DISTRICT PARS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 217, 16 December 1909, Page 2

DISTRICT PARS.

The Public Works Statement and Estimates are to be brought down on Monday night next. It is understood that the railway regulation prohibiting the crariage of liquor by rail to the King Country is to be done away with. The legality of the regulation has always been questioned and probably it has been found that with increasing settlement and therunningoC through trains the regulation has been found unworkable.

Persons likely to have business at the office of the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages should take note that the ofSce will be closed on the 25th, 27th and 28th December, an! on the Ist and 3rd January. The Te Kuiti-Awakino road is now good enough for traffic and waggons have been on the road for some days. There are still some very rough places between the six and eight mile pegs, but increasing waggon traffic will soon have the effect of breaking down the lumps. In a short time the prevailing nuisance on the road will be dust. It is hoped that the metalling to be undertaken this year will comprise a further three miles on this road.

A resolution requesting the Minister for Railways to authorise the attachment of a passenger carriage to the early morning and late evening goods trains between Frankton and Taumarunui, was passed by the Waipa County Council yesterday. It was pointed out by Cr Teasdale that at present it was impossible to make a return journey to the King Country by rail in one day. At a meeting of the Te Kuiti Sports Club held on Saturday evening last, it was unanimously decided to hold a sports meeting in 1910. The club is to be congratulated upon the success of their meeting held last year, a credit balance amounting to £2B 13s 6d proving that the meeting of 1909 was a very successful one from all points of view. Good pirze money is to be allotted to the various events and with the management of affairs in the hands of a strong committee the gathering of 1910 should eclipse all previous efforts.

The general council of the National Defence League met on Monday night at Auckland to consider the Defence Bill now before Parliament. It was decided unanimously to support the amendment suggested in the canteen clause, to the effect that no liquor should be provided in the canteens, and it was also resolved to urge Government to include naval training in the provisions of the Bill, the Council being assured that several thousands of young men could be thus organised in the ports of the Dominion. The next meeting of the Waitomo County Council will be held at the Council offices Te Kuiti, on Thursdaynext at 1 p.m. The Special Order levying the Special Rate in connection with the additional £2OO to the Te KuJli town Loan will be confirmed at the meeting, in addition to which ordigary business will be transacted.

Those interested in promoting the Settlers' Picnic at Piopio have everything in train and the annual reunion on Boxing Day is bound to be one of the most successful gatherings yet held by the settlers. Excellent support has been met with froip Te Kuiti residents and business people, and a large number of visitors from the town are expected to drive to Piopio for the day's outing. The Taumarunui cricketers are sending a team to play a series of matches at North Auckland during the Christmas holidays and it is proposed that the Te Kuiti players should join with the Taumarunui touring team and play a match against an Auckland eleven on New Year's day. The arrangements have not yet been completed but if the match is decided upon the King Country team will probably include six Taumarunui and five Te Kuiti players. The first batch of signatures to the petition in connection with the liquor question has been forwarded to Mr Jennings, member for the district, for prcserftation to Parliament. The i ctition is being extensively signet; throughout the district and as the sheets come to hand they arc ten ,cr

sent on to supplement the batch .vhich was forwarded in anticipation of the proposed Bill being introduced in Parliament this week. In reviewing the Doihk-o Usi. ir.<. Prime Mniister gave the following details of the estimated expenditure Of £352,000 Ad m i r. is Ira t: or. i' i 1 • ! 1 ' : permanent forces 7, 1 n >e: c;mvu:t and instructional sta" £2-..' •••'; u:r;- ! torial forces £l2'V : training section .£'2s,' • "<n: '.-a-iv:.-: £10,000; store- and equipment 1 : a::.r:vj:.i'.':---. 000; miscellar.ee u- tota; £352,000. An a:!.v.-nr. - _:JI ; cr aunnm would !".• n a n v.-rrui-r.als. There were many ; ee-n. -vi.o d'.-.-irc-rl to see an efficient training : <• rco in connection with the hoy sr-oul :.".ov nan t. It was intended tv give ! i.c-!'-n_';:.jr to this force the ,-an.r- <: uortuniiy retraining. It v. ;.~ h n , year ;.y year, huiM uu a v< ry n a :• '' .a in this country, v.ld a ' ■ n/i e : for defence e r e:-i i•< 'd id;.nary ; ar: in the rem r\v fr.yrial> na he at- <: tl'.ey v.v;!d, ".vim:;, ut. year?, fc»v>::o:ai':ai. .Something mor-.- useful that; the- old defence was r.eces- :

The Wairere Carnival this year is promoted on a somewhat different footing to previous years. That portion of the coT.or;:i;tc-e representing the most pari had r.o idea of establishing the event on a perrr.snt-r.t basis. There *.vas a substantia: credit ir&:sr.Cs over from the first carnival and t:v; Maori committeemen strenuously held that the money should be divided among the promoters, affirming *.hcprinciple that each annual meeting should stand alone and should financed as a separate undertaking. Owing to the difference of opinion cr. the question a considerable sum of money representing the profit on the first carnival is impounded pending sr. agreement. The following resolution was passed at a meeting of the Raetihi NoLicense League:—"That this meeting begs to point out the inaccuracy of thestatements made by members of the deputiation who waited upon the Premier concerning the wholesale licenses in the King Country: Firstly. The quashing of the licenses would not stop the importation of liquor into the electorate. We beg to point out that the quantity of liquor imported into the King Country since the granting of the licenses has been enormously increased. Secondly, it was alleged that since the licenses were granted drunkenness had practically ceased to exist in the King Country. We would point out that this statement Is contrary to facts, the facts being that since the granting of the license -, therehas been a decided increase both cf drinking and of drunkenness.'' A copy of this resolution has been sent to the Premier. We would draw the attention of our readers to the advertisement of the Waikato Winter Show Association, in today's issue in respect to the preliminary schedul for Agricultural, horticultural and needlework sections for 1910 Show. The prizes show a large increase in value, and the medals of the Royal Horticultural Society, England, should prove an attractive portion. Farmers' Bays will also be an instructive a:: J entertaining feature of the She -.v. while the ladies are ecxeedingly \veb catered for in the Needlework section, and it only rests with them to make this department an instructive exhibition of works of art. We wish this Association every success in their efforts to uphold the prestige of the District, and hope that some of the honouurs will come to Te Kuiti. Residents of the various districts that lie between Ohakune and Taunts - unui complain at the way they are being treated by the Railway Department in regard to train services. Ever since the Main Trunk line was opened for express trains, the district has been badly served, especially from Ohakune northwards, and this fact can be realised when it is pointed out that the first and only local train in daytime does not run until four o'clock in the afternoon. The settlers hope d they would be reasonably considered when the new express train was started, but they find that they are still cut right out, while stations of far less imporancenorth of Taumarunui are included as stopping places under certain conditions. It is suggested that t Department should arrange for t..: extra express trains to sty, at Kakani, Owhango, and lloropite. espeeis.ly two latter places, which arc- the ou:lets for several baekblock settler; whose lot is hard enough now without railways making it harder. The shipping returns for the ibort of Auckland tor the past si:: wee.: 5 sengers leaving for Sy-uney v.-as ::: excess of the number arivlr.g. the figures be bug: arrival- l ; b, departures 530; a dnteronee o: 1,. Compare., with the crrrcs; c::d:ng petuo : ot .as: year these figures are ' mi:' '••••• the six wo-o.:s ot I: .r, tne arnvs.s were 633 and the departures 4u,, representing a gain, tne Don::n:on c; gers have left the B-,rr.:r.:on tor ney, while ic-wer fcav v arrmea. A.though the leakage ;? ;neons:uera:: e, found i-i the increased ero?ner:ty ot ously retarding the pr.gross anu aeve.opmont of the jjom:n:or.. large supply of Auekiana straw:.-ernes used to read: the VA e.mgton market, says a Press As ; oe:at:ou te.egram. out are too high, an. : :ru:t name: ad profitably i roubie: bd.vn. b n tn.e ot netout let. r me -o'n.t-:.- : to a more .tar.: :::