PUNEHU BRIDGE.

Opunake Times, Volume I, Issue 9, 31 July 1894, Page 2

PUNEHU BRIDGE.

(to the editor.) Sir, —In your report of the last meeting of the Hawera County Council it is slated that a petition was presented from 33 ratepayers praying that the land fund accruing from special loan area be used in bridging the Punehu river. As a ratepayer in this area, I must strongly protest against any such proposal, as being most unfair and a distinct breach of faith on the Council’s part against the ratepayers concerned, who were dis-; tinotly promised, when the loan pro* posal was first mooted, that this land' fund was to be specially conserved for paying interest on the loan, thereby obviating- any necessity for a special rate for a number of years (10 years, I think it was estimated). On tbq : strength of this promise, the loan was carried ; whereas, otherwise, it would have been lost. Surely the present county chairman cannot have already • forgotten this promise made by him, and yet, I see, he is in favour of granting the petitioners’ request. As showing the feeling of settlers in regard to this matter, I might mention that at a meeting held at the Awatuna school some two months ago, Mr Thomas proposed a similar motion, and out of a meeting of about twenty settlers he failed to find a seconder. ■ On the contrary, they all expressed themselves as being most decidedly averse to this land fund being tampered with, or used in any way except for the purpose of paying interest on loan; as, if £SQQ were used fo» this bridge, fbe other end of the district* would want the same amount for an? other bridge, and so the fund would soon disappear altogether. How the promoters of the petition managed to secure so many signatures I cannot say, but probably of those who signed were nob aware of the real draft of the petition. know several who signed merely thinking they were simply making a request for a bridge, nothing whatever being said about the land fund being used for the purpose. It sue,-

picious that neither myself nor several others, living adjacent, were asked to sign. As the promoters knew, we were averse to the proposal, would also be likely to read the petition, and so- warn' others of the real nature of the document. I must commend member, Mr Hemmingway, : for opposing this underhand attempt on the? prt of a few ratepayers and the chairman of the Council to collar t|}is laud fund, which is nq dqubt attempting bait to an impecunious Ificgl bqdy. Apologising for trespassing on join? columns, I ana, &c., Pi NKlll’.