THE NEWCASTLE RUN.

Waikato Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1642, 13 January 1883, Page 2

THE NEWCASTLE RUN.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,— l notice in your, issue of the 9th inst. aletter 1 signed "Ej Ci'Sliepherd," in which he flatly contradicts certain statements in my letter signed "Ratepayer," in your issue of the 4th. If you, Sir, wijl kindly, grant mespace for a few sentences, I will t>e as brief and as plain as I possibly can, while showing what little grounds Mr Shepherd has for his contradiction. I will therefore take that question, , on whicfy t he seems; ;be most emphatic, as an example' for the others, "and analyse it,<viz.: ; a,,previous; board appointed a ranger, he was iurhishea with' the 1 - particulars of < his duties in writing, and bad to make an affida^itibefoijq a JiP."f -This is f wholly I incorrect;, says MiL.Sheph'erdi and* in! order to confirm ,;fche trutLof this contradiction, 1 he'milenged^'^i^pa^'^to assertithat this statement as , correct jn, mer letter, and in proof of^wKatJf ffiay» Morrison as the ranger^itodfiMrjßSnryj IByrpn as the a J.P.^^ni^Mfc\'!shephera'

diction are' equally false as'the fditfgbfn£{ > ! and sufficiently known to the' 1 ratepayers in this district, I will not take up your space with details* of their, -. untrutljf.uj-v , ness. He says he received all information from the secretary 'before he -tendered, and,, ,ai*o f wcei ved .tostructious from the satne'jparty as to'biaulutiM after! the appointment .of, ranger was .made. Time will tell if the rh'nger nas not 8ome« thing behind that .sentence, , very (.serious, to the board, particularly if the latter are responsible for all the • instructibns > their secretary gave the ranger, and that the ringer, in'all hehas,done,i only actedin accordance with instructions received. Let us see t how the ftnge'f has been carrying out Jthdse 4 lnstPUetionsTT wKifa 1 he says in ""Ins" "letter ""He" "had .received from the board's' 'secretary. t*his isthe',way^inisome^nstance?atlea«te He and the lad. whom h<? ( calls m another part of his letter « 'driver's WstaVceV" 1 "liacf driven cattle belonging to Hamilton settlers out of that district int6 thellNetv-. L Castle district, thence to the, pound, a distance of about eight miles I ,' and there Ifattded - over'^to^the^paundkejepsfisslorTO trespassing on roada, in- ; the Utter y district.; The owner of the cattle 'had to pay 2s 6d per head to get them Qut pi the pound, which shin would be * handed - over to the ranger, and 6d per head for supposed feed which was the pound.keeper's share, though the ,caj;tlo could not be more than 15 minutes in the pound. In a few days after, the owner of the cattle obtained reliable information that they were driven out of the Hamilton district, and he at once consulted his lawyer with a view to take' legal pro* ceedings against the ranger. Mr Shepherd, in the meantime, having heard of this, immediately, interviewed the [owner ; of the cattle, and handed him back the money, which,had the effect of stopping the prosecution. I ( wonder will these particulars appear in the cattle registry, which Mr Shepherd promises to lay before the ratepayers at the end of the year, and hai the ranger only carried ontthe instructions of the board given through their secretary in this case. Did the ranger not also register 24 head of cattle belonging to another Hamilton settler (OBrien) • and receive 2s 6d per head for same for the right of their depasturing in the Newcastle district? Another settler in Tuhikaramea had some cattle impounded, and never kuew it until they were sold, through a wrong description being given in the advertisement, and then had the satisfaction of buying them back from the last purchaser. Now, sir, if the " run " business was not done in a loose way, would this state of affairs , be tolerated ? In conclusion, I must say the remark about my taking the reins is very far fetched, indeed. ' Audi I think, his mind must have been in a great muddle at the time he was writing that letter. I have been in the district for about sixteen years. I have not been on a highway board during that time, and never showed any inclination at any time to be a member of the Newcastle Board, and I can further assure Mr Shepherd that my ambition for office in the future is just as small as it has bsen in the past. — I am, &c, Ratepayer. Pukete, January 12, 1883.