THE GERALDINE ROAD BOARD.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1735, 10 May 1888, Page 2

THE GERALDINE ROAD BOARD.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —I do not know what tempted you to write as you did about the Overseer to the Geraldine Road Board. One would think from reading your article that there is in the world only one man to do the work, and that man is Mr Shiers. Now I can tell you that it would be very easy to get as good a man as he is. I will give you a few instances—A petition was sent to the Board about a road from Pleasant Valley to Geraldine, and Mr Shiers wak sent to report upon it. Wbrtevcr Mr Shiers reported upon, the work was done in another p'ace altogether. In driving from Geraldine to Speechley’s c irner, rising out of the river-bod up an incline there, you see a concrete culvert through which water never passes. This cost about £2O, and everything wanted could have beoa done by the side of the road for £3. Riding round Mr Postlethwaite’s estate one sees on the back roads concrete cn'verts on every little gully, when Mr Shiers advocates open fords in other plaees. His salary could have been saved in these things. And then the muddle of Peckham’s road crossing the river is another blunder. Why did he put the bridge on the upper side of the ford, and then drive pile* on the lower side and make a weir to make a croasing. Would not the piles of the weir have answered the same purpose, You praised up this man when you knew nothing at all about him. It is evident you wore not paying the rates. But as there is not brains enough ia the Board to see their own election carried out legally I cannot wonder at anything they do. The Act says distinctly that the annual election must take place wi'hin the Road Board District, but that was not complied with, and therefore the Board is illegally elected. The fun of the thing is they ctme to the immigration barracks and elected two of the members there, but the other three were elected at headquarters. —1 am, etc., No HuMsue.

[Our correspondent is rather unfair. Ho ought to remember that in praising up Mr Shiers we only used the language uttered by the ratepayers at the annual meeting. They all said they could find no fault with him, excep'ing that they thought he was getting too well paid. All v/e said is that if he was as good a mm as they represented (hey ought not to cavil about his salary, and we say so still. People who find fault with Mr Shiers ought to come forward at the annual meeting, and speak theip minds in the same honest, manly, straightforward way that Mr Brophy did. W® have not the slightest doubt but that Mr Shiers has far more respect for Mr Brophy now than for those who talk outside but would not open their lips at the meeting. With regard to the point raised by our correspondent respecting the illegality of the election of the Board, he may bo right, but if so the Terauka Board has never been properly elected. We wish to point out, however, that there is a difference between an election in which a poll is taken, and an uocontested election. The recentlyelected members of the Geraldine Board were only nominated, and there being no contest the Returning Officer declared them elected, We have not the Act of Parliament handy just now, but shall look it up. Meantime it appears to us our cor respondent is hypercritical. —The Editor.]