OUR ORMOND LETTER.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 691, 9 May 1879, Page 2

OUR ORMOND LETTER.

[from our own correspondent.]

I May Bth, 1879. ' IAM sorry to say I cannot report anything but what is most unfavorable to the community of Poverty Bay at large. The whole of our district is anything but what can be termed a prosperous state. Sickness appears to abound m more or less every home. The first greeting, soon after daylight appears, is " How iB So and go's little one 1" On an application made by Mrs. Baker (the teacher of the Ormond School) to the School Committee that during the prevailing sickness amongst the little ones the Chairman resorted to medical advice on the matter, and was informed it would be most advisable to comply with the teacher's request ; consequently our School is closed pro tern. The river is very high, not crossable for saddle or dray traffic ; the roads are m a frightful state, and these incessant rains afford no chance for improvement. Labor is very scarce, owing to the fact that those who have work requiring to be done have no money to pay for the execution of the labor. It ia to be sincerly hoped the present state of affairs will very shortly take a change for a brighter side of the present dark picture. Gentlemen of the medical and legal profession appear to be the only persons who are driving a prosperous trade. It is a great shame that Ormond is not supplied by the Government with two much needed requirements. I allude to the want of a telegraph line between here and Gisborn e; as also the mails carried three times per week ; those days to be Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Fancy a person who expects letters of great importance to arrive per steamer on Wednesday, having to ride twelve miles on heavy, muddy, and wet roads, to obtain his correspondence, or leave them until Saturday evening. Re the Telegraph, a person may be on his death bed, and his friends, if he has any kind enough, has to ride the same distance for a doctor. Again our more remote inland settlers may have the most important business to transact with his agent or banks, which might be done instantly by the aid of telegraphing, whereas he perhaps rides thirty or forty miles to do ten minutes business. Surely these two requirements should be supplied, and the Government should be earnestly appealed to.