Te Aroha Ohinemuri News SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 1889. DOMAIN BOARD REGULATIONS

Te Aroha News, Volume XIV, Issue 2094, 16 April 1898, Page 2

Te Aroha Ohinemuri News

SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 1889. DOMAIN BOARD REGULATIONS

■ US»It>Bn. : TN*HBB ADVOCaf^ * IWi above all—to thine own self be traeV Vnd It most fellow na the night the day Than eanot not then be fake to any mm. - - BMAKaariutea.

-UlfDPia the old regulations governing the hours during which the Domain Board- ticket office was kept open; persons desirous of using the baths could purchase tickets at any time between the hours of 6 a.m. and 9.30 p.m. a period of 15 solid home. Among the consequences flowing from such a liberal dispensation one of thtmost obvious was the narrow margin left to the care-takers for mop and bucket work ; the constant calls upon their, attention, in , any one of the hundred' and one duties of a caretaker’s position precluding anything like systematic cleansing of the various bath-houses. And when in addition to this we remember that not in-,

frequently they had to dance attendance as far into the night as 11 o’clock owing to the difficulty experienced in routing some tenacious occupants from their baths, when we consider all these thiugs we are not slow to recognise the disabilities under which the most zealous of caretakers must have laboured in this matter of keeping the baths in the spick and span order we ulllike to associate with them. In the , old days lulls in the rush of business, occurring at recognised intervals as they did, enabled the caretakers to devote an occasional quarter of an hour to swilling the houses down, but the absence of system naturally made itself fell. Now, especially in the holiday season, there is a steady and persistent stream of bathers all day long. The rapidity with which the Te Aroha Thermal Springs have grown in popu larity does not seem to have been taken into consideration by the early framers of the regulations. And indeed the growth in popular favour of our baths in the faoe of numerous disadvantages would afford a subject of iuvestigation of no little interest, into which, however, we cannot enter here. Still it may be pointed ©ut that with such formidable and heavily subsidised rivals in the field as Rotorua and Okoroire, the strides in recent years which our springs have made in favor are little short of phenomenal, and are due mainly, if not entirely, to their genuine medical value in effecting cures even in the subtlest forms of rheumatic complaints afflicting humanity. Now the Domain Board by certain good natured orities have been roundly accused of adopting ‘ featina lente,’ hasten slowly, as their motto. But the explanation is not, we think, far to seek. As the Chairman observed to the Premier, the otherday, when that right honourable gentleman, in his usual style of rapid generalisation, pointed out sundry improvements which might with advantage be introduced—the Board, as a body, were fully cognisant of the facts; but—there is always a ‘but ’ in these cases—the needful improvements involved the consideration of ways and means, which in the present financial position of the Board it would be merely wasting time to'lndulge in. Touching finance, a tourist was asking us only the other day why the authorities, did not employ more gardeners -and general utility men to keep fhe griunds in order and related some of his experiences of the beautiful Continental Spas. The question of wages never occurred to this gentleman: all his criticisms were based on the belief that the services of experienced gardeners could. be obtained at something like the English equivalent of 15 francs a week'and, food. The continued and increasing; pressure on .the bathing Accommodation f 'aT by no means tin|ommon experience being the usage of ..(every- towel stored in the office before the afternoon had waned, at last roused the Board to the necessity of effecting a curtailment of the hours during which the baths were open to the public in order that the caretakers in reply to their enquiries might no longer seek to excuse themselves for isolated instances of negligence under the plea that not only was their time fully employed, but that from 6 in the morning till late into the night the baths were seldom unoccupied during the busy Beason. Having arrived at this conclusion the next thing was to determine the hours: Before proceeding any further we should like to ask our readers if they have ever taken the trouble to consider the status of those into whose hands was committed the duty of passing a resolution on the subject. They were elected nearly two; years ago as being solid, well-to-do successful men in their respective walks in life, and eminently representative of the 1 respectable classes of the community, as well as being individually largely interested in the maintenance of ||Te Aroha’s welfare. They were none of them men likely to act hastily, or rashly adopt measures merely for the sake - of experiment. They had to consider the curtailment ofthe hours and the particular time at which such curtailment should be in force. They were in possession of facts and relating to the atrfcehdancAhbt available to the general certainly not to their They none of them were givhut accustomed to sbe hard facts that beset the practically, and as their show, with consistent success. gUprWe are told that these men, one of WiM perhaps the largest property folder in the township, and nearly all pi them dependent more or less on the tourist traffic, wilfully set themselves, by adopting the hours they did, for the opening of the ticket office, namely, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m during the week and the same hours on Sunday, with the exception of a recess from 10 to 1.30 in order toallowthe caretakers to make arrangements among themselves for a thorough overhaul of the bath-houses inconstant use Nos. 1,2, and 3—to damage the interests of the community and bring discredit on tiie great gifts Nature in her bounty, had bestowed on us! There is another and more serious aspect of the question. In criticising an institution with which the welfare of the public at large is practically identified, in the openly abusive and personal manner which has been employed on this occasion shows a want of patriotism and callous indifference to the interests of others which do not commend themselves to our judgment. To publicly use the word ‘ filthy,’ iu describing the condition of

the baths, betrays either ignorance of the meaning of the word, or a tendency to splenetic exaggeration which can only weaken criticism. We are constantly in the habit of using the private baths and save when, on one or two occasions, there had been an unusually heavy rush of bathers, we can vouch for the floors being as clean as the decks of an English man-of-war. While we were suffering from rheumatism we used No. 2—a public bath—and, save on one occasion when a patient had bathed too soon after a meal with the usual consequences on leaving the water —though the boards were frequently wet and slippery, anything that would come within the accepted meaning of the word* filthy’ never met our gaze. We can only conclude that the expression -in question was used for the purpose of, bringing Te Aroha into disrepute among the classes upon whose visits we to so great an extent depend in the hope that thereby some of the odium;-which might be incurred, would attach itself to the Board. Mr Seddon the btlier day aptly described the Te Domain as being ‘ national property,’ and said that any reasonable request for assistance in the development of its resources could not be well refused by Parliament. The ultimate ownership of alUhermal springs is vested in the Crown, and the Commissioners of the Domain Board are merely trustees for the government of the day. Such being the case any cause for complaint entertained by the ratepayers should be lodged with the local member, who will at once forward it;’to the proper quarter for consideration. Or the electors have the remedy in their own hands at the biennial election for seats on the Beard. Our advice to those of our readers who disapprove the alteration of hours is, therefore, not to rush into print, convene public meetings and appoint deputations; to avoid all publicity in fact as injurious to the best interests of the community; but to memorialise the member for Ohinemuri (Hon A. J. Cadman), who is recognised by supporter and opponent alike in this district as being a true friend to Te Aroha, and one who will not stand passively by and see the place wilfully hurried on to ruin by a Betof—soitiß alleged incompetent and obstinate Commissioners.