Second Edition THE MINISTERIAL TOUR.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXV, Issue 75, 5 April 1913, Page 6

Second Edition THE MINISTERIAL TOUR.

BANQUET AT NEW PLYMOUTH. [Per- Press Association.] New Plymouth, April 5. The Premier (Mr Massey) and the Minister of Public Works (Mr W. Fraser) were entertained at a banquet last,night by the Borough Council, Taranaki County Council, and the Chamber of Commerce. It was the best gathering of its kind held locally for very many years. This morning Mr Fraser left for Wellington, and Mr Massey visits tara, Inglewood, and North Egmont Mountain House.

DEPUTATIONS. While at New Plymouth several deputations waited on the Hon. Mr Fraser, Minister for Public Works, It was urged that every effort should be made to push on work at the Stratford end of the Stratford-On-garuhe line. A request for assistance in getting a road opened from the coast to Mungaroa was also made. In replying, Mr Fraser, touching upon the railway, said men were not, being taken from one end and put on at the other. There was £90,000 on the Estimates for the railway last year, and up to within two and a half months of March 31 last £72,000 had been spent on it. In all, the sum of £106,000 had been either spent, authorised or let in contracts in connection with the railway. It could hardly be- said, then, that he had not endeavoured to carry out' the wishes of Parliament. The New Plymouth Borough Council approached the Minister with reference to a metal quarry on the New Plymouth reserve at Toko, Mr F. P. Odrkill explaining that ten years ago it'was discovered-that the reserve contained 1 very Valuable deposits of metal. The Public Works Department obthined the’right to temporarily- occupy the land, on the understanding that the Council would be supplied frith data ivith which to formulate its claim for compensation. Nine years went by, and enormous quantities of metal were taken from tho quarry, but all applications by the Council for information had beer turned down. The Council did noi receive a penny piece, and consequently it asked the Department to take over the quarry under the Public Works Act. ’Vi Tips , the. Department had; done, (but it stilb refused to Supply the Council with data, which was, (indispensable, in, compilation of its plpipi fop compensation, The>(MiW?( ter promised to? look (carefully into the matter. .Several matters in connection with edjtfatifln JoW pr 0 .mM Premier’s notice by Mr H. Trimble (Chairman of the Taranaki Education Board) and Mr P. SJ Whitcombe (the Board’s seejeftary). Amongst other things ’f&e.. proposal of, t)ie Board, to establish' observation schools in the disirict 1 f'qr. the training of inexperienced teachers was brought linder the notice o'f the-Minister. The Board would, he said, like to pay higher salaries to these teachers than at present allowed in' order to enable them to attend these schools. The idea was to put ymfng teachers in these institutions ‘for a shrift time. Mr Massey, in reply, said that it would take a special Act of "Parliament to do what wa6‘ asked. Mr Trimblo also stated that a difficulty they found was that their district was too small. They wanted to make it embrace the whole of the Taranaki Province. This would require the absorption of a portion of the Auckland and Wanganui districts. In reply, Mr Masseysaid that the question was: Were the Auckland and Wanganui Boards willing to concede their respective portions of Taranaki? Ho doubted it, especially in the case of Wanganui. As regards the Auckland district, the Minister said it was recognised that it was far too > large. He thought, however, that the situation anight be met by tho creation oPahother education district, somewhere between Taranaki and Auckland.