The Lebin Chronicle. SATURDAY, MAY The Lebin18, 1918.

Levin Daily Chronicle, 18 May 1918, Page 2

The Lebin Chronicle. SATURDAY, MAY The Lebinlß, 1918.

A GOOD INVESTMENT. A poll to enable the Foxton Harbour I Board to secure the control of the Foxton wharf will be' taken on the 21st. This is a matter of vital importance to the whole district. The wharf was valued at £26,700 by the Railway Dei partment, but after years of agitation, a Koyal Commission decided that the Board should be allowed to purchase for £5000. The Board is asking for power to borrow £16,000, but proposes in the meantime only to borrow the umount necessary to purchase the wharf. The annual net income from the wharf for some years has averaged about £1300; for the year ending 31st March, 1917, it was £1332; so that as soon as the Board secures control of the wharf, it will be in receipt of an income more than sufficient to pay all interest and sinking fund charges, even 1 were it to borrow the £16,000. On the lesser amount there will be a handsome surplus annually. It has also to be ' taken into account that in .accordance with the findings of the commission, 1 the £1332 earned by the wharf for the year ending 31st March last year, together with the earnings since that date, have to be handed over to . the Board when the purchase is completed, i This will represent a sum in the neighbourhood of £3000, so that the Board wil be in the position, if the poll is car'ied, of taking over the wharf with I past and present earning capacity of I over £1300 per annum, togothor with a lump sum of about £3000, for an exj penditure of £5000. | The proposition as a matter of business is one to be jumped at, and it is to be hoped that the ratepayers will J see where their interests lie. In addij tion to this there are other ..... aspects. For years the Railway Department has starved the port to benefit . the railway revenue. No improvements could be carricd out by the Board, as it had no revenue from the wharf to devote to the purpose, and the reports of tho engineers clearly show that a small expenditure could work wonderful improvements in the port to the benefit of all concerned. The possibilities in this direction are too obvious to require enuineraton. The opportunity has come at last,to remove the repressive hand of the Ea.ilway Department from the control of the wharf, and to give the people of the district directly concerned the chance to make the best of the opportunities for the water carriage which nature has provided. It would be nothing short of disastrous were the occasion not grasped. Public spirited men for years have •faccd all kinds of discouragements and disappointments to achieve this end, and it is now np to tlie general rate- | payers to do their 1 ' bit 7 1 and carry the j poll on May 21st. I

A Greymouth telegram says T. Ij. C'oulos, solicitor, ixsid llnrry E. 11 (»1 Jnn<l, journalist, vrere to-day nominated for the Grey soul. Eight tenders wore received for .lining 1 Ike by-laws of the Shannon Borough Council. That of the "Levin Chronicle" was accepted by the Council. ■ The Press Association message from Auckland slating that a transport brought oul 2')o wives of'soldiers who had been married in England is now contradicted. There were no soldiers' brides <:i' t he boat. I)r Davies notifies the public! of Levin i'i this issue, that though lie has disposed of his residence here, he still intends to resume practice in Levin when lie. receives his discharge from active service. Messrs Linklater and Stevens, of the Palnierston Efficiency Trustees, waited on the 'Military Service Board in Wellington on Thursday to.ascertain the position of sine die cases of the l'irst .Division and their relat ion to . the Second Division cases. The Board stated that all sine die cases are to come up for immediate review, and that owing to the need for reinforcements, men would be placed before production in determining who was to go. Some interesting facts relating to the keeping qualities of butter in (-old storage were mentioned by Mr Jas. Prouse yesterday. He said that a parcel of butter 12 boxes - was overlooked in the cold stores in Wellington for a period of eiglit years. A dealer bought the butter and it opened up in first-class condition. It had been found that butter retained its quality even after twelve years in cold Storage, so that when they heard it said, that it took a long while for jST.Z. butter to get tc England and that it could not be, therefore, as good as an article that was put straight from the dairy on to the market, they could conclude that the statement was made by an interested party, Butter from tlie Levin Dairy Factory has 'been graded up tc 9(! points by the Government graders, and it is one of thirteen factories in the Dominion whos< product has averaged 93 points and over for the Th< grade division, however, is math ;I 89. All above that point ii paid for at tlie same price. "W< have come to tlie democratic prill ciplo that the best and the wors are to be lumped together anc then divided up," remarked tin chairman of the Levin compaiP at yesterday's meeting of sup pliers. The result was that thosi who took great care and produce* the finest article got no mori than those who scamped tliei work. Mr Prouse said he move* at last conference to split th grade at [)■>, but what could !• companies do against the crowi that iwere below 89. Howeve: that condition of things was go ing to be altered in time and thej were going to g-et what their butler was worth. The liev. J. A. MacCullum, i Presbyterian minister of Philadelphia, writes as follows on tin conscientious objector: " Whj should any man's " conscience b< regarded as so inviolable as to b< beyond criticism, or immune front the law? AYhy should conscience be regarded as absolute. Is conscience never imperfect, immature, mistaken ? Suppose a man is a conscientious objector to_ monogamy, does that, justjfy him in disregarding' the will of the majority by keeping two or more wives ? If he objects to paying taxes, on what appears to him to be the holiest of grounds, should his share of the common burden be placed on others who raise no objection? I cannot see that the conscientious objector should be regarded in any other light than that "of a traitor in a time when his nation is threatened by an unscrupulous foe. In common with most liberal Christians on this continent, I have only contempt for the man who allows others to give their lives in defence of his home, while he claims the prerogative of citizenship, and yet refuses to accept his share of the danger." I The probability that, after tlie war, America would be a competitor with England for Xew Zealand butter was mentioned by Mr Jas. Prouse at yesterday's meeting of dairymen. Some time ago, he said, a gentleman representing one of the largest produce establishments in the largest centres of America, had made enquiries in Levin and had been assured" that he could'be supplied with ail article that could not be excelled ill any other part of the world, if he was willing- to pay the price. A trial shipment of a few tons was made, but then came the war and ended development in that direction. Mr Prouse said there was no question that when peace came again America would be a purchaser and those factories which catered for American tastes would be able to command a high price. He complained that while butter equal to any that ever came out of Denmark was sent Home in the pre-war days, it was never given a. value equal to that of the Danish product. New Zealand had all the natural advantages—virgin soil, the purest grasses and the finest climate- and when these were combined with the highest scientific processes of manufaclure the result could only be a butler that was equal to, if it did l not excel, the product of any other country.