CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVI, Issue 8, 14 May 1913, Page 6

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

0 MONTHLY MEETING The monthly meeting of the Stratford Chamber of Commerce was held last evening, when Mr W. P. Kirkwood, in the absence of the President, presided over an attendance of the following members: —Messrs. R. Masters, W. A. Hewitt, J. W. McMillan, P. Thomson, and J. B. Richards (secretary). Mr Richards stated that the picture benefit had netted £ll 10s, and a motion "'as passed authorising the secretary to notify the Stratford County Council that the Borough Council’s £-1, and the £4 required to be raised by private subscription, was available for expenditure, and asking that the County Council should contribute its quota, and expend the money in duo season for the improvement of the Mountain House Road. Members the matter of the expenditure of the balance of the money raised, and it was thought advisable to hold tho money in hand, in case the occasion should arise for some extraordinary expenditure on tho House.

CORRESPONDENCE. Mr T. F. O’Neill, assistant undersecretary of the Department of Lands arid Survey, wrote referring to the representations at the deputation to the Hon. Prime Minister and Minister of Public Works at Stratford regarding a block of land containing timber situated in the vicinity of the Kotare Road, which if opened for selection, the Chamber stated would be valuable for agricultural purposes, and stated that he was 'directed to inform the Council that the land referred to consisted of a block with an area of over -16,000 acres in the Waro and Pouatu Survey Districts. Arrangements were being made to survey and open the block for selection without delay, hut in view of the largo area?, the. survey would not be completed for some considerable time. Mr A. Coleman wrote with reference to the delay that had occurred in connection with the present policy of the Telegraph Department in Stratford. Some two months ago he made application on the prescribed form ■ for a telephone connection at his private residence. After waiting six or seven weeks and hearing nothing further about the matter, he enquired at the Post Office as to what was being done, and was informed that instructions had been received that no more telephones were to be installed;, in’- Stratford on account of the dangerous proximity of the telephone and electric lighting wires to each -ether. Further information was not forthcoipipg. ,Ho was given to understand, though he could not state it as an absolute fact, that there were some twenty applications in the same position as his own. If this was tHd' -oase, Tie Considered that it was time the Department took steps to have tjjo.necessary alterations made so that the present intolerable blockage to domimuniedtions in the Borough should be speedily removed. Further, lie considered that the Department should, in any case, notify would-be subscribers'fully of tho present position, what steps were being taken to give effect to their wishes, and approximately when the connections would be made. ■ This appeared to be the proper businesslike attitude for the Department to adopt’. He would esteem it a favour if the Chamber, on behalf of the writer and others similarly situated, would make such representations to the Department as they thought fit with a view to putting things in a more satisfactory position.

It was decided to write to the Postmaster-General on the subject. Mr Masters reported having seen the acting-resident engineer of the Public Works Department, who told him that there was no foundation in the rumour that settlers “out East” could not get goods unless consigned trough business firms at their end.