RANDOM REMARKS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 496, 31 August 1912, Page 6

RANDOM REMARKS.

The decision of the Borough Council to proceed with the lighting scheme at once will meet with the general commendation of residents, and the fact that the service will be ready in March next will be cheerful reading for all. Town centres in new districts pass through many stages, and the changes that have taken place' in Te Kuiti are of a kaleidoscopic nature. The haunting dread of the old inhabitants that they would awako some morning and be unable tu recognise their surroundings has long since passed. They point to-day to places where historic happenings transpired and where buried treasures lie hidden. Various attempts have been made by adventurous spirits to unearth this or that particular treasure, but the well meant efforts have invariably been frustrated by unforseen difficulties. The chief bar to discovering the treasure is the impossibility of sinking to any depth without reaching a stratum of glass, which the greatest efforts of the treasure seekers have been unable to pierce. At first it was thought to be a molten deposit due to recent volcanic action, but no self respecting volcano competes in the industrial world as a bottle factory. Judging from the extent of the deposit there must have been a huge population in old Te Kuiti, and the aversion to water as a beveraga must have been even greater than it is at present.

However, the habits and customs of old Te Kuiti have little to do with the question of lighting the town. The said habits may have kept it freshly painted in striking hue in olden days, but with advancing yea-s and dignity cornea the necessity for modern conveniences. When the electric light is established the town will probably be so inordinately proud of itself and no proportionately ashamed of its past, that any allusion to a period prior to the electricity age will be considered an insult. A skeleton exists in every cupboard, and Ta Kuiti's skeleton will probably be cherished for years to come. Still there are compensations, and it should be the mission of some enthusiast to demonstrate to the world that skeletons are not really ugly. In certain instances it might even be held that a peculiar type of beauty attached to well preserved specimens. Considering that the local occupant of the cupboard is preserved in the best "old Scotch" it is to be hoped no false sentiment will prevent the old nobility from airing the cupboard occasionally. Reminiscences are always interesting under certain conditions.

Judging from the deep resentmant with which the borough stone crusher [is regarded by certain people one would hardly associate the plant with electricity. The noisy machine is not to be altogether blamed for the short comings which were originally cnarged againsst it. Evidently the purchasers were unaware of the fact that the best class of machines have their feelings. It is always well to specify the gender of the machine required. If the local authority wishes to acquire a plant calculated to improve the vocabulary of the borough councillors, and keep the workmen in an interesting state of anxious expectancy, and uncertainty as to what is going to happen next, a machine feminine is necessary. If an uninspiring, plodding, inartistic article, devuid of imagination, content to rattle on till the day is done, and a certain quantity of stone is crushed, is the desired objective a machine masculine is the correct article. It is safe to assume the next machine the council acquires will not be the same gender a3 the present one.

Te Kuiti has always had a yearning for recreation which haa almost matched its longing to tread the cold and austere paths of altruism. Its altruistic aspirations have made themselves apparent in divers ways, and a standard has been set in local public life which will leave an indelible mark upon the history of the district, and upon the lives of those whose ambitions lead them to play a part in civic affairs. It is a big remove from strenucus affairs of State to recreation, but even our prominent public men have their moments of relaxation, and the personage who guards the interests of the local Labour party with unwinking eye has been known to plqy cricket. Man is a gregarious animal, and the style and order of his recreation has been ordained accordingly. In the early days of Te Kuiti, after infinite pains, the setting aside of a small area of land in the town for public recreation was accomplished. That area is now entirely inadequate tor its ostensible purpose, and it is desired to realise the value of that piece of land, and obtain a larger and more suitable ground. ' Man's gregarious nature demands that space shall be ample for both players and spectators in numbers. Some people decry the practice of assembling to witness a popular game, but it haa to be remembered that if all were players much larger grounds would be necessary. Besides what would become of football if there were no barrackers on the line to exhort the players in frenzied speech to "wooden him," "give him a bump" or "put in the