The Manawatu Herald. Thursday, June 11, 1914. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 1257, 11 June 1914, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. Thursday, June 11, 1914. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

WE hope ratepayers are giving the loan proposals to be submitted to them on the 25th instant, careful consideration. The agitation in favour of only a portion of the borough bearing the burden of the water and drainage loans has been disposed oi. Security for the loans will be the whole borough, and the rating equally distributed. This is just and equitable. The necessity for water and drainage has been apparent for years, and had nature blessed us with a handy mountain torrent, as a source of supply, as is the case in nearly every other centre of population in this favoured country, we should have had a water sewage system years ago. There is no reason to recapitulate past causes of delay and adverse criticism by contemporaries as to our primitive sanitary arrangements. The time has arrived, however, when the townspeople are called upon to make a sacrifice to saleguard the health of the community. Two schemes will be submitted to ratepayers, the Shannon scheme, at a cost of ,£36,500, and an artesian scheme of The rates to cover the combined former scheme will be in the £ on the unimproved value, and the latter The rates appearing in the advertisement touching the loans will not necessarily be collected, but are pledged as security for the loans. In return for this outlay, the disgusting pan system, with its attendant evils, will be abolished, and the tank water supply give place to water from a purer source. Surely this in itself, apart from other advantages, is worth paying a little extra for. Ratepayers must not look at this matter from a mercenary, but from a health, point of view. Let us conserve the health of the community at all costs by carrying one or other of the above schemes.

It is not generally realised, says the Dominion, that there are nearly 300,000 acres of shifting sand dunes in the North Island. In their present state these areas are no*- only a desert, but are a menace to the neighbouring land. A great belt of shifting sand extends along the coast line 170 miles Irom Paekakariki to Patea, occupying in all about 92,000 acres. In Europe, under climatic conditions much less favourable than ours, similar belts of moving sand have been turned into sources of national profit instead of loss. The sand dunes of Gascony, for instance, have been planted with maritime pines, and now yield large quantities of turpentine. It is pleasing to see that the Palmerston Chamber of Commerce is taking the matter up, and is requesting the Government to plant .1 portion of the waste lands lying between lha Manawatu and Rangitikei Rivers. Pive years ago Dr. Cockayne, in an interesting report, directed attention to the need for dealing with the dune areas, but so far little appears to have been attempted.

The District Hospital Board meets to-day. Mrs Teviotdale has taken over Mrs Nye’s bookselling and stationery business. So far the police have not obtained a clue to the theft of the two mail bags from the Wanganui section of the railways on Saturday week. The friends of Mr J. Desmond will regret to learn that he is at present an inmate of the Palmerston Hospital, suffering from a poi/oned hand. A married woman, Mrs Irishman, is missing from Reefton. She left a note stating that she made away with herself. Search parties are out looking for her. Dr. Te Rangihiroa (Dr. Buck) has been selected as the Liberal candidate to contest the Bay of Islands seat at the general election. Mr Vernon Raed is the sitting member. A libel action is set down for hearing at the Hamilton Supreme Court, in which Mr Dixon (president of the Huntly Miners’ Union) claims ,£IOOO damages against the Maoriland Worker for alleged reflections contained in an article. The Government has awarded compensation and £2O as expenses to the widow of the late Constable Dennis Mahoney, who was amongst the victims of the Upper Hutt disaster. The constable, it will be remembered, died while in the execution of his duty. An exciting scene occurred on Tuesday evening iu a Christchurce drapery store. A woman was held for shoplifting and when the police came she struggled violently and stabbed Detective Regan with a hatpin. In court yesterday Annie Dodds was remanded till Friday on a ! charge of stealing six pairs of gloves and one scarf from Armstrong’s. A meeting of the provisional committee . set up iu connection with the proposal to form a boxing association locally will be held to-morrow evening, and the meeting tor the purpose of electing officers etc., and drafting rules for the government of the association will take place on Monday evening. The project Is being enthusiastically taken up and a very strong association should be formed. The Canadian Government has provided ,£IO,OOO for the relief of the Empress of Ireland’s victims and an additional ,£2OOO to cover the cost of the Governmental enquiry. Fifty bodies are yet unidentified. The divers continue to work on the hull and think that a practicable scheme to recover the bodies can easily be devised. It is understood the Canadian Pacific Company will make every effort to recover bodies.

At the meeting of the Oroua County Council on Friday the chairman said in regard to the letter from the Foxton Harbour Board, that the policy of the Council was to keep out of the Board, and he saw no reason to alter that policy. He thought the Wanganui harbour would serve this coast for many years to come. That harbour was being improved very much. Foxton would not be a harbour for a very long time. This was agreed to.

Captain Hall Thompson, who has been appointed Naval Adviser to the New Zealand Government, is a passenger by the Osterley, which arrived at Fremantle on Tuesday. Questioned as to the nature of his duties in New Zealand, be said that he had heard nothing definite. Naval affairs seemed to be a trifle chaotic at present. He understood that New Zealand wanted to adopt a naval system something different from that prevailing at present. He would probably remain in the Dominion for three years. The Hon. R. H. Rhodes, Post-master-General, turned the first sod of the Culverden-Waiau railway extension yesterday afternoon, in the presence of a large gathering ot local residents and visitors from town. The new railway, which will be 14 miles in length, will serve a large and closelysettled district. The cost will be ,£64,000. The formation is easy, and the work is easy, and the work is to be carried out under the small contract system.

The Waverley coal laden from Greymouth arrived on Tuesday night and the Queen of the South with general from Wellington yesterday morning. Both vessels sailed last night, the former tor Terakohe and the latter with hemp etc., for Wellington. The Kennedy with coal from Westport, and the Awahou with cement from Terakohe arrived last night, the Kennedy sailing at midday to-day for De Grove and the Awahou will sail to-night lor Greymouth.

Charles Nicholls, second son of Mr W. Nicholls, of the Kaputoce woolworks, Belfast, Christchurch, met his death as a result of an accident which occurred on Monday. He was going home to lunch on a motor cycle and swerved off to dodge a tramcar, but evidently misjudged the distance, the car catching the back wheel and precipitating him on to the road. He was picked up unconscious, suffering from various injuries to face and arras. He was unconscio us when admitted to the hospital and subsequently died. Deceased was a brother-in-law; of Mr John Robinson, of Herrington, Foxton.

Protect baby from the dust of tae street and the winter draughts by getting him one of Walker and Furrie’s go-carts or prams. Twentyeight designs to select from with delivery guaranteed within twentyfour hours.*