The Pahiatua Star. (Published Tuesdays and Fridays.) FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 31, 1888.

Pahiatua Star and Eketahuna Advertiser, Volume 2, Issue 169, 3 February 1888, Page 2

The Pahiatua Star. (Published Tuesdays and Fridays.) FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 31, 1888.

Owixo to llie t übli.limt-nt of a now In • using district for I‘ahiatua last iur, a local option j>.>ll w.i.-t taken bo--1 • i the ..tut : J meeting of the newly* elected Committee in June. Private opinion varied as to the necessity for taxi . g a p il. seeing that the Alfred ton ]..< on-mo Ihftrict, of which we formed pan. liud taken the statutory pull two • t ars previo i~. winch was against the increase of licenses of all descriptions ; loith .il opinion intervened, and the weight of argument leing in favor of ti.. liuihs of the law, the ratepayers of I'uhiat in wen called upon to exercise tin ir privilege of deciding for or against t .e i- -tie of more than one license w. l ,n the Isnmdanes of the town ills-tri.-t. The result of tlie poll was uul.n t.o.eably m favor of an increase of I .:i-. .; but the Goniuiittee, at its n it ;ng to consider applications, reso--1 itch « t its face against licensing any ot .it lioule but the I‘ahiatua Hotel, n itwithstanding that legal talent was bro 'lit from Ma-tcrton to prove to the C iiiniittee that it could not. in the fa.. f th. vote of the ratepayers, fell. At the time we ijui’e agreed with the de-ci-ion of tlie Committee, as legally tin y could not have done otherwise than they did. There might have . n, Kiel wo believe there was, something el.-e he.-des the Act which Stood betwei u the Coin in it tee and Mr Crewe; for in-lance only twelve moi-ths lmd elupsed from the time Mr Crowe sold

• : hi interest in the Pahiatua Hotel to Mr Sti wart, and as the latter gentleli.i.ii was led to believe we will not say who by. that no new licenses could be issued for at least two years, it was though', an unfair advantage was being taken. These private matters in reality have nothing whatever to do wiih tin. administration of the Licen- - ng or any other Act ; yet they surely carry t! •ir weight. Some blamed the C intuitu* for not granting Mr Crewe a ho*’.-i lust June, but whether private !< • I \g or not influenced them we argue that tlie dec:uon was the right one, and tin e who so bitterly attacked tlie Committee are now willing to admit that they ruled according to law. Time h.i l*ro ,-i:t us around to tlie statutory local option poll, which will be taken ■ n Monday, at the nflice of the Town 11. urd ; and it is f r the ratepayers to say whether, for the next three years, the t mtmr.ee shall have power to grant farther license- 1 . If the vote is i. the iiftinnative, then we believe that any application rareivtsl ut the June ui.-ctmg provide*! a g. d report is received of the jH.T-on applying and the If we are to have an increuse of hotels, » can only hope the new- houses will g ve the amount of satisfaction a- th* I‘al.iatua Hotel lias under the pr. j r:••• • r-lupof Mr \V. Stewart, whose h i * always has been acred.t to himself and the district.

Tne state of tlie Mangaiainoka bridge at e'l ii" creviii on tlie County authorities. What is tbe Engineer kept for if not to periodically ins|*ect the bridges and roods in the County ’ We are aware tbs', when he l.a-journeyo*l ibis wra* hi* visit* have Us n charged against the Kidn.g to the tuno of t'.i or i'tt a trip, and there has been nothing to how for it, except a toll-gate and sen-eles* heaps of stones along the ti in r. id. This does not signify, !. never, for if not fleece* 1 in this way *<• should lie in another. We are getting .away from the starting point, the bridge. A few weeks ago Mr

\nd* rs.in. h_. .Teat exertion, succeeded in extinguishing a hlsr.e under the northern end of the hndgu. caused by -parks from bush fires. 1; is just fortunate someone was about, otherwise iht bridge w.mld hare gone, for if once a fire got proper hold nothing could uvo it. The Council by its negligence in allowing drift-wood to accitniulaU' around all th* piers atx offering a premium for the destruction of the bridge, as the least spark at the pre--enl tune would set the whole structure iu a blaze. Settlers here would do all in their power to prevent such a calamity, out why should they undertake the work of clearing away rubbish w hen the Council keep* so many highly salaried officials in idleness * it would do the Clerk and Engineer good to do a day's work at the Maugatainoka bridge.

\\ HiTjrr tbe Californian thistle proinises to be very troublesome to New Zealand, we would ask if there are not already weeds in the colony that are equally as noxious and quite os difficult to eradicate. Wo refer particularly to th*- Jock, and anyone with a knowledge of this weed will not hesitate to say that it is u great curse when "lice it gets into the land. The Californian thistle is credited with being hard to destroy —the smallest particle left in the ground springing into life with astonishing rapidity. The same argument applies to tlie dock, and bo far as we can see the one evil is as great as the other. How the dock was introduced into this district is not generally known, but that it is here is painfully apparent. Few people seem to rt-uh.-e what the spread of the dock means, judging from the manner in which it i. allowed to seed and multiply. A settler, alive to its evils, informed us tiie other pay that he went through his land, ami when he came upon a dock he carefully took it out by the root- and consigned it to the fire, tliis being the only way of successfully destroying it. If others would follow this example no doubt in time wc should atiind a fair chance of seeing the pest eradicated ; but if allowed to grow on uinolested it will prove a curse of the most bitter kind. We may have formed an exaggerated idea of ihe evils that will follow the spread of the dock ; if so we are open to conviction.