THE OTAKI MAIL. Published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1919. EDITORIAL NOTES.

Otaki Mail, 17 February 1919, Page 2

THE OTAKI MAIL. Published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1919. EDITORIAL NOTES.

Peace. Memorial ' For Otaki. A desultory discussion ensued at the Patriotic Society ’s meeting at Otaki last week, re the most suitable peace memorial I'or Otaki and district. Rev. Petrie suggested that the “Otaki Mail’’ invite its readers to ventilate their opinions on the subject, a request to which we, readily accede. We will be glad to open our columns to correspondence on the subject, in the hope •bat some useful and suitable scheme may be propounded that may be adopted. Most of those present favoured the securing of a small piece of land—preferably in the centre of the town—for a public garden, where visitors to tho (own and others might rest for an hour or two as necessity arose. In all probability a public meeting will be held Ifter on to discuss the question. In tho meantime we will be glad to publish suggestions from correspondents.

Are You On the Roll? • - - We would once again urge on every

person over twenty-one years of age residentriu the district the necessity of ascertaining whether his or her name is on flic electoral roll. Many people take ii; for granted that their names are | enrolled, as they voted at the last oleej turn, but mistakes occur sometimes, and 1 it is 1 lie duty of every person to ascerI tain definitely whether he is entitled Ato exercise his vote:' A, glance at - the electoral roll for this district shows that a great many, people have as yet | neglected to have their names enrolled I —hundreds of names have been exj cised for various reasons, failure to ! record their - vote, removal from the | district, etc., and if these people are | careless, it is extremely likely . that j , many of them will find themselves disj franchised when the poll takes place, j The Prohibition poll takes' place on | April 10th, and we understand that the j supplelhehtiiry rolls will close on or I about March jtith.. This moans that only k. f. little more than a fortnight is left ini which'to enrol, and we there lore once j -again urge every- person I vote whose name does not appear on | • the roll to ‘ send application’for enrolI ment without'delay. Both the• Truth.* and the Prohibition parties are now busily engaged in purging the rolls, .and n.- n‘result objections arc being made to Hundreds of names of persons whose address is different from, that appearing on the rolls. I’efdrc the name goes off riho roll, a registered letter to tile-ad-dress-given on it is sent out by the local registrar of electors, but as Die elector is not there lie rarclv gets the . notice of objection, so that there wilJ be many surprised people going to vote and jailing to got a ballot paper, unless

iii t lie next fortnight or so left for fiction they mi* they arc enrolled. Precautions for Safe Bathing. Undoubtedly one of our most vhUiiiMs natural assets in Otaki is our l*Oantil'ul oeaeli. and tin* delightful seabathing to lie enjoyed there is sure to he one of our principal attractions, ihe beach is a very safe one for bathers in most parts, that portion in the vieinitv of the seaside, resort being particularly suitable for. surf-bathing and safe for bathers. However, as in all

benches open (o the ocean, surf-bathers at Ota hi are exposed to a certain amount of danger, and it is for ns to reduce that danger to an absolute minimum. One or tv.o rather narrow I'scapes from drowning have already been reported locally, and it is with the object of preventing any further mishaps, or possibly fatalities, that we pea these notes. We are informed by a reliable person that there is one-par-ticular portion of the beach, not far distant from the kiosk. where there is a dip into the beach that is likely to cause trouble to bathers. It is in the same locality where a girl was saved by Miss Tahiwi's prompt action recently. and where, only a few days ago. a local resident got into difficulties .though getting out of his depth and being carried out by the undertow. It has been suggested to us that a noticeboard be erected, marking this and any other risky spots as dangerous to bathers, and the suggestion seems an excellent one that should be carried into effect promptly. It is folly to wait ’until a fatality occurs before taking action, and we quite agree with the suggestion, and urge that it be put into practice at once. We would also suggest that some life-saving appliances, such as a good rope and life-buoy, be kept in handy spots at the beach, near spots most frequented by bathers, in

j case of emergency. As our beach ■ grows in popularity—as it is sure to [ do each succeeding summer—the dan* | ger of accident# will necessarily inj crease, despite the fact that our beach ;,s particularly free front -dangerous - spots;-therefore we ask that this mat* i‘*t be given attention at once, and thus prevent the possibilities of accidents occurring which would prejudice visitors against patronising the beach.