The Manawatu Herald. Saturday, June 15, 1912. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 1057, 15 June 1912, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. Saturday, June 15, 1912. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Thk Borough Council intend to obtain an estimate for a high pressure water supply for Foxton from the Shannon hills. To this end the Council is communicating with the Horowhenua County Council to bear half cost of such estimate. Shannon, we understand, is anxious to obtain a water supply, but in order to do so the Horowhenua County Council will have to sanction a special rating district in the locality, as Shannon township is not governed by a Town Board. The difficulties in this connection, however, are not insuperable. But Shannon feels that it cannot undertake the burden of a high pressure supply alone, and a number of its leading citizens are anxious to enter into partnership with Foxtou in this connection. The source of the proposed supply is on private property, a few miles behind Shannon township, and at a sufficient elevation to give ample pressure. While we do not favour a dual control water supply scheme, the Council are wise in obtaining an estimate —even if the cost of same has to be borne by Foxton—because it will give to those who used this as an excuse for voting against the artesian supply when it was submitted, an opportunity to make a fair comparison of the respective merits both schemes. We feel certain that when the ratepayers are called upon to make a choice they will fall back upon the scheme they once rejected.

Our Levin contemporary has, on several occasions, referred slightingly to Foxton. Such references are published no doubt for the amusement of our contemporary’s readers. Some people may take our contemporary seriously in these matters- We don’t. What’s the use of punishing a little child which errs in ignorance ? However, it is with a felling of sincere regret we learn that Levin, according to the evidence of the Horowhenua County Engineer before the Licensing Bench, is not so prosperous as we had imagined. Mr Malcolm stated that “The borough bad expended a large sum of money in public works, which had kept a great many men engaged for some years. The circulation of many thousands of pounds of public money had helped considerably towards the prosperity of Levin for the time being, but now that this money had been expended, they were suffering from a depression. He thought Levin’s prosperity was at its height a few years ago. There were a great many empty houses in both Levin and Weraroa, but this was accounted for to a certain extent by the fact that many people had built houses for themselves —assisted largely by advances from the Government tor the purpose—and left their rented cottages, the majority of which were of a poor class of building.” Several other witnesses corroborated Mr Malcolm's statement. We hope things will look up in Levin in the near future.