A REPLY TO MR ALLWILL

Waikato Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1613, 4 November 1882, Page 3

A REPLY TO MR ALLWILL

TO. SUITOR.*'' * Sm,-Mr Allw}ll|tee.Wa»uW allowed his temper to Mnd[fhte eyiss ip the facts connected with?, hies meeting^ the Mesons Graham relative to hiß petition, and consequently the inferences contained in his letter in your issue, of to-day, are (> unjuat and untrue.' lst;~He' ; never- met the Messrs Graham at all, but myself alone. It "is" true" 'that acting lipoh the assurances of Mr AUwill that thq Hautapu 'settlers had settled their difference*' concerning thfc outlet 'for their station— -prom'isiJd by Sir John Hall— l agreed to join with the' Hautapu settlers and Mr All will in a petition to the Minister for Public Works, to hare the Hautapu outlet made by the Government according to promise. But it is not true that Mr Allwill's petition was handed to me to get signatures. The conversation between Mr Aliwill and self took place at the Tamahere Hotel, Mr Camp being present. Mr Ailwill stated his having been instructed by the Cambridge High way District Board to get a petition to the Minister for Public Works, drawn by Capfcl McPhersOn, either separate or conjoint, asking to have the two outlets, (the one via Crawfords Gully ; the other via Hautapu) which were promised by the late Premier to the deputation of Tamahere and Hautapu settlers, made to the respective railway stations, and that as the Hautapu outlet was 'now agreed upon by the settlers, he was willing to cither embody the whole in one petition or to have two separate petitions. I said my own feeling was in favor of one conjoint petition, and that I would most willingly exert my influence with tliosc more particularly interested in our Tamahere outlet to assist Hautapu in getting theirs ; for, as a matter of fact, I felt certain that Ciawfoid's Gully outlet (accommodating as it will do settlers on the west bank of Waikato coming via the Narrows Bridge, as well as Tamahere and its inuncdiate surroundings) was certain to be made ; whereas there was a doubt regarding the Hautapu outlet. Mr Ailwill parted with mo to go to Capt. McPherson, and, at the time of leaving, Mr Camp suggested to him that if the petition was ready for the meeting of the Tamahere Farmcis' Club, to take place that evening at 7 p.m., there would be a good opportunity for discussing it, and obtaining signatures to it. No petition Avas handed to me then or at any time by Mr Allwill, signed or to get signed. Our club meeting took place, and a petition was on the table when I arrived, which a number of settlers present had signed. I read the petition, and although I objected to a clause in it, asking the Government if they declined to make the outlets to grant a sum of money to the present highway board (the manner in which said money was to, be expended, if granted, having been innocently forgotten to be inserted). Nevertheless, I signed the document without comment. Later on in the evening, the question was raised by some of the Hautapu residents present, as to the route of the outlet proposed for Hautapu, and considerable discussion and angry feeling arose when it became known that the line proposed started and terminated where Mr Allwill'a petition proposed it should. A large number of those settlers present who were most interested stated tlicv had mistaken the wording, and deliberately crossed their names oft the petition, thus rendering the petition, in its present shape, useless, Scveial of the members who formed the deputation to the late Premier weic present, and with the exception of Mr Clark, all the Hautapu settlers strongly opposed the petition, and insisted upon another petition being immediately drawn, advocating the Fen Court .Station as the proper station for Hautapu, and not the present station called Hautapu. The petition being mutilated l<y a number having crossed their names off, it was resolved by the rcmaimlei* of those present that the petition should be returned to Mr Ailwill, informing him that thcie was so much opposition to his proposed outlet, that we could do nothing. It was demanded by those w ho had crossed out then names that the names expunged should bo destroyed lest they should appear in any way to give countenance to the proposed route ; and at the request of all present the fly-sheet containing the signatures was removed (being only gummed on to the oiiginal petition) and destroyed theie and then. The meeting then drew up another petition embodying the wishes of tho*e present. Messrs Pickering and Pearson were deputed to act for Hautapu in taking the petition round to be signed, and I was cntiusted with the Tamahere portion. It was then arranged hutween Mr Pickering and myself that he should first t.ike the petition and geb Hautapu settleis to sign it, and then hand it to myself to get the signatures of settlers at our end. This was done. It is not true tli.it Mr Allwill's petition was handed signed either to Mr Picketing or myself. The portion of the petition containing the signatures w asdestroyed by some one of the members dissatisfied ; the other portion containini.' the wording was handed to Mr Camp to return immediately to Mr Allwill. I have never seen tho document since. But I wrote Mr Ailwill the follow ing letter, in explanation of the unfoitunate results of our meeting, and gave the letter to Mr Camp to hand Mr Ailwill with the petition. — Tamahere, October 28th, ISB2. — Mr J. Allw ill, Cambridge, Dear sir,-- 1 regret to have to in form you that there is great objection to the site fixed upon for the Hautapu station. The mcmbeis of the deputation who waited upon Sir John Hall wcie present, and insisted that the Government should make the outlet from the Hautapu schoolhouse to Fen Couit »tdtion, which is generally considered to be the pioper Hautapu station, and was the one pointed out to Sir John Hall. The greatest number of Tamahere mcmbeis being in favour of this line of toad being adopted, decided the meeting to draw up a petition advocating the Hautapu outlet to be fiom the school-house to Fen Court. Mr Pickering is mover in the matter, and is supported by all convenient to Hautapu. Of course, to us either would do, as Tamahere outlet is the only one in which we are interested. At the Mime time we are bound to support Mr Pickering's petition, as being the one in accord with the representations of the Hautapu deputation to the late Premier, Sir J. Hall, and the promise given by him regarding the Hautapu outlet. — Remaining, Yours truly, William A. Giuuam.'" Mr Ailwill might have stretched his excited imagination a little further than from Cambridge to Hamilton, and included "Cambridge in the Hautapu district, if it suited his purpose to do so. Hautapu was never considered to be a district worth noting until a promise of relief was obtained from the Government in the shape of an outlet for the settlers in the immediate neighbourhood to the railway station originally intended for them, and this outlet Mr Allwill would assert should be within a mile or two of Cambridge station, miles away from Hautapu proper, but close to his own farm. Surely he must unwittingly have been reviewing himself in the mirror of conscience when he beheld the mean practices he refers to in his letter. — I am, &c, William A. Graham, Tamahere, November 2, 1882.

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