STRATFORD DAY BY DAY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 374, 27 April 1910, Page 8

STRATFORD DAY BY DAY.

(From Our Resident Correspondent.) ' Stratford, Last Night. With the supporters of both candidates sanguine of success there should be a close tight between the two aspirants for mayoral honors. Public opinion is undecided as, to whom should be made the favorite, and in the few cases wiieie a decided opinion is ventured "the wish is father to the thought.'' The electric light has in more ways than one played an important part. It has figured prominently in the speeches and addresses of the candidates and in a way not so easily detected will affect the voting. There is no gainsaying that the dual position until recently occupied by Mr. King as chairman of directors of the company and a borough councillor, has injured liis chances. His resignation, at , the eleventh hour, of the position of j chairman of the company was rather i late, as many people had already deter- j mined which way they would vote and , had made their decision public. Between the platforms of the candidates there is not a great amount of dillerence. Mr. Masters favors taking o\oi the Electric Light Co.; Mr. King points out the financial benefit to the borough if such a step were taken and the inference may very fairly be drawn from his remarks that he would support a proposal in this direction. To both a loan is anathema and the asphalting of Broadway not to be favored. On the recreation ground question Mr. Masters goes further than Mr. King by favoring the Borough Council taking over the Domain Board. On the other issues such as improvement of the water supply, streets and footpaths, the differences are very minor. The election, from a policy standpoint, resolves itself into a question of determination by tile individual voter of which candidate lie regards as the .abler administrator, influenced possibly' somewhat by sentiment. The inauguration of wool-classing classes at ' Stratford_ is apparently arousing considerable interest amongst the farmers. It is understood that a class will be started at Toko on Saturday, wlien an attendance of eighteen is promised. An enquiry as to the scope of the syllabus has been received from a, resident at Kaimata, who proposes 'bringing the matter under the notice of the "local branch of the New Zealand Fanners' Union. Possibly it may be of interest to the farmers in the district to give particulars of the instruction at the classes. The headings are: Rolling fleeces, skirting, 'packing of each description, picking the fleece properly off the board, classing each condition into spinning count, classifying each fleece into proper condition and quality, selecting wool for the American market, classifying and packing it, scouring and cleansing wool at different temperatures, yields of fleece to show commercial value, crinvps in wool, serrations in wool, method by which small farmers can bring their clips together in quality and condition, treatment of skins for the market, method of treating bale before putting in the wool to avoid loose jute, hi'inging in one bale small quantities of wool left over, branding of bales for 'Home marking, manufacturing, explanation of "taps:" Tt will be at once seen that the course is a very comprehensive one. Of the value of the in- | struction an instance is supplied by the - report of one of the instructors to the Wanganui Board. The instructor says: "Useful work lias been done by farmers in the first year of starting the woolclassing classes, and the returns coming to hand are oearing the instruction out. I myself saw a return of London January sales where the clip was handled by students attending the classes. This clip brought in London the highest price, 15d, average 13y 2 d; this clip fetched 8d last year." Wool did not rise nearly double in price, so in this instance instruction paid handsomely. I might sav that all who attended the classes were highly pleased at the instruction rccefved, and this year, of course, I will go into :it much more fully."

As a result of the representations of the Borough Council, an additional ticket-window and extra luggage accommodation is to be provided at the Stratford railway station. It is stated that the Railway Department will take over the le W era section of the Stratford-Ongarue railway on Ist June, it would be well if representations were made to the Department of the necessity of a daily service. More work for a Chamber of Commerce. At the meeting of the Borough Council last night there was considerable discussion over what course should be pursued in offering the saleyards at present leased by Messrs. Young, Ilobbs and Co. A resolution had been passed at the previous meeting that these be offered by tender. This was rescinded, and a resolution that they be put up by auction was carried. It was rosohed that they be offered for a term of 21 years in three terms of seven years, the rent for the second term to be 40 per cent, increase on the amount paid for the .first year, and for the third term an increase of 'io per cent, on the amount paid for the second term, claiming they had the right to remove the yards and paving, a view which was not 'agreed to by the Council, who finally resolved to' ootain the opinion of Mr. T. F. Martin on the matter. It was decided that twenty-four hours' notice must be given before cutting off the water in any part: 01 the Borough, and then only at such an hour as will cause the users the least inconvenience. Several complaints were made by councillors as to the manner in which the bylaws regarding lights on bicycles and vehicles were disregarded, and the inspector was instructed to enforce the by-law against the discharge of firearms in the borough.