Manawatu Herald. SATURDAY, MARCH 28, 1891. The Way the Wind Blows.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 28 March 1891, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. SATURDAY, MARCH 28, 1891. The Way the Wind Blows.

Thk Wanganui Harbour Board have issued their balance sheet. The statement of the assets and liabilities is cheerful reading, the Board only owes £70,000, and has, oh paper, £105,845 to pay it with ! The position of the Board, by the totals, is undoubtedly good, the only damaging fact being that one item of the assets — the training walls, is valued at £58,086 ! What value this security may be taken by the creditors is questionable. We cannot help remarking that at present it appears the Board owes £70,000 less £7,897 accrued sinking fund, and has only £52,809 worth of property. In the receipts and expenditure account the Board appears also to be going back , as much as £766 a year, as their receipts are only £5,701 against an expenditure of £9,467. The heavy expenditure on the " improvements " to ihs river have Ir-en valueless, in as much :i~ the increased trade does not mcp\ ' •■M-o.st and cost of lihiu.i^ uieiir. !\. fit (>* 'i.jjhinpf the

Manawatu district has been deprived of the value of the endowment ha:ided to tne Harbour Board. Which they estimate at £18,570. The publication of such statements should have induced any Government to have inquired whether the Manawahi distrl:.t had no wants which could be met by as equal a liberal treatment as has been meted out to Wanganni. It appears to be, however, the reverse. The majority at Wanganui returned the Hon. Mr Ballance to Parliament thereby giving him the stepping stone to the Premiership, Wanganui must have a quid pro quo, and this is how it is to be managed. Inhere is a Chamber of Conmiiwp at Wanganui, the secretary of which is Mr James Duigan, a gentleman who is pretty conversant with the wishes of the Premier. A special meeting of the Chamber was held last week, presumably to discuss a scheme for providing funds for the improvement of the Wanganui River. A member suggested thatdjhe Government should be asked to grant 10,000 acres in the Waimarino block as an endowment, the revenue from which, afc nine pencejj^^acre, he thought Avould provid^H|ds for keeping the river open J guch ft scheme' '--.MBit- ifc was unanhileftisly adopted, and the secretary whs instructed to forward a letter. This may not be.^ cut -and <lried arrangement t,o afford ike Government an excuse to throw the proceeds of the sale of 10,000 acres for the benefit of the inhabitants of Wanganui, but it looks uncommonly like it. Not a single word was said at the meeting, or if said, not reported, about where this money was to be spent, either down or up the river. The chief interest laid in getting the money and settling "• the scramble afterwards. The absurdity of the statement that £875 a year would suffice to keep the Wanganui River open is apparent by the balance sheet of the Harbour Board, which shows a loss of £766 ! After the visit of the members of the Government to Waitotara, and the exnected expenditure there, the Premier ! has probably found that his own electorate must not be left out in the told. The cry is increasing "to the victors, the spoils," and before the House meets we shall find many more prompted applications pouring in. Prom the tone of the Secretary's letter, as he desires that the land should be invested in a Board ol Conservators, it appears that the management of the Harbour Beard has not given so much satisfaction as to lead the applicants to desire to hand them another £10,000 to spend. The proposal to have two Boards to manage one river is not more preposterous than the application to get a second endowment for useless expenditure. We may all learn a new lesson in electioneering tactics by these few facts, tvhich forebode no good to the countiy.