AT UPPER HUTT.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1380, 5 March 1912, Page 2

AT UPPER HUTT.

PUBLIC BUILOINQ OPENED. THE SPEECHES, POLITICS AND SOME PROMISES. There was a good deal of popular stir in Ijipcr Jlutt yesterday when a new building erected to accommodate the Town Board and its officers was officially opened. Bunting was displayed in the streets, and a considerable number of people assembled to witness the opening ceremony, which was performed by the Hon. I!.. M'Kenzie (.Minister for Public Works). Amongst those who attended were Dr. A. K. Newman, member lor Wellington East, and the members of tho Town Board.

Hitherto, as one speaker remarked, tho Town Board has "shifted from perch to perch." Latterly it has found a home in a diminutive wooden building, but the completion of the new offices provides it with more satisfactory quarters. The building is of brick and rough-casting. It is one story high, and contains two main apartments. One of these is a comfortable meeting room, and the other a, publie office. A' big safe provides safe storage for documents and' records. Ihe building is neatly finished inside and out, and comfortably furnished.

The chairman of the Town Board (Mr. G. J. Benge) stated in the course of Ins speech that the ratepayers originally sanctioned n loan of .£SOO to defray tho cost of tho building. Plans were prepared, but the lenders received averaged about 1700. Modified plans were then drawn. The lowest lender received on this occasion was .£O2B, and it was declined. The building was eventually erected by dav labour and small contracts, and cost .£i%. Extras and furnishings brought tho total up to X 528, or .£IOO less than the lowest tender. The architect was Mr. .T. T. Mair. Mr. Benge welcomed Hie. Minister, and mentioned that this was the first lime that he hail been in the Hutt Valley. Mr. Benge expressed a hope that th'ey might have Mr. M'Kenzie again among them' very shortly, to turn the first s:d of the Alcatarawa-Waikanae railway deviation. (Hear, hear.)

The Hon. R. M'Kenzie. Mr. M'Kenzie, who was now called upon, said Hint he was very glad to open the building, in which the future politicians of the Hutt Valley would ho educated. He believed that the AkatarawaYY'aikanae raihvav was one that would have to ho made in the future, and probably it would be taken in hand bcloro man'v years had parsed. Speaking of iivdro-eleetrical development, Mr. M'Kwizi'e said that power would l>c supplied by the Government from some source 01othor before many years. He was not in a position to say where it would be generated, but it was a plank in the Liberal platform, and would be taken in hand in the-immediate future. He had no dmibt that the whole population ot the Hutt district, the Wairarapa Valley, and the Citv of Wellington would derive verv great benefit from hydro-electric development. The Minister remarked that enormous progress had been made in the Hutt Valley during the last twenty-five vear.s, but lie was sure that it was comparatively small compared with the progress that would be made in the next 25 or SO vears. lie-believed that the Hutt Valley' would be in future the industrial centre, net only for the lower end of the North Island, but for the upper end of the South Island. Its prospects were much brighter than many people imagined. Ho believed that it would cam- fivn times its present population in a few. years' time. Under ordinary circumstances, the new Town Board building would have been opened by their own representative. He regretted that advantage had been taken of Mr. Vvilford during his absence from Parliament, on advantage ■that" would not-have been taken anywhere,, else. However, the electors of the Hutt Valley had not lost anvthing by being disenfranchised for a short time. The rest of the electors, had taken extremely find'care that they were not in any way. ■neelectcd. He sincerely hoped that Mr. Vvilford would be back, in iestored health, to take his place in Parliament when tho next session opened. Mr. M'Kenzie apologised for (he absenco of Mr. I'\, M. 15. Fisher, M.P., and of Mr. J. Brown, an old resident of the district.

Dr. A. K, Newman, Dr. Newman, who was next to speak, prophesied a great future for the Hint Valley, ami he looked forward to the lime when Upper Hutt would be a great town, including within its boundaries Hcretaungn and Silverstream. There was no reason why the place should not go ahead. It was an excellent residential district, and Wellington people would go thorn to live, more and more. Only one thing kept Wellington people back from doing so now, and that was the slowness of the trains. (Hear, hear.) It was a most desnerate handicap for the district. Tf they "only had one fast train in and out per dav a great many poor people would go to live at Upper Hutt. (Hear, hear.) Last week he and others had tried to get a new Minister of Railways for them, but, as tlioy know, the attempt had not succeeded. (Laughter.)

A Glittering Prospect, Mr. M'Kenzio, in a second speech, promised to bear in mind the situation regarding the trains, and described what was proposed to be done in the electrification of Lyttelton Tunnel. 'A quick service would be secured by running single carriages at times, and trains only when large numbers of passengers had to bo carried. When the lino had been electrified, carriages would be run to tho Hutt every ten minutes if r&imred. Tho use of electricity as a motive power would make it possible to run as frequent a service as the district required. The reason, Mr. M'Kenzio stated, that he had not referred to this before, was that he had been afraid that as soon as it became known every land-grabber would put up values and make it impossible for poor people to obtain landv at all. He did not want values to be put up to an extreme limit, because of the prospect that the Government would be running this quicker service. Speaking of tha member for tho district, Mr. M'Kenzio told his henrers that thev could take, it from him that, if Mr. Wilford were not in the next reconstructed Ministry, ho must be in a Ministry before long. (Applause.) "I am sure," added tho Minister, "that ho will be there many years beforo my worthv friend who last addressed you." The' Minister now formally declared the building open.

POLITICAL SMALL TALK. ME. M'KEXZIE ON THE SITUATION. Tho ceremony being concluded, thoso who had attended it adjourned to the Provincial Hotel, whore tho visitors were entertained at luncheon by tho Town Board. Mr. G. I. Hengc, who presided, proposed the toast of "Parliament," coupling it with the names of Mr. M'Kenzio and Dr. Newman. , Mr. M'Kenzie, in responding, said that Parliament had been like a ship in the doldrums since the general election, but, by good seamanship, had been got out of the doldrums, and was now sailing before a fair wind. No legislation of any account, could he expected from a Parliament in which parties were nearly even.' At the same time, he believed it was absolutely impossible to abolish the party system.' Without party very little nroo-'res's could be made, or was made. Returning to the subject of hydro-electri-cal development, Mr. M'Kenzie predicted that in twenty voars water-power would be as valuable' (o the people os Iheir railway* now were. He looked forward to the time when practically (he whole of the New Zealand railway system would lie electrified. Plenty of power was now running to waste. The Hull; pooplo would probably prefer to 'co their Akntarawa scheme developed, but by it they could not supply power lo all the places that could be supplied from Waikaremoiiiiii. Thev need not be afraid, however, that Ihe Hutl scheme would not be gone' on with, for. as soon as there was a sufficient demand, it would be developed as a stand-by scheme to (he larger one. Novor Mori Interesting. Dr. Newman opened by remarking pletißootly that It. find not been ustinj for • member* ei tin Reform pAtty to fcttaau

gatherings of this kind, but they wore now becoming a more or less important body. The Minister had slid that he did not approve of a strong Opposition, but lie (Dr. Newman) considered that a weak Opposition 'mill been a cui>o to New Zealand. Politics had been more interesting during the past fortnight or three weeks than during the previous twenty years. He was sure that .Mr. M'kcnzio had never had such nn interesting time in politics as during the last ten days. The speaker admitted that the first round had ended in a lie, and the referee had very rightly ordered another round, which would be fought next Juno or July. A strong Opposition was absolutely necessary. Its duty was not to spare, the rod and spoil the child. There seemed to be a general impression that another general election was imminent, but it was unlikely that eighty members who had gone through a pretty hard slruggli Mr. M'Kenzie: II tike it 79. I didn't have any struggle. Dr. Nowman rejoined thnt the Opposition had made a mistake in leaving some se'ats uncontested "last lime." ll* did not; think that there was any chance of a dissolution. The eighty men who had worked hard to get into Parliament would bo very foolish if they willingly went through another campaign sooner than wan necessary. "If in the next round," continued Dr. Newman, jestingly, "we were forty and the lion., the Minister had !W, we would soon make tlio Akatarawa line and the llutt would blossom as the rose." (Laughter.) He was, he continued, an enthusiast in town-planning and development, and hoped that a Hill dealing with these nmlters would be before the House next session. Othw toasts honoured were '"the Upper Hutt Town Board," proposed bv Jr. Oracroft Wilson and responded to bv Mr. R. Quinn, and "The Architect, proposed bv Mr. W. Harrison and responded to 'by Mr. J. T. Mair.