THE WELLINGTON RACING CLUB BILL

Evening Post, Volume XX, Issue 209, 7 September 1880, Page 3

THE WELLINGTON RACING CLUB BILL

» TO THB BDITOB OF THE EVENING POST. Sib — Mr. Thomas Mason in his letter in your Saturday's issue does not quote actual facts, and tries to conceal his political animosity and antagonism by endeavoring to make the public believe that the electors of the Hutt were totally against the Wellington Racing Club Bill being passed, which is not true. It is trne that Mr. Mason stirred up a f eoling against the bill by telling some of his immediate followers and others, that if the bill was passed they would lose their reserve, and the Racing Club could do as they liked with it, &c, &c. Under such gross misrepresentations as these, and by paying men to obtain a number of signatures, he managed to present a petition to the Legislative Counoil, whinh did not carry much weight after the evidence in committee of Messrs. Cudby and others, whose signatures to the petition had been obtained by representations as to the nature and import of the bill quite at variance with fact, and many others to whom I have spoken have told me their signatures were obtained in a similar mannor. It would have been far more creditable to Mr. Mason if, instead of quietly and secretly stirring up an antagonistic feeling against the bill, he had called a public meeting of the electors of the Hutt to discuss the question, but this did not suit Mr. Mason's book, for no one knew better than he did that the bill would not take anything away from the electors of the Hutt, and that the original trust, instead of being neglected, would have been greatly improved by the Racing Club having some hand in its management. The bill was fairly drawn, and contained the names of seven Hutt Park trustees as against three of the Bacing Club; it was advertised for throe weeks in the papers and was agreed to and signed by all the Hutt Park trustees ; Mr. Mason signed it in two places, and afterwards, with that charming candour for which he is sd remarkable, said he did not known what he had been signing — a nice admission for an M.H.R. and a trustee to make, but quite in keeping with his other statements. I am, &0., A Hutt Elector. 6th Septembor, 1880.