THE OTAKI MAIL. Published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1919. EDITORIAL NOTES.

Otaki Mail, Volume 26, 17 October 1919, Page 2

THE OTAKI MAIL. Published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1919. EDITORIAL NOTES.

Famous Otaki. Otaki is, perhaps, one of the best advertised towns of New Zealand, and rightly so, for it possesses many attractions and natural advantages. Howt e\er. our fame sometimes leads: people j to expect too much of the place. An I amusing instance of this kind has just | come under our notice. The following I clipping we take from a recent issue of j the Hastings (H. 8.) “Tribune”:— j ‘At last night’s welcome home social j and dance in the Hastings Municipal j Assembly Hall the Mayor told rather ’ a good story regarding a little homesick English bride’s disappointment oh her . first view of her adopted eonntry. She ! hailed from Liverpool, that great popu- : lous British maritime port, and on j catching her first glimpse of Lambing j Quay she tearfully exclaimed: ‘Oh. | what a small little place! I do hope ! Otaki will be better.’ ” We arc afraid j that the lady in question would be ' slightly disappointed—at first—with j the somewhat limited proportions of i Otaki. but she would doubtless speedily i be mollified when she discovered some of the many attractions that give oar j little town such wide publicity. ! “The Government ' Stroke.” i If we are to place reliance on appar- : ently trustworthy information, the cora- : plction of the Mangahao hydro-eleetrie ; scheme, so urgently needed, is not at all likely to be reached for several years to come. The Government ha? given numerous promises that the work will be pushed forward with all possible speed, and the expert in charge has given it as his opinion that the work can be completed in four years’ time, if labour is available- However, evidences point to the fact that the work is being carried out at the customary “Government stroke” rate of progress, and - unless continuous pressure is brought to bear on the Public Works Minister we will have to wait many

years before we can enjoy the privileges that the scheme will confer, on a large population tit an. extended dis-

trict. Recently the Mangahao League, at Palmerston .North, issued a report showing that very unsatisfactory-pro-gress was being made with the work, and it was estimated that, unless speeding-up tactics were resorted to very soon, the estimate of four years for the work would be doubled. Last night Mr Hillier (Labour candidate for the Manawatu seat), speaking at Poxton,, made the assertion that the work would not be completed for a decade, unless speeding-up was urged. We do not know Mr Hillier’s grounds for such a startling statement, but we do know that the Government has not tackled the work in such a businesslike and expeditious manner as to gain the confidence of the public, who are most anxious that the work should be completed at the earliest possible moment. The inauguration of the scheme will mean a tremendous saving of coal, of which there is a great shortage still, the available power will give a muchneeded impetus to a great many vital industries, and in various other the Mangahao current will confer a great boon on the entire Wellington district. It is a matter of notional moment, and as such should be pushed forward with all possible despatch. It would seem that there is every need for all the local bodies interested to redouble their advocacy of the speedingup of the work.