MASTERTON NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 874, 21 July 1910, Page 7

MASTERTON NOTES.

.THE NEW SEWAGE SCHEME, (From Our Special Correspondent.) Masterton, July 20. The decision of the Masterton Borough Council, on Tuesday evening, to take a poll of tho ratepayers on a proposal to raise a loan of c£31,000 for' tho extension of the sewage system, was arrived at after an exhaustive discussion* Mid tho presentation of a series of reports. It has boon admitted for years that tho drainage of the town is totally inadequate, and that from tho point of view of health, as well as convenience, arrangements should be mndo for tho reticulation of the .whole of the borough. Mr. Jlnnsiield, the Borough Engineer, has gone thoroughly into t!io wholn question, and his reports have been voluminous and complete in detail. 'Clio council has now adopted his scheme (known as No. (i scheme) in its entirety, with tho exception of a slight alteration in the locality of the outfall. What the result of the poll of the ratepayers will bo remains to bo seen. Certain it is that the drainage extension must como sooner or later, and tho deferring of the scheme now only mcann increased expense in tho future. Tho Jlayor stated last night that his idea was to spread the expenditure over two or three years, so tliat the Increased rate (about Jd. -in tho'.£) would not be imposed straight away. Bro. Chapman presided over a good attendance at the ordinary meeting of tlie H.A.C.B.S. last evening. I'our members were proposed and two initiated. The subscriptions for the evening amounted to .£l4 10s. A "social" was subsequently held, at which songs and recitations were rendered, and a lengthy toast list gono through. At a meeting last night of the Masterton Fire Brigade, at which Superintendent Jenkins presided, an invitation from tint Ladies' Committee to piny a return progressiva enchro tournament was accepted. Hearty votes of thanks were passed "to Air.'L. Prentice for a gift of magazines, and to Deputy-Superintendent Pickering for the gift of, ail electric l>ell. .Mr. Joe O'Leary was elected an active, member, hnd ex-Fireman IT. E. Gardner an ex-member. . A full-dress parade for inspection has been- ordered for next week. A number of Masterton poultry and pigeon fanciers have sent exhibits to the South Wairarapa Poultry Show, .which openod_at Carterton to-day. A run of the Wairarapa hounds is to 1)0 held at. Otahuao, a few miles to the cast of Jlnslerton, to-morrow. "The Pirates of Penzance." At the performance of tho' "Pirates of Penzance,in the Masterton Town Hall this owning, l.hfTe was a large and enthusiastic audience. Miss Eileen Jago took the part of "!Ma]>cl"; .Miss Cameron, "Ruth"; Jlr. W. Iggulden, "The Pirate King"; ]\1 r. . Harry Hall, "MajorGeneral"; Mr. WJ. Jago, "I'wderic"; Jlr.i. A. Daniel], "Edith"; Mr. Bryco Clayson, "Samuel"; Mrs. H. M. Boddington, "Kate"; and Mr. D. Walsh, tho redoubtable "Sergeant of Police." The opera was produced uihlet the conductorship of Mr. George Gray, upon whom tho performance reflected the utmost credit. Tho chorus was full and strong, and tho music excellent. The opera is to be produced for a second time on Thursday, and it is not improbable that ono or more of the surrounding townships will bo visited at an early date. The property at Thuraua Valley, which was inspected hv the Wellington LandBoard to-day is being leased by Mr. J.F. Heckler. The', lease of tho property, which contains about 2000 acres, expires in about ••twelve months' time. It is thought that it could'be cut into several dairy farms, which would bo an advantage to tho district. Big Land Question. In' ak interview with your /representative, two members of the Wellington Land Board expressed tho opinion that tho. policy of reserving improved estates, whilst millions, of acres of Native ami Crown lands were unoccupied, was not good for the State or the individual. One member was emphatic in tho statement that the Native lands along the Main Trunk railway should long since have been thrown open-for settlement "AVhy," said he, "the rente derived from the township of Taumaraunui alono will ba sufficient in time to maintain the whole of the Native population of the Dominion in comfort. Why. should wo be so considerate for tho Nativo as to allow his estate td be so enormously increased in value at the public cxpenso?" In regard to Native, lands, it may be mentioned that there is a large slice of country between Eketahuna and Pahiatna which should long ago have been converted into dairy farms.