E, Glabk. The Grove, July 4/1878. THE WAIKATO COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS. permit me to- reply to a letter which appears in your issue of to-day, bearing the signature of “ William Gumming/’ referring;to the proceedings of the Waikato County Council on the 28th ult. I: feel . bound in justice to my i friend and fellow •councillor, Mr Clark, tto take some notice of Mr Cumming’s cpntemptable effusions. Those who know Mr'Clark know well that he is a man who •will be led by no one, a man of most remarkable independence of mind and action, - and and of the strictest honor. Instead of Mr Clark being led by me, as Mr Gumming insinuates, I am proud to say that in' many matters connected with the County Council I have bean led by him, knowing well that he has made the working of that institution a study, while I have not. Anyone who says Mr Clark watches for a nod or a smile of approval or the contrary from me simply lies. .Mr Gumming states “in a’conversation which took place between Mr Leslie and myself—fortunately Captain teele was present.” He says “fortunately.” Sir, I am not in the habit of stating one thing 'at one time and contradicting it at another, and require no witness to bear tes- , timony to my truthfulness, thoughpossibly Mr Gumming does. Mr Gumming further says,'“ Mr Leslie wished me to pledge myself to vote for his nominee as Chairman of the Council.” If Mr Gumming calls Mr Clark my nominee it only proves his ignorance of the English language. Mr Clark was a candidate for the representation of the Cambridge Riding, in which I have neither vote nor influence of any kind. How then could Mr Clark be my nominee P That I wished Mr Gumming (if elected for Tamahere) to vote for Mr Clark as chairman of the Council is yery certain, and that I asked him to do so is equally certain, ar.d I had two Very good reasons for doing so— ; firstly, that I considered Mr Clark by • far the most able man for the position; and, secondly, that I wished Cambridge (as a sister riding to Tamahere) to have the Chairman’s casting vote. I never supposed Tamahere was ‘entitled to two : members in the County Council, and, at the time of election, I, with others, was under the impression that the second member for Tamahere, would be transferred to Kirikiriroa, but we afterwards discovered that no change could take place until the expiration of the present term of office of County Councillors Thus, whatever may have been our ideas on the subject, nothing can alter Mr Cumming’s 1 position as one of the members for Tamahere, and, while ’he sits for that riding and votes ‘ against its interests, he is, in plain English, a traitor to the constituency which gave him his seat. Mr Gumming further says, “ With regard to the . precious petition, the part referring to myself is a deliberate falsehood, and I defy Councillor Leslie to produce a Tamar here ratepayer (even a pocket one) who will state that I made any sort of promise to uphold Tamahere interests as , one of their representatives.” Will any sane person believe that any constituency would elect a representative without some such promise ? I have only spoken to one Tamahere ratepayer since the 28th ■ ultimo, and hj« is certainly not what Mr Gumming calls a “ pocket one,” and I beg to refer Mr Gumming to one of our largest ratepayers, Mr Charles Crawford Wood, as to what Mr Gumming pledged himself. Mr Gumming alluded to what he terms •my “ pocket voters,” and I presume by such he means the highly - respectable servants on my farm, who, by right of being householders, are entitled to vote as ratepayers. I beg to tell Mr Gumming that these men are as independent-minded, as truthful, and certainly as honorable as he is; and he is not so far in the social position above these men as to seek to disparage them. Honor among the laboring class is of quite as high a standard as that of would-be gentlemen. Mr Gumming expressed an opinion at the County Council meeting, on the 28th ultimo, as to the manner in which signatures are obtained to petitions, and stated that, according to his experience, “ anyone oari be got to sign a petition.” Does Mr Cumming’s experience in obtaining signatures to the petition he holds with regard to the bridge over the Waikato river at Hamilton point this out to him? I have already gone far beyond the limit which I could reasonably expect you to allow mo in your valuable paper, and Avill not again address you on this subject unless by paying for the required spaco, and I trust Mr Gumming will do likewise. —I am, &0., Patrick Leslie, County Councillor for Tamahere Riding’. [ Wartle, July 4, 1878.

Sm, —Allow mo to say a few words In reference to the matter of the adjustment of representation in the Waikato County Council, lest the public should be misled as to the merits of the case by what has been said and written by Councillors Leslie and Clark. I will give my reasons for supporting Councillor Cmnming's motion more fully than I did last Friday. It

having been admitted by every member of the Council that an adjustment was required, one method wag proposed by , Cpfiiicjllor J^umpigg,.,Damely—the divi?mon Riding between the and Kirikiriroa Ridings, and slje giving ItheseUwo. ridings three members each, ak<L thd|Rangiriri Riding one supported t|p X arrangement for Various reafons. Ip'Jgives no balance of Ipqwer, as C~o%nciU&!|Clark i*> t° anyone, as.the Rangiriri representative can, surely, gfet aS'much from three Cambridge men as from throe Kirildriroa men. The division of Tamahere is also required, as the. <y£ one end of the riding are all towards and those of the , other towards Kirikiriroa. I, also, think (that Tamahere—having 9b very, few ratepayers; and doing so little work—is not entitled to separate representation-.' 'Msbyaccording to Councillor Clark's speech, Mr Leslie, it appears, could have returned two Cambridge men for Tamahere. " 1 fail to. see. why he, or any man, should' be able to return even one member. In short, the Leslie pocket borough ought to be extinguished. Councillor Clark has proposed another method, namely—to leave the ridings as they are, but to give three representatives to Cambridge, one to Tamahere, three to Kirikiriroa, and one to Rangiriri—eight in all, or one more than heretofore. In support of this, he gives a lot of figures, which show that the Cambridge Riding has, for the past year,, very much, exceeded Kirikiriroa in revenue. This is true, but, even if this were likely to,]* t, how has it been brought about. JL large section of that riding—i.e , Cambridge Town Board—was, at the beginning of that year, so nearly bankrupt that it was compelled to raise the rates in order simply to pay its debts The District Board, also, had to raise the rates in order to pay its way. ; On the other hand, the Kirikiriroa ratepayers had been .levying high rates, and were in such a position as to justify them in lowering the rates. Hence the difference. The electoral roll quoted by Mr Clark can hardly be relied upon, as it very greatly exceeds the number; of ratepayers on the rate-book. Councillor Clark says that we want the balance of power, and that he only wants fair play. "Welt just let us see who would have the balance of power were his motion carried. Cambridge gets three members; Tamahere, one, who is sure to be a Cambridge man, as the great majority of voters reside at that end,of the riding ; Kirikiriroa gets three. The Rangiriri representative would certainly have to go with the majority that majority would elect a chairman; so we ,should find ourselves in the happy position of three to five/ one of , the five members being chairman. My jwishes then, ; Mr Editor, fare simply as follows: We want no balance of power, and I have proven it; but I fail to see any reasori, f considering > our area, -requirements,' and revenues,, why Cambridge should have it, not even taking the present statistics of the several ndings aa a basis, but still less so. looking-a few years forward to what the Kirikirriroa Riding will be when the larger improvement now comparatively only commenced by the Swamp Company shall have been completed. I also think; most emphatically that the pocket Borough of Tamahewshould be wiped out.—l have, &c, J. B. Whyee/ ;

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