THE HEREKINO SPECIAL SETTLEMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIV, Issue 7904, 24 March 1887, Page 3

THE HEREKINO SPECIAL SETTLEMENT.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —There is a telegram in to-day's issue, re Here kino Special Settlement,, and, as your subleader says it is written by Richard Hobbs, M.H.R. for the district, you will pardon me occupying your valuable space in commenting upon it. He says there is great dissatisfaction at the unfulfilled promises of the Government: no stores, no credit, and some in want of food, &c. I Bay, and defy contradiction, that there has been no promise made that has not been fulfilled, and more than fulfilled, and that anything I have suggested to the Minister of Lands has been sanctioned by him at once. 7Jhe Government never promised to supply flour, or stores, 'or credit, nor has one of the settlers ever found fault to me, to the Crown Lands Commissioner, or the Deputy Surveyor-General. Peroy Smith. All toe promises I ever made to settlers were to locate them on good land, and place the women and children on the various blocks free of expense to their husbands. This has been done ; for on the 2nd of Maroh I left Herekino, and sAI the men had been on their sections the*, and they were all well satisfied with / them. The women and children of the second party were comfortably housed in Whajigape harbour at the expense of Government until their husbands shall have whiles up for them. At the Excelsior Hall, Newton, and at the Temperance HaU, .Albert-street, Auckland, I told the audience that It was an isolated district, and that there was hot a single white person there ; end that, if they were not in a position to tj.ke three or six months' provision, they ohffht not to go, as there were no stores there. Since the settlers have gone these, John Bowman,' of Ahipara has opened' r» store at Whangape; Ryan and/ Bowman have a store at Herekino; Barrigan of Ahipara has also a branch store at Herekino, kept by a man nain/jd Smith. A settler named Wilkinson vtiva also erecting a store convergent to the black, and all those store*, on the 2nd March, had flour, tea, and sugar in them. There aye three stores in Ahipara of over twenty ye'ars standing, within eight miles of the blor;k and HokiaDga. Barny Howe's store it sixteen miles by the beach road. Herekinfj special settlement is part of both counties,' find there have been no complaints from' the Airman or councillors from either' counties. There are a great many intelligent men among the settlers, and some of 'them have promised to let me know in cas/j anything was going wrong, and 1 have heard no complaints through them. The village, steward, Mr. Eavanagh, was on the block last Saturday, Mr. Fairbourne, road suvveyor, left last Monday night for the block, afnd will be there to-day, to lay out roads aud do what is necessary to give aocess to and from the block. So much for Mr. Hobn/j' telegram and unfulfilled promises. Nov a few words for Mr. Hobbs himself. Ho denounced the village special settlements sc'Afeme in Parliament last session and denounced my appointment," as he said to his district. He slandered me at his Kawal kawa meeting by saying that I was giving drinks to his constituents and paying for it ' wieh Government money. He knew me for thirty years, and he never knew me to do so ; and the only money I have received from Government as yet has been less than £34 towards my expenses. He slandered the Hon. John Ballance at his meetings, both at Kawakawa and Herd's Point, Hokianga, where he styled him a common journalist, who knew nothing about land. His days as M.H.R. are numbered to the shortest ' span, and the next election will relieve him of his great responsibilltes as a vilifier of his superiors and public benefactors.— am, &c, Onehunga, Maroh 23. John London.