THE HARBOR MEETING AT NEW PLYMOUTH.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume II, Issue 143, 27 August 1881, Page 4

THE HARBOR MEETING AT NEW PLYMOUTH.

TO THE EDITOR OP THE STAR. Sir, — I believe lam perfectly right in Baying that Mr. Scott must have heard a very great number of influential, as well as working men's voices raised in favor of requesting that he should get a fair • hearing ; but there werei men [at that meeting, who were, I regret ; to say, temporarily insane, and Mr. Scott, if he knew many of the circumstances, would have made more allowance for them than he has. I don't justify them, but I cannot help feeling for many of them. There are men here who left New Plymouth- -years ago, and had settled down in other places; but when they heard New Plymouth was at last going to have a harbor, they broke up their homes in well-settled places, knowing that if their beloved old place had a harbor, they would know -no place to equal it in their estimation. ' Fancy, again, working men, who bad bought land at fancy priceß, in order to be near their work, and putting their all into it, and then to know that the stoppage of the workß meant utter ruin to them and their families. Such men are liable to, and did do. w*-at in their cooler moments they would be sorry for. Por my own vart, I would not have been here to-day, had it not been that Balfour and Doyne, and others reported in favor of a harbor at the Sugar Loaves. Then we, wait on, and got the opinion of the greatest Marine Engineer of the day, in favor of it, and that has made men mortgage their properties, and encumber themselves with heavy liabilities— all to be made of little value through opposition from people, who bought land under the rate (if any), but which will never -be levied. I believe the money in hand can be spent so as to be of great value to the Plains settlers. If they saw the Telegraph schooner outside, . with no chance of getting into "Waitara, and yet two steamers lying safely under the Sugar Loaves, and again, within twelve months, they could ship their cattle at any state of the tide for Auckland, as they could, instead of having them going back in condition at Waitara, waiting for three to seven days for water, or a chance to get out. There is no doubt, there has been part of the money badly expended ; but did Mr. Scott, as a shareholder, ever spend £70,000 or £80,000, or any company in New Zealand, who, if they had the doing of it over again, could not improve on the amount of value they would get for their money P Therefore, whjr should a work which even the most prejudiced can see is going on well, be stopped, because we have so many farmers, and all other classes, who know Jiothiug about it, giving their marked opinions about an important work P I should like Mr. Scott to go to Dunedin, and find out how many both well-educa-ted and ignorant men predicted the utter ruin and and waste of money, and that the resources of the district "would be thrown away on their breakwater ; but the people there, though they have not spent every pound, as they would again, yet have a grand monument to show for their constant perseverance, as would be the case in New Plymouth, if allowed to go on for another twelve months. Re Waitara, the train took down threefourths Waitara land-owners, and nonratepayers, at my .request, did not vote. Therefore, I cannot see that they had much to complain about. Apologising for length of space. — I am, &c., Wm. Courtney. * New Plymouth August 22.