The Manawatu Herald. Thursday, August 11, 1910. EDITORIAL NOTES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 877, 11 August 1910, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. Thursday, August 11, 1910. EDITORIAL NOTES.

At last the Minister lor Railways has sanctioned the erection of a verandah at the local railway station. The Chamber ol Commerce urged the necessity of such a convenience time and again, but shortage of funds was the excuse given by the Department for not acceding to the request. ; L When the Minister was in Foxton the matter was again brought under his notice, and he promised to give it favourable consideration. Owing, no doubt, to the stress of more urgent business, Foxton’s modest requirements were set aside. The Borough Council revived the question at a recent meeting, and passed a resolution urging upon the Member for the district to stir up the Minister. Mr Newman lost no time in conveying the Council’s resolution to the Hon. Mr Millar, and has received the following reply, under date August sth : “Sir, —With reference to your letter of the 22nd ultimo, and your representations urging that a verandah should be provided at Foxton station, I have the honour to inform you that instructions have been given for this work to be put in hand at an early date. — I have, etc., J. A. Mixaar, Minister for Railways.”

Wk leel certain that the action ol the Borough Council in agreeing to pay its full quota (,£32 xos) per annum, if necessary, towards the construction of the Beach road, will be endorsed by ratepayers. When all details of apportioning the repayment of the loan has been settled by the bodies interested—and we are hoping for a subsidy from the Government —Foxton’s liability will be trifling. It is true that the seasiders will derive great benefit when the road is formed, but it must also be remembered that they are willing to pay their full proportion of the cost. We are pleased to know the Council has not stiffened its back, but is willing to facilitate this very necessary work. After all is it not a fact that the road is used more often by the Foxton public than by others? Do not our townspeople on every possible occasion flock to the Beach on horseback, in vehicles, on bicycles and on foot to enjoy a “ whiff of the briney ? ” Do. not our carriers and tradesmen's carts use the road continuously in the season and ply a lively trade with beach residents ? Of course they do. Therefore we should gladly assist the movement in every possible way and for the benefits the road will confer on us we shall come off very lightly.

AFTiiR a good deal of parleying the Borough Council and the Gas Proprietary have signed an agreement whereby the Council will oe enabled to purchase the local gas works for a sum of ,£9OOO. It now only remains for the ratepayers to sanction a loan to complete the purchase and provide sufficient money to extend the works to meet growing requirements. Before we recommended the immediate purchase of the works from the proprietar} r , we ascertained from one of the directors the irreducible figure, the company was prepared to consider for the purchase of the works, but we were not allowed to make the price public. We are of opinion that is a fair price, under the circumstances, for the Council to pay. It is questionable if the Council could purchase at a cheaper figure at the expiry of the first optional period even if the consumers reduced their gas consumption in order to prevent the creation of a surplus or profit by the proprietary. Hamilton and Feilding boroughs, through parting with their birthright, had to pay dear for their shortsightedness. In fact the lighting of the latter town is still done by a company and the former paid thousands of pounds over and above the original cost of installation to buy the works back. In the face of these facts we think the Council has made the very best bargain it could with the proprietory, and we hope the ratepayers will, in due time, sanction the loan. In a future issue we will deal more fully with the loan proposals.