HON. MAJOR ATKINSON AT NORMANBY.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume I, Issue 100, 30 March 1881, Page 2

HON. MAJOR ATKINSON AT NORMANBY.

Major Atkinson addressed his constituents at Normanby on Friday evening, in the new Town Hall. " There'were about 80 to 100 persons present. On the motion of Mr. England, seconded by Mr. Finlayson, the chair was taken by Mr. C. E. Gibson.

Major Atkinson went over the same ground that he did at his previous meetings, and in concluding, said that a new Parliament would have to be elected in about fifteen months. If the electors did not return men to carry out .their views, they would get interested men to represent them, and as a consequence they would have class legislation. r Since he last addressed the electors at Nbrmanby, there were signs of the great -progress that had been made in the district, and the Town Hall was an evidence. of the progress that Normanby had made. The last time he addressed them, Capt. Brett had kindly set apart his billiard-room for the purpose;- and on the previous Loccasion, he spoke in the dining-room of the hotel. Now they had one of the, best halls in the district. And yet' all; this was done during a time of great depression. Major Atkinson resumed his. seat amidst loud applause. The Chairman invited those present to ask questions. He hoped they would put plenty of them

Major Atkinson (sotto voce)— That's more than I do.

Mr. Gideon Inkster said he wished to ask one or two questions. He would like to know on what sort of basis money was granted to open up new districts. His reason for doing so was on account of the Hon. Mr. Rolleston's modest request to the Normanby settlers to make -the approaches to the bridge. There were onlytwo or three settlers living in Normanby who had land on the Plains. The road between Manaia and Normanby would have five tunes more traffice than the lower road. Repeated applications had been made during the last dozen years to have the bridge near Normanby built, and three lives had been lost,, whilst endeavoring to- ford the river, during that tune. He considered that the request made by Mr. Rolleston was due to favoritism, and that the settlers at that end were fully entitled to have the' bridge built. The natives living on the Plains had always used that road, much more than the one leading into Hawera. Major Atkinson replied that if he answered candidly, he would have to say that the bridge had been granted through favoritism. In fact, the whole district had been highly favored, during the past few years, in the matter of the expenditure of public money. If his friend Mr. Inkster read the Southern papers, he would see that he (Major Atkinson) was ' not let alone one single day, and that he was continually accused of spending all the money in the North Island. The Government had been worried for many years in reference to -the construction of that bridge, and at last he succeeded hi getting it done, after considerable trouble. It was decided to build the bridge, not because the district was entitled to it, bufc because it was a colonial work, and the Government recognised that such was the case. He would point out that an expenditure of £4000 in this district meant an expenditure of in the whole of the colony. If his friend Mr. Inkster had been Colonial Treasurer, he would have known that the same cry was made all over the colony — that the making of a particular road, or the bnilding of a particular bridge, would be to the advantage of the whole colony. He could assure them that this district had had more than its share in every way. But he (Major Atkinson) had always acted on the principle, that this district was weak, and that it was advisable to help it from a i colonial point of view. (Applause.) The Chairman said that what he understood Mr. Inkster to say was, that the Government had commenced the work, but had halted half way. He then read an extract from Mr. Rolleston's memorandum to Mr. Blackett (which was published in the Star on the 16th March), to the effect that the Normanby settlers should be asked to make the approaches to the bridge. He (the chairman) would point out that they had no local body in Normanby, and that, consequently, the approaches should be made by the County Council, orby the Hawera Road Board. Major Atkinson said that Mr. Rolleston's explanation was quite clear. The Government, iike them, had only a limited amount of money at .their disposal. What they said was, "We will spend hi constructing the bridge,' if you will spend about £50 or in making the approaches." For his part, he considered such a request quite reasonable. Mr. Inkster said the settlers had to contribute three taxes at the present time — a property tax, a county council tax, and a road board tax — and they received little or no benefit. It was like making scapegoats of a few individuals, in asking them to construct tbe approaches to the bridge, which would be of far greater benefit to the settlers on the Plains than , to those living at Normanby. Major Atkinson said the money that the Government had belonged to the ratepayers. He had hoped that the Government would have been met in a more generous manner. For his own part, he had a good deal of trouble in getting the bridge, and his hands would be considerably weakened in future, if the settlers