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Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 1262, 23 June 1914, Page 2

(To the Editor.)

Sir, —Kindly allow me space in your valuable paper to bring to the notice of the temperance party in New Zealandsomething,! think, will interest them in regard to our young men, under age, being supplied with liquor while travelling to and from the territorial training camps. I should like to distinctly state I charge the officers of the yth Regiment with gross and criminal neglect of duty in allowing a young man, under age, to disgrace himselt as happened in the instance under notice. This lad was charged and convicted at the Magistrate’s Court at Palmerston North on June 15th last, and these officers quietly shirk all responsibility in the matter and leave the lad to face the magistrate alone on a very disgraceful charge. My point is this, the laws of New Zealand compel these lads to attend the training camps, and as far as I understand it the officers have full control of them, and I maintain they must have been criminally blind not to have seen what was going on, and I state here they grossly neglected their duty in that they didn’t put a stop to it before it got as far as it did ; and a most cruel thing to let the lad face the magistrate by himself without any witnesses, aqd I am since informed by his mates that he was sick when he left the camp, and the least they could have done was to find the party who illegally supplied this lad with liquor. Trusting to have a little light on the subject of these lads being supplied with drink. Thanking you in anticipation.—l am, etc., S. T. Saviixe, Frances St, Foxton. [This charge is of sufficient importance to justify an inquiry by the authorities. This journal has, and does now, champion the objects of the Defence Act, but advocates a stricter discipline over transport arrangements. The facts in connection with the above, as gleaned from our correspondent, are as follows: The young man, a local lad, was sick before entraining at Takapau, but refused to seek medical advice. On the homeward journey in the train he was induced to drink some whisky. This caused him to vomit, thus creating a nuisance in the carriage. He was hailed before a magistrate convicted and fined ; allowed to bear the brunt of criminal proceedings, bis name to be placed on the criminal records and possibly his future prejudiced and the officer in charge not called upon to make any explanation. If drinking was carried on in the train why was this young fellow allowed to bear the disgrace alone? This is the sort of thing, more than anything else, which is prejudicing parents against the camps. Will the officer in charge of the area find out who was in charge of the young fellows at the time of the incident and who was responsible for procuring and serving out liquor ? — Ed. H.]

(To the Editor)

Sir. —Will you kindly allow me to make a few statements in reference to the town improvements, for which a poll is to be taken on Thursday. I think there are a number of reasons why every ratepayer should vote tor the gravitation scheme, but will only mention four. Ist. —Because the cost per 1000 galls, ot water supplied will be practically the same in each case, as it will allow of Shannon participating in it, thus decreasing the cost to Foxton by about to less than the present advertised cost. With artesian the annual cost ot upkeep and working has to be added to the figures given you, while with gravitation the annual cost of upkeep is practically nil. 2nd.—Because it is a better scheme, any one must admit that the labour market is so unsettled that it would be wrong to adopt any system that would jeopardize such an important essential to a town’s welfare as its water supply by unnecessarily exposing it to shortness of labour and fuel, and other troubles, due to strikes in the various departments from which its needs have to be supplied, when there is no occasion to do so. 3rd. —Because it is a continuous system in as much as almost the only labour necessary is to turn on the tap and water flows as long as it is allowed to do so, whereas with the artesian system water is only available as long as it is being pumped up. 4th. —As to the gravitation system giving better water, those knowing the spot selected must admit it is a splendid water running over a bed of shingle. Now, it is a well-known fact that stream water is much superior to artesian water for all household purposes. Washing done in stream water requires much less soap and labour and it makes better tea and drinking than artesian, these are matters for the housewife to note for it means a considerable “dot” in twelve months time. Then, again, the gravitation scheme will give a considerable additional pressure in the mains amounting to 35 to 4olbs per square inch, an enormous advantage in case of fire. In case of earthquakes less damage is likely to be done to a long length of more or less flexible main, laid near surface of ground than to a vertical bore, which, if blocked, might stop a water supply for some time. Now, in reference to the sewage scheme, quoting from my report, “at the present time the ratepayers

pay ,£374 17s per annum for the pan system, as possibly some of these may not be within the sewage area, only ,£364 is taken as operative in these calculations. So that an up-to-date system will only cost the town £IOO mere than the unhealthy present one, as including sinking fund the interest on a capital outlay of ,£7728 will be £464.” In other words it means about one penny per pan per week extra, surely no one will begrudge that small piece of money for the advantages of changing from an obsolete, dirty and unhealthy pan system to a modern w.c. system with all its attending advantages. If you want Foxton to compete with other towns, or if you want Foxton to hold its own with other towns it must have the ordinary modern advantages unless you wish to relegate it among the back blocks towns, recent fires should be an object lesson never forgotten. As a further reason for these town improvements, we must remember the railway authorities are very anxious to shorten the time and distance between Wellington and Auckland, Foxton is on the direct line and such a deviation will shorten the time of journey by I}i hours, and must come sooner or later and Foxton must be prepared for it. Then, again, a large portion of this loan money will be paid into Foxton as wages and spent in the town, so that every shopkeeper will receive a direct cash benefit. No doubt most of you have read the account of a Sydney engineer utilizing the gases from the Sydney septic tanks for running a gas engine. If the published statements are correct and the system adopted in conjunction with properly constructed septic tanks to generate electricity and sold only at Auckland rates, it would mean a revenue to Foxton of several hundred pounds, more than sufficient to pay interest on cost of installation and all from a, at present, waste product. Thanking you in anticipation.—l am, etc.,

Chenery Suggate, M. Inst. C.E. London. A. M. Inst. E.E. London.