HUTT AND PETONE NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 514, 22 May 1909, Page 3

HUTT AND PETONE NEWS.

OfBOM OBn .BPECUL EBTOUtim.i

DIFFICULTIES OF FIRE-FIGHTING,

' When a suburb.has grown to such.proportions as: to house 7000 people, the efficiency of a fire brigade service becomes important. :In Fetone tho days of. tho hand, pump and a few feet of hose are gone, but not so long as to be quite forgotten, and.thoi installation of more serviceable equipment has been a slow process. 'Now that a 'Fire Board has taken the control of. the local brir gado, however, one distinct step has been taken. Within the past few days, a system of ■ automatic alarm-boxes has been installed, and tho brigade can now bo summoned from four poiiita in the outlying , streets of the town. .These alarm boxes work in tho same manner as those .in tiso in. tho city. In fact, the functions of the alarms have been added to in Potone, whero. the whole of tho firemon, with tho exception of the superintendent, occupy honorary positions, and aro variously engaged during the day. When. an alarm is-given at one of tho call-boxes, or at tho station door, tho efrect not only to nng a bell in the station, but to turn on. the- wator-motor which sounds ' the mam alarm on tho tower. In response to this summons—a call which can be heard all' over tho: Valloy on a calm evening—-tho firemen, twenty in all, prepare for action. None of the new alarm-bexes have yet been requisitioned to announco a fire.

It is heavy work getting the. hand reel to - tho scene of a distant fire, and breathlossness does not strike one as desirable in the stern work'of firerfighting.. Herein lies, the need of .an. up-to-date reel, preferably a motoj, .which could whisk along;the fiat streets .and reach a burning building in the farthest part of the borough in five. minutes at mosti' This .is tho most urgent .need of .the borough as. far as firo operations are concerned. With the. trained':firomeri of tho Gear " Company and the Railway .Workshops to' co-operate ori tho ocGcisioii of a big .blaze, the brigade is. sufficiently strong numerically, , and tho pressure of water in tho mains is all that is required.for most, fires.. , Whero-a greater force , of, wator is required,..the Gear; Company pumps a lead of ; artesiaii wator into the town mains, and . this gives as much prossure as tho brigade can comfortably turn to useful play. :. ,• , .. ... THE HIGH SCHOOL PROPOSAL. A letter from : the Education Board , was at the Petone School Coinmittee -meet ing last evening in reply to tho representations mado i for, tho-establishment of a high school m • the district. A logal opinion and a report from the inspectors wcro also enclosed. ; . ; The chairman spoke' strcngly on the pro-' •oed^ ; -.fo»owefl.';bjr' the board in regarii to. the petition from/parents in Petone ' Ho would movo: That the Potone School Comniittco, having the report from tho ' .. boards- inspectors, and thMr legal advisors, aro :of opinion that they have '• fulfilled •: all requirements kid ' down iy •' the ; Uducation Act, andrcspectfnlly. ask . the board that the petition. from tho - ' ~ 'Petone. parents, together -with tho re- , solution passed by this . committee, be forwardedtothe Hon G. Fowlds, Minis- ■ tor. for Education, , with-the-request that their wishes to. establish' a high sohool • - in Potonp bo'given. effect, to." Wo are also of tho opinion-that, in Section 94,' ; . tho "place" means the. "Petone-, 1 ' School District;" ; andv is ! therefore iii i ' order, and it is open for the Minister to establish ; a high school; in Potone ■ district, notwithstanding' the ■ existence of a district high school at tho Hutt/ On such establishment, it will of necessity disestablish "the Petone District - ffigh School. we iwo of opin-', ion that the property "bf a district high. school belongs to tho beard and, on ' dieeatablishniont, remains with the board. Section 95 of the Education Act • says:—"That, tho! high-,;school estab- ! • lished ■ shall be controlled in accordance with a scheme approved by. thermistor," .etc. .Part of the scheme approver! , by tho '--Miiiißteirf)is" tho v hplding of pro-, perty by tlio board, and therefore we are satisfied that - the property of a dis- , , trict hic:h' Khool jemams board - i /■even.when tho high.'schoof.is nrider-tho. - control' of the, board ■of • goyemors'; - - Tho Roy. Mr. Thomson remarked on- tho delays:that bad occurrcd since thoifirst re-, presentations were; made. A month had been wasted in getting the solicitor's opinion, and' further! delay was occasioned in sending the legal opinion on to the commit tee. The board ; had not discussed'the petition at all. If the petitionV had been, discussed and refused, the' ■ comiriiittee ' would then go to the Minister.-; He considered that timo was being wasted in formulating resolutions; it ; was timo to go before the board as a deputation. Tho board had treated "the oommittee with .''.contempt'. ' It Bhould have considered tho petition. Mr. Thomson moved as an amendment: "That a depntatiori, consisting of the chair-' man, the'Rov. J: P. Russell, and the mover, wait on the Education Board at their next meeting and request the;board to come to 1 some . definite decision, in regard to the ques-' tion of;. a ' High; School;': ascertain why • the playground has .not been, graded; and. , inquire'the reason that a cookery, teacher.' has not' been appointed." r . ■ ' ' The chairman-said that the committee had been as well treated as any other,:oommit« tee,_ but they, wanted more from the board. Their only hope was to adopt a peaceful afe titude. i ~ ■ •• - ' '. ■ . •Tho Rev; Jlr. Thomson considered that tha sending of the, legal opinion was sa pieco of bluff;.; Either tho .whole of the faots had not: been placed before; tho board : or, i the. < board were'treating them in a-very , strange way. " Acting on the suggestion of tho Rev. Mr Russell, at. was agreed that tho committee,' with any othor . residents interested, should go as ,-a deputation to the board' at their meetuig i next; week,, The chairman withdrew his motion. , '. , t . , t , , , "UNBUSINESSLIKE;" ; -. Mention was made at Petone School Cdmmitteo meetinglast'. evening that - Miss F. Hunt,,: Whoso' appointment as assistant teacher, .at .-Petone. School was to h'avo takori offeot.on April 1, had not yet taken up her duties, .but was' still'teaching at' Lower Hutt. The llov. J. D. Russell stated tliat'he had learned that; Miss Hunt's placb' at'the Hutt could, not; bo 'filled at onc.c. y He! understood that she had. been-kept: on' because of the illnessVof ;tho teacher, who was to- liavo relieved- lior.- It was evidently a private' arrangement entered into; with tho board, who had,'not ascertained ' whether;: • the' i Petone School would bo inconvenienced,: . Members looked upon the arrangement as an unbusinesslike proceeding,. and the committee'resolved to' ask the board why Miss Hunt had : not i taken up her duties at the school on the date fixed. . , .. - - PETONE SCHOOL COMMITTEE. "• A meeting of, the . Petone School Committee, held last evening, was attended by Mr. D. M'Kcnzie (chairman), Rev. A. Thomson, Rov. J. D.- Russell, Messrs; J. W. List, W Burd, J.: Abrahall, W. Hill. J. M'DoURaIL and P. Cairns. . ' Tho Education Board, wrote expressing regret' that delay 'had occurred in , the establish-; ing of a cookory. class. Arrangements had been: made with an " instructressto. take up the work ion June . 1,; hut, she' had: since declined to take up the: engagement. However the board would attend to tho matter at their next mooting. :It was : proposed Ito establish the cookery and woodwork classes simultaneously. ' Major MDonald, in a letter to the chairman on tho grading of tho, school, playgjpund, stated that consideration of this work had,been postponed for want of funds.' The'board had decided riot to do ,tho work, but to consider it in the. fall of tho year! He would briug up .the matter "at-the next .board mooting, and, hoped to havo, something done. Mr. Oairns submitted a motion, the intention of which, waa to anjpnd the Act in regard to' committee elections, so that, inter alia, nominations could not lie receivod on the night of tho/election. ' It was proposed to ask tho co-oporation of tho school committees of tho Wellington district in putting tho suggestion; before . tlio Minister.-. Tho Rev. A; Thomson moved an amondment protesting against any ch'ango.in tho Act.. Tlio motion was carried,, and tho committee -decided to forward a copy to the M-iiiister for Education,- but not to the school committees.' , - Another resolutaon adopted at tiict

of Mr. Cairns was that the committee should obtain from tho 'headmaster a list of scholars entitled to good attendance certificates, in order that tho oommittee might mako awards in deserving cases. It was also resolved-to apply for a subsidy on money .spent on books for tho school library- . JOTTINGS. A fall mooting of Lower Hutt Borough Council was held last evening to consider the estimates. Proceedings were in oommittee. Prior to his being transferred to Tailiapo, Mr. Charles Emory, boilermaker's labourer at Petone Railway Workshops, was presented by his employees with a travelling bag and a dressing-case for Mrs. Emery. Mr. J; Forbes, foreman of the boilormakors' shop, made the presentation. ' At the opening meeting of Petone Literary and Debating Society a debate will be hold on tho subject of compulsory military training. Mr. R. C. Kirk will lead ono side. Application has been made to the Telegraph Department by tshe Upper Hutt Town Board for permission to use'-the telegraph, poles in connection with a proposed streetlighting schemo. , .