INQUIRY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 926, 16 October 1879, Page 2

INQUIRY.

{To ./„ Editor of the Herald.] Sir, — Some months back I was the successful tenderer for the formation >f the footpaths m the Gladstone Road, my tender being a great deal below otheis (it was given outl was too low by the public). Could you inform me if I had completed my contract, which of the alternatives the Borough Council would have sanctioned — that my sureties be required to* complete the contract, or that I could procure inferior material, etc., to complete my contract ? By answering the above you will oblige. Yours, &c, Alfred Ledger. [We will answer Mr. Ledger's question. If, when he had completed a considerable portion of his contract at a large outlay of money, the elements had conspired to destroy the work, and he was unable to procure the same material, we think the Borough Council would not have acted so harshly as calling up his sureties or compelling him to perform impossibilities. We think we know to whom Mr. Ledger is referring. In a late contract entered into the contractor was to procure so much beach stone at a certain price per cubic yard. He had procured a large quantity, but a storm raged and huge waves rolled m upon the beach line, and carried all the stone into deep water, besides destroying on three successive, occasions the road which the contractor had formed at considerable expense. It would have been harsh m the extreme — even unjust— had the Borough Council insisted upon the contract referred to being carried out. — Ed.]

[To the Editor of the Herald.] Sir, — I have noticed several articles m the late issues of the Standard, m. which the action of myself and Read's Trustees have been- very fully commented upon, and that too m an j thing but complimentarry terms. I have something better to do than wrangling with the proprietor of the Standard, a gentleman who uses his journal to suit his own personal feelings. The public must be heartily sick of hearing about the recent riot cases, and of the action taken by Read's Trustees relative to the Matawhero No. 1 Block. Therefore I shall abstain from refuting any of. the numerous mis-statements and .wilful mis-constructions appearing m your contemporary's journal. — I am, &c, E. ff. Ward.

[To tlie Edifor qf the Herald.] " Nothing extenuate, nor auglti set down m malice." Sir, —In your paper last night there is an article headed, "More Seizures by Natives," m which we 'are told that ' ' this act of the natives has created the greatest consternation among the Coast settlers and their wives and families, who feel, unless protected by Government, their lives are m danger." I demur to this statement on two grounds ; firstly, why more seizures 1 Have any previous seizures taken place ? If not, (and they have not yet been reported) then your heading is misleading and prejudicial. Secondly, I do not think that auy settler feels his life m danger. I believe that portion of your article to be absolutely untrue and calculated to seriously damage the place m the eyes of persons at a distance, if uncontradicted. It does not look as though the settlers thought their wives and families m danger, for they are all m statu quo ante. That the natives are wrong is very evident, and if Mr Arthur had used a little of that force, which he so mistakenly applied the other day, he might have prevented wanton injury to dumb auimals, and would certainly have been justified under the circumstances. The result of the summonses issued will doubtless show that even among these wrong-headed savages there will be more resP e ct paid to the law than is shewn to the warrant of the Supreme Court within a mile of the Borough of Gisborne, and that they will be found more law-abiding than persons who ought to be their superiors. You will see a very fair report of the occurrence (written m quite as strong terms as Mr Arthur uses) m the Standard of to-day. You will doubtless perceive the propriety and justice of being very accurate m reports of matters of this nature at the present juncture. It is obviously detrimental to the interests of a place becoming somewhat famous, or infamous, for lawlessness, that any high colouring should be given to a truthful account of that nature. Your outside readers must disabuse their minds of any idea that life is m danger. It is a personal and private matter, and it is only an illegal and mistaken, as well as avi unjustifiable distraint for rent which may not be due, and it will doubtless be visited with chastening results. — I am, &c, W. H. Tucker. [Those who control the columns of a newspaper, like police officials, have frequently to trust to " information received." In the case under notice by Captain Tucker, we may state our infor-. mation was obtained from Mr. Arthur himself, than whom we should think there could not be any better authority. A journal published daily, and necessarily hurriedly, as a rule does not refine upon words. " More seizures " may be incorrect. Perhaps we might have said " more forcible entries," or " more Maori difficulty," or "more "something else. A cross-head to a newspaper article seldom conveys a precise meaning, and generally nothing more is intended than to draw the attention of the general reader. — Ed.]