CORRESPONDENCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XX, Issue 6822, 28 September 1883, Page 6

CORRESPONDENCE.

~—■ o | SURRE3T HILLS ESTATE ; v

RAILWAY REFORM. "THE MORP ► GOODS YOU SEND, THE LESSVr.n 1, PAY." THE PRKSENT SYSTEM. P

DEVONPORT HIGHWAY BOARD. |

-.A PiiOTE'sT. |

®> the editor. ' I Sib,—l was much pleased decided stand our newspapers and tr 'he I Board have taken in reference to the I proposed sale, with its 200 back lan*! « m wusth. Now. that the sale has been^I 4 poned 1 would propose th 3 t the City I should srwhat can be done towardstS,* 1 * ingthisvaloable property, even if thevW?" V give an extra £1,0,000. as it is generality j mitted they had blundered in not eecurm H whenfirst offered. There can beno d B the Corporation could make it of ver V 1 )H I expense to the eity, if they chose. ££ 1 the same course as they did with the jn, ?: ' 1 '^fiF ropertleS ' 5» years ft f with the same restrictions regarding iS" f ings. If the city were fortunate enowh* I seenre this estate for a park, th» frnn' i; would cat up into 238 allotments, | feet frontage, which, with the inner ] n £ Q E would number 476, commaudin<r. :j-F rentals. The whole centre could IhfoT I' reserved as a park, with- carriage drivesTL P laid out, and that abortion called 1& B F Park could be sold, and the money £ in laying out the said estate.—l am, &o/ 1 G - S. J akiss. f

TO THIS EDITOR. [: . Sir,—The following extract from a letter H just to hand forcibly illustrates one of thf I absurdities of the present system ;—<• a Mr. was going to Auckland I gave him F an order to get me some potatoes for serf- P and the result ia this: He went to frl Istation at Auckland, and asked if he couM I send one ton of potatoes and about a tonasj B a-half of seed at the low rate; and he ttm told "No; they must be all seed or at! , potatoes to come up by the two :.toi ! Pl'j 3 ' l , in l uir y a ' ; 'he station here, hs ij- I told that the freight for one ton of potato*; will be ouly 22s Sd, and the charge lor two teas ' of potatoes will be only 21s6d for the two tOat If that is not playing at railway management I don't know what is—actually carrying two less money than they charge far ope." I could fill a page of your paper with similar statements. Is our yearly increasing loss a thing to be wondered at? Fori glaring example of downright stapiditv commend me to the Now Zealand railways scale of fares and charges.—l am, Sc ; September 25. Samuel Vaile. j!

TO THK EDITOE. Sir, —Several letters have lately appeared 5 respecting the expenditure by the Devonport ft Highway Board in the drainage cf Ana I street. Tfcere is nothing to justify over £100 | being spent oil this one work, and even sun ! posing the undertaking is a desirable out -; | why did the Board not call for public tenders' j instead of carrying out the work by day ' labour? Our present Board made great I promises of reformation, but. we seem to be j much worse off than before. The Chairman, of the Board, almost immediately he ia. | elected, sella out, and removes to Grafton- ; road, but seems determined to adhere to the i position of Chairman. It is wrong, Mr, Editor, that the Chairman of a local body I should reside miles away, and be entirel" 1 apart from the district which he represents, \ The present Chairman was. the loudest in declaiming against members of the previona :■ Board, but, seeing the feeling which exists, * he would do well to resign, and allow some i resident who has time to spare and interest in the place to occupy his position. The § district is rapidly advancing, bnt that is no J reason why our revenue should be sqnan- 1 dered, or that one part oi the district is to - | have all, and the other part of it be entirely | neglected. lam reliably informed that ths I Board have decided to obtain £500 overdraft; | and I trust that the majority of oar rate- i payers will awake to the fact of the' positiou J* ttiey are being placed in before it is toq late, | : —I am f &c., Ratepayer " |

;; TO THE EDITOR. Sip.,—How much longer will Mrs. El E,' Ellis and her friends persist in' defiling tbe i pages of the Press by the discussion of a subject which brings a blush upon the face of every moral man and woman in the commit- i nity ? But for the publicity given by thess V zealots, without discretion, hundreds, aye. \ 'thousands, of our young people would have 1 remained in ignorance of the very existence i of" abominations which by their means are fc paraded before the public. I know ot many 1 families the heads of which dread to open I their paper lest the odious details should be . f thrust upon them. Why do these pervertera f of the truth persist ia misrepresenting the | Act as "legalising wickedness," when they f know full well its only object is to minimise t. the mischief of a sin which it ia impossible j to wipe out ?1 A majority has decided on the i adoption of the Act, and it should be al- I lowed to have its trial. I enclose my card, I as iam forbidden to subscribe my name by— | Common Decency. f

- Our Paparoa correspondent writes :— I have to rcecrd a strange piece of business ■which, reflects no credit on either certain three'gentlemen of this place, or the Board of Education. There has beeii a good deal in the public press lately 1 concerning tkis public body; and. we are compelled to ■witness another of its unaccountable acts. The geritlemeD referred tn appear to have unitedly and individually written to the Board complaining ot Mr. Wilson, the district teacher, in language which is, at least, nntrne; and : have induced that body to compel fir. Wilsoa . to resign his seat on the Road Board (a posi* : tion of usefulness which ho has filled to tlie satisfaction of the ratepayers for 14 or 15 years) .without consulting the district coia- ; mittee, or anyone, in order to ascertain whether the charges made against him had any; foundation. ' : The Board of Education ■appears.to be trying to reduce the condition ot tho teachers to that of puppets, irrespective'of their rights as .men, aud ratepayers, : as many of them are, and as such, ought to be allowed to assist their fellowratepayers. :iu the administration of rural affairs.; : Mr. "Wilson, on behalf of the majority of the ratepayers, was able successfully: to retard and defeat the schemes for an illegal expenditure of the late Koad Board, as I have previously written ; and that his conduct was approved, his being placed at the head of. the poll at the late election was a sufficient indication. While his political opwere rejected, Mr. Wilson received .34 votes, and his three aspersers, who were also candidates fell short of half that number. The com plaints lodged against the teacher ate almost frivolous, except that, if unchallenged, they will be regarded aa a standing inuendo iby the ..Board,, affecting Mr. Wilson's i character and reputation. The charges are— "Wrangling and squabbling at meetings, canvassing for .votes,' violent partisanship, favouring his sectarian friends and their children, severity to children of those parents with ;, whom he entertains. a difference of opinion, by sucli conduct inviting disrespect from the children, and that the teacher and school committee work together." The comi mittee, with the exception of one member, have confidence in the teacher, and justly so, i if the inspector's last report is worth anything for out of 37 children examined, only seven failed to pass their respective standards. The termsV' I severity'"' and "favouring" are likely to mislead. A teacher must preserve discipline iii his school, and some children being late, have' been shut out for a time, while others who borenotesfrom theirparentsgiving reasons,, were admitted. It is also fair tasay that' Mr. :';Wilson. upholds and preserves a_. chivalrous respect to the female portion of his school.lt is the duty of the committee to challenge the truth of such aspersions; and it would be well to draw up- a memorial to the Board of; E locution approving of Mr. Wilson's conduct, which would, I am sure, be sighed by nine-tenths of the householders.

The monthly meeting of the PukeksjW Mutual Improvement Class was held in the Kaiwaka school-honse on Tuesday, September 18. The president occupied the chair. Xlie attendance of members and friends was up to the average. The evening's programme contained some good pieces, and a vigorous effort. to sustain the character of the class was observable in the majority of the ineui- . ber?. Programme :— " The Momentous Question" (recitation), Mrs. Dowson; "The Slave" (reading), Mrs. Stone; "A Nw Chum in a Sale-yard" (recitation), Mr. BEo3s, jun.; '• Under the Holly Bongh" (recitation), Miss Haetie; "I wouldn't, wotud you?" (recitation) Miss S. Bowmar; "John Pounds, the Philanthropic Shoemaker"(reading), Mrs. Dowson; "A Letter from Emigrant" (reading), Mr. J. Hastie ; "Dick Whittington" (reading), Miss S. Bowmar; scene from "The Honeymoon," in wnicn Mr. T. W. Dowson appeared as Jacquez (the mook duke), the character of Juliana* being cleverly sustained by Miss Thornton, while Mr, Thorn-'on assumed the role of Dnk& Aranza.—[Own Correspondent, Sept. 19.1