The Daily News. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1904. TARANAKI A. AND P. SOCIETY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 32, 8 February 1904, Page 2

The Daily News. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1904. TARANAKI A. AND P. SOCIETY.

As was generally expected, the annual meeting of members of the Taraavaki A. auvd P. Soci-ety was anything but satisfactory, only about half-a-dozen gentlemen being present at Die appointed time oi opening the proceeding. In the face of such apathy as tlvis it was thought inadvisable to submit the report and balaaiee-«')ieet. J/n the course of a (iiscus-s'ion several members advocated altering the date of the annual show, arguing that the present dates were unsuitable, coming in the busiest time o-i the dairyman's work, so that fanners coukl neiUfier scrul in stock as exhibits nor attend themselves. The idea seemed to by well-i-cwived by the members present, but in our opinioji pressure of fanning work at that time is but a poor excuse for the miserable displays of stock and agricultural produce which are stylud Taranaki Shows. Want of interest is the trouble, not want of time. Oiuce interest can be awakened, members and fanners will soon muko time, and will contrive by soiue means to exlu'bit on*] also attend at tne shows. Whvn a society fails in its work, as the Taramtki A. und P. Society has undoubtedly failed, tlam there must be soim»thing wrong in the administration of aJfuir.v. Mr (Jeorgv, in his renuaj'ks oti Saturday, said that some members might be of the opinion that the secivtury was the "stumbling block." it would nut be fair to say that, perhaps, but there ure many members who will agree with us that the appointment of a young, active secretary, at a (iecent salary, who would be expeeted to watch the affairs of the society all the year round, to persoamlly canvass for members and exhibits regularly and constantly, would mean the comaiiuivemeut of a new era of pros-penity in the annals of the institution. There is no reason at all, as Mr Aimbm-y explained, why the chief town oi' the province should not have as good a show as> aaiy other place em the coast, except that the funning community, for whose bonelit and in whose interest the nhows are held, refuse to allow themselves from their regivttable apathy, decline to take an interest in matters of vital importance to themselves, and neglect to avail Unemselves of the opportunities which agricultural shows place so easily jn their way. Jliere the farmers have a society, their own, with not a debt to pay, a sum of £7O on -deposit, and having the title to i;ir><X> worth of property, in short, in a sjllendid financial position, aiwl yet the majority of memlbers seem willing to allow the society to fade out of existence. Out upon them for apathetic malingerers ! Lot us show t'lwt there is

life in the district yet by a record muster of members amd people interested at the adjourned nKeeling init'he Town Hall on the 19th prox., and then with new blotxd and new life in the concern, the Taranaki Metropolitan A. and I'. Show will be worthy of ils name and a cradit to-the jteople in the district supporting it. OUU FIKE BRIGADES. Commenting upon the United Fire Brigades Conference held recently at Te Aiohia, the Auckland Star states that public attention has not been •directed to it in anything like the i measure deserved. The journal de- | precates the tendency on the part of the people to forget how much is owed to the men wlho voluntarily undertake the arduous and dangerous duty of protecting life and property from a terrible foe. Few people, it is'pointed out, think o>* the unremitting care aind attention that firemen must observe in order to secure imythitig like safety from lux. 1 , or, ii an outbreak occurs, to keep t'he damage down to the lowest point possible. It is always daflicult to impress upon public bodies the fact that judicious expenditure to secure public health or safety is the best kind of economy. The people of (•ore a lew days ago had a severe lesson on this subject, as it is slated by Mr Gilford, secretary of the United Fire Brigades Association, that tiie damage would have been much less bad the town been more liberal an its exjxen/diture on mi efficient fire prevention system. The Fire Prevention Bill, which the Te Aroha Conference decided to support, is thus a matter of serious Importance to every city and township in the colony. This bill, which modi ties in certain details the Fire Prevention Bill introduced last session, provides that provincial districts shall take the place of boroughs as lire districts ; that vhe annual expenditure on lire systems be contributed in e;c|!ual shares by the local bjodies, the lire insurance coinputn-ies, and the- Government ; ami that the equipment of existing lire brigades be taken over by the district boarcis, twothirds of the value being paid to the local bodies owning them. The most important feature of tlie bill is, of course, the pro-vision that the insurance companies and the public funds sihal'l bear a portio* of the local expenditure on lire brigades. Mr Herries, M.H.R. for Bay of Plenty, ytatod that the conference could rely on a large measure of support for the new bill when it came "before the House, and it is to be Iwped that Tamnaki members will give their assistance towards- securing the passage of legislation in the direction indicated.