CORRESPONDENCE

Waipawa Mail, Volume XXV, Issue 4523, 25 June 1903, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE

Land for the People. [to the editor] Sir,— -As Mr C. Hall M.H.R., iitipected in Waipawa to-day, I deem this a fitting opportunity to direct his notice to the way in which the Premier has “ fooled ” Waipawa people regarding the acquisition of estates in this neighbourhood for close settlement. It is not very long since an agitation waisfoot for the Government to purchase the Abbotsford property for sub-diniioa. We are acquainted with the melodramatic attitude Mr Seddon struck iu the House when Mr Hall asked him for a “ straightforward” answer regarding the acquisition of this estate. With a tear in his eye and a tremor in bis voice (assumed for the purpose of stage effect) he declared he was grieved that such • question should come from so faithful • follower as the member for Waipawa Then as a climax, he declared the property was in the hands of the Government and, more in sorrow than in anger, he asked if that answer w« not “ straightforward ” enough. It is now a matter of local history that the Abbotsford property wii not then in the hands of the Government, nor did Mr Seddon take any steps to purohase it until the owner h» it portioned out amongst his family. So much for the “ straightforward ” declarsfcion of Mr Seddon. I now come to the acquisition of the Mount Vernon ran. Some little time ago it was stated that the trustees of this property were not adverse to the Government purcbMiof about 1800 acres of the land negotiations were entered upon. Seddou, however, determined to have w or none and made a declaration to th» effect. Now, however, it is common tali that he has abandoned his intentien to take the whole of the property, end that negotiations have been resumed to buy the small part that the trustees anxious to unload. If this proves correct Mr Seddon is flouting Waipawa p#jPj with a vengeance. Possibly Mr H» will be able to let us know whether tW Premier’s intentions regarding the acquisition of Mount Vernon are as >i DO V as they were when he asserted Abbotsford was in the hands of Government. The people of W*»P* are entitled to an emphatic assurance this point. They look to their mem to give them that assurance.—l 8 ' etc, Unt*