FEILDING.

Manawatu Times, Volume II, Issue 61, 19 May 1877, Page 3

FEILDING.

(From our own Correspondent.) As you published a report of Mr Fox's lee lii re at Feilding, which was not the one sent to you by your authorized correspondent, I think a word of explanation necessary. First I was prevented by anunforseen circumstance from getting the report ready for you as soon as I had intended, and by the time that the mail from Feilding brought my report to you another report on which you could rely had been furnished by a correspondent, and as you explained to me by letter had been m type before mine reached you. I mention this because I wish to receive credit for being mindful of the reporter's motto, which is to "serve every one alike." I was asked on Thursday if I intended to go to the meeting. What meeting? I asked. Why a meeting convened by Mr E. H. Wright, to select a candidate to fill a vacancy m the Road Board. I had no idea up to that time that there was any vacant seat existing m the Board, but my attention having been directed to the placards convening the meeting, I noticed that the purpose of the meeting was stated to be to select a candidate to sit at the Road Board m place of Mr John Maysmor, Mr Maysmor being absent from Feilding when the meeting was convened. There seemed to be some doubt m some people's minds as to the proceedings being regular, but of course I concluded that Mr Wright was acting m conjunction with a party m the matter, and remained m that belief up to the time that I attended the meeting to report for your paper whatever might take place of a public character. Mr Wright very courteously explained to me that he had written a letter to the Secretary of the Highways Board as he considered that gentleman the proper channel by which to communicate with the Chairman of that body, and that he intended to read a copy of the letter at the meeting. This letter as read to me by Mr WYight fully explains, or rather throws light on his principal reason for convening this meeting so promptly. It seems that he became impressed with an opinion that Mr Maysmor's seat at the Board was- vacant last week, and that Mr Halcombe, the Chairman of the Board had failed or neglected to give the ratepayers notice that Mr Maysmor's seat was vacant. Mr Wright was therefore taking upon himself the duty that Mr Halcombe was supposed to have neglected. It is always well to have public spirited gentlemen m a community ready to censure the sins of omission and commission of public bodies, and the only matter for regret on this occasion is that Mr Wright acted rather too hastily, as there seems to have been no vacancy on the Board as appeai'ed from information given to Mr Wright and other ratepayers before a chairman had been appointed to preside over the meeting, which information induced Mr Wright, as the convener of the meeting, to adjourn it sine die, without entering into the consideration of the objects for which it was convened. From what I could learn about the matter there are four things that a member of the Board may do to render his seat vacant: First, he may resign his seat ; second, he may absent himself from a specified number of consecutive meetings of the Board ; third, by becoming a bankrupt ; fourth, by compounding with his creditors. It was, stated that Mr Maysmor having done none of these things since his election, there was no vacancy to fill, consequently the meeting was adjourned sine die. I have entered fully into the matter to give the parties interested here a clear view of the postion, and I have to thank Mr Wright for courteously giving me the information that has enabled me to throw this light on the subject.