The Star. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20. THE IRONSAND QUESTION.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue 7393, 20 February 1902, Page 2

Th e Sta r.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20. THE IRONSAND QUESTION.

Delivered every aveuing by 6 o'clock iv Hawera, Manaia, Normanby, Olraiawa, Eltham, Mangatoki, Kaponga, Awatuna, Opunake, Otakeho, Manutahi, Alton, Hurley ville, Jfatea and Waverley.

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* The address of Mr Cadman at the Harbour Board meeting on Tuesday waa certainly calculated to raise high hopes, and everyone interested in the advancement of the district and the colony as a whole will be anxious to see them realised. No doubt it may bave struck the public that while general statements are rose coloured, after all nothing very definite has been sot forlh, but it is to be borne in mind that Mr Cadman was in the \ osition of a negotiator with the Harbour Board and theretore could not be expected f o show his hand, or make public the exact stage at which his negotiations had reached, The Harbour Board, so far as we can judge, did quite the right thing in meeting him in respect of a more satisfactory lease. " Third persons " may have some political interest in drawing highly coloured pictures of what is going to be done, but it is not ea^iJy conceivable that Mr Cadma_ can, and therefore^ is right to deal with him in tbe spirit of showing anxiety to help him in every possible way consistent with the preserv ition of tbe public interest, and to nurture hope and faith in a successful issue. Tbe new " harbour scheme " seems by the bare outline given of it to be a very large order, and naturally Taranaki people would be strongly predisposed to approve of the utilisfltion of English capital, without local financial responsibility, to the work of improvement. It is difficult to think of conditions submittable and aoceptable by reasonable business men which local public opinion would not approve in order to induce English capitalists to provide thoroughly efficient harbour accommodation, and we shall await with interest the submission of Mr Cadman's proposals, for of course everything depends on the terms.