LONGRIDGE.

Otago Witness, Issue 1911, 6 July 1888, Page 17

LONGRIDGE.

Junk 23. — A meeting, largely attended by those interested, was held in Dalfour schoolroom on June 22, for the purpose of discussing " The District Railways Act Amendment Bill 1888." The convonerof the meeting. Mr Grant, who was called to the chair, is, by the way, our local storekeeper, and has therefore a more intimate knowledge df tlie peculiar manner in which our railway is managed— or rather, niismanag»d— than most of us. Iv a concise but lucid speech he gave us reasons for convening the . meeting, and pointed oat some of the anomalies of tho working of the Waimea Plains railway. For instance, he said it paid him in getting goods from j Dunedin to book them to Lurasden (1C miles further .on), then back again; so that the Government in their desire to drain the last drop ol blood out of the settlers rather overreach the mark, and have the 'pleasure of carrying goods 20 miles for less than nothing. Several speakers followed, but instead of giving in detail what each eaid I will give a general synopsis of what passed. It was pointed out that there aro some 400 Government settlers along the line, very few of whom would have settled had the railway not been here to give facilities for taking away their produce. Not 1 per cent, of these knew they were liable to be rated. S » the Government and the School Commissioners also have indirectly ' benefited by the railway in being enabled to dispose lof a very large tract of land ; for without a railway ' the land must have remained a sheepwalk. It seems strange that Parliament should sanction the spend- ', ing of thousands of pounds in promoting a special 1 pauper settlement, giving money to build houses and 'clear land, and almost move heaven and earth I to induce farmers to come from Britain, and yet ' sanction the raising of a crushing rate, sufficient in those depressed times to compel some to surrender their holdlrgs— it is, indeed, the last straw that will break the camel's back— and this to men who 1 have neither asked nor received any aid to form their homes. What in the name of common sense or justice is the use of passing fair rent bills to give relief to over-burdened settlers, and then by means of a most unjust rate take away the relief so given ? . The Waimea Plains railway pays a long -way better than the average New Zealand railways. We have to pay our proportion of deficiency on the colonial railways, and to bear the burden of an excessive tariff. Why then should we be Bubj»cted to an obnoxious rate when other districts, whose railways pay much worse, neither pay an excessive tariff nor a special rate ? Several motions were proposed and discussed, when Mr S. Walker proposed the following, and as it containpd the gist of them all, it was unanimously adopted t— " That this meeting cons'ders in view of the fact that the Waimea Plains railway is earning considerably more ti^-an the average of the New Zealand rail ways j that we are paying an excessive tariff, and by this tariff the railway is handic ippei as to its earnings and use to the colony; that in c cry essential it is a main trunk line, and is practically acknowledged as such by the Government ; that by means of this tax the Government are inconsistent to the settlers of this district as compared with the rest of the colony ; that to prosecute the course indicated by the Government would be an injustice, and disastrous to this district : therefore, we protest against the passing of the District Railways Act Amendment Bill of 1888." Mr James Eraser proposed, — " That I Mr Cowan be requested to ask the Minhter of I Public Works to produce a detailed statement of income and expenditure on the line." In speaking to the motion, w hich was carried, Mr Fraser said it was only fair we should be made awate what proportion of through passenger tickets and goods traffic from Kingston, Dunodin, and intermediate stations was allocated to our linn ; also with what we are debited. Mr McPherson moved, and it was seconded Mr P. Cuddily— " That in the event of the bill to collect the obnoxious rate passing, Mr Cowan be asked to bring another bill to extend the railway district from Dunedin to Queenstown." The propDSPr said the people of both places received as much benefit from the railway as those along the line, mail* to and from them being saved a day on the road, as also did passengers. It was also incidently mentioned by Mr Kay that the settlers of Otam» ( whose land in some instances almost touches the line, are not in the railway rating district, simply because they were settled before the line was builtl and so could and did protest against being rated— and effectually so too. But the feeling of the meeting was that a motion on the subject was Quixotic, so the mover withdrew it. Mr William Cowie, the new president of the Farmers' Club, moved — " That, in the event of the rate being levied, the people of this district form a plan of campaign and resist payment." Mr D. M'Lean seconded this motion amid some cheering, and also a good deal of derisive laughter. The chairman ruled the motion out of order. Several parties, however, insisted on speaking to it, amid ejaculations of "Discuss it at the farmers' club, Cowie," " Try Johnson's plan with the bailiffs," " Do you want to go to prison," &c, &c, when some one considerately proposed a vote of thanks to the chairman, and the meeting terminated. Farmers' Club —The Farmers' Club annual meeting was held on tho Ist June. Mr S. Walker read a report of last year's doings, which was adopted, as was also the balance she 1 1. which showed a balance on <he riiiht side of the ledger. Mr Walker was voted a small bonus for his trouble as secretary and treasurer. The election of office-rearers was then proceeded with. Mr Cowie was elected president, Mr J. Hobbs vice-president, Mr S. Walker reelected secretary and treasurer, and after a little routine business the meeting closed. Thk Weather during the past month has been favourable for outdoor work, and ploughing has been general. As is usual some are nearly half-finished, while others have scarcely made a start. As turnips are rather scarce with us a goodly number of those who keep sheep are feeding largely on oaten chaff. Several have got, or are getting, what are generally known as patent self-filling feed, troughs.