CORRESPONDENCE.

Manawatu Times, Volume II, Issue 29, 27 January 1877, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

[Om* correspondence column heing open, no responsibility can be accepted m respect to opinions.expressed by correspondents.]

..'■-..--:<•... TO THE EDITOR. - Sir,-— From time to time, I see various letters m your 'paper bearing upon . the action, positiorii "and composition of the Manawatu County * Council, and the . results m the writers' opinion likely to flow therefrom. It fnust . on all hands be admitted that, "liowever caused, the attribution of* members.. is .so adjusted that that portion, of the inhabitants of the Manawatu Oouhty who are, liable to pay most .rates, wilXas" /the/ Council is ; composed at present; ;iave the least to say * m the -distribution .; of those "rates'. This is an undesirable state of things, and one not consistent with the usual idea of what representative institutions ought to be. There can be no doubt, that to carry oh Government by means of those institutions} the minority must be prepared to bend toithe will of the v iwhich ought .'-'. to ..represent the of thepe.ople,pr what is m this instance its equivalent, the greatest tax~paying, ppwbi*. 7 Such is hot -pur case, and it is a defect m the Counties Act "that no practical "means short of separ"atipn are given by it for remedying our "position. Not, only that, but even when the rppr^sentatipn;.,3ias been properly "distributed at first, there is ho provision ihade tb enable 1 one ridirig : jh a county (which may outrun the' remainder of the county m" the race) to have the balance of -'representation* adjusted, except the utterly impracticable clause 60, so confidently recommended by the Colonial Secretary, to the. Manchester Highway Board m answer to their protest. .'I call that clause impracticable, because if one portion of a county has, ; however; undeservedly; .got. a ns.ajori.ty by the present /d istribu tion; it is not natural tp suppose, they will deliberately divest themselves of that power, by enacting a redistribution under clause -60. ... It may be advanced, that one -side or ;I the pthpr-. must. ,haye a/tmajprity,, ; and: .that eyen if the majority > in"; .the Council -represents a minority . of the, people,. still the.-.couhpillprs wish.to dp; iheir duty fairly to the whole County, and that : therefore .the res.ult of ; their action will be the same as under a; properly ad;justed^distribution. ; ; I. must say the spirit shpwn at -the ;first : meeting, of our Council, 7 and'^the ; action consequent thereon, do not justify the above argument. The '-;,• point at . issue at. that meeting was really; whether Foxton or ;Palmerston should be the County Town, as the election ; of was ..only a step to deciding that question . If the .Foxton;.. party, had said, we. have the majority and we mean to use it, -it would haye: been the-readiest way of settling the matter.; but they were so confident m rtheir : numbers, that they .pasted time . m advancing .- arguments •which were shown at qnce.to be argu- . ments m favour of Palmerston, knowing . well all the. time that the. question was .•virtually settled before the Council met. y .-, Witness ; Mr.; Sanson's; illustration of Wellington-, being chosen as' capital* in preference rto . Auckland ; though less populous. . Could y.any illustration be -more unhappily chosen P As Mr .Halcpmbe pointed - out, . Wellington's, claim :Was centrality, and. to '■ this all .other town.' s claims were, sacrificed. Surely Mr San son does not deny the fact that Palmerston is?the mpstcentrai township pf any importance m, ; tlie; county? In ; reality, hej admits it, .when- he^ quotes iAwahuri as. ybeing the -.geographical centre.' If '■. s so, Palmerston is ;much nearer, Mr 7 Sanson's centre, ALwahuri, than Foxton. Again, Mr Sanson-deli-berately .stated that the : ; County Town question- was not a question of pubjic conyenienpe, but of ;that of -the councillors, and that the .;pubiic.'h^d no right dtb be cphsidered inthe matter.", I fancy if he.had stated before, his electipn'tliat ' such.a'^'nsidera'tipriswould alone' guide

his decision, he would not have been a member of the Council at the present moment. All this kind of thing does not augur well either for the harmonious working of the Council or for the continuity of the County as a whole. For this unfortunate state of things I think the Foxton members are more particularly to blame. Foxton interests, more specially than any other riding, lie with the County as a whole. The advancement, settlement, and prosperity of the up country districts, of which Foxton is the natural port, mean the advancement and prosperity of Foxton ; and by allying themselves with any clique for the empty honour of making Foxton a County Town, they do a great deal of material injury to the riding they represent. — I am, &c, JUSTITIA. ;

. TO THE EDITOR. Sir Xln your issue of the 20th inst. you draw the attention of the Cemetery Committee to the advisability of having .the Cemetery cleared and fenced while the dry weather continues. I quite ' agree with you as to the necessity of having this done; and for myself, can assure.you that the Cemetery m its present state is an eye-sore to me every time I pass.it. .The Committee are very anxious to have this work done, but at present are helpless for want of funds. They have already expended about £20 m having 1 the bush cut down, arid but for the courtesy of the Bank m advancing the amount as a. .loan- to .the Committee they would have had to furnish tlie money trom their own pockets. I may therefore, say, that, unless .the, public come forward and assist hi.the matter with a supply of the, needful, there is little probability of "anything further being done towards clearing and fencing. There is nb doubt but the Cemetery m its, present. .state is. a disgrace : .to, the inhabitants of Palmerston, with its lnagriificent'.public halls, hotblsy&c:, &c. "The matter rests m the hands of the public ; if they will only find the funds, the Committee will at once proceed with the improvements requiredXl a_C&e., 7 . Johst 'T.^Dalbympee, 77 '""■"' Chairman Cemetery Committee. Te Matai„ / 25th January, 1877. ' . ■ '