CORRESPONDENCE

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 268, 3 April 1911, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE

A WOliD OF PRAISE. To the Editor. Sir, —As a visitor to Moturoa 011 ' Thursday may I be permitted to say a few words of praise to tlie ladies in charge of the dining hall. I have never seen such a nice lot of ladies. Their courtesy and kindness to the old people was a treat to witness; helping them to seats, relieving' thein of their hats, etc., and waiting 011 them with such loving kindness. New Plymouth should be proud of tliem and the Mayoress. They deserved three cheers, but they wenoverlooked and never got a word ot thanks from any of the speakers. They had a hard day, and I think it is up to some one to give them a little outing, if only a run in a motor-car to the mountain.—l am, etc., A VISITOR. RE PRICE OF PIGS. To the .Editor. Sir, —As there appears to be general dissatisfaction .throughout the district at the price paid for pork, I should like to suggest that the time is ripe for I the whole of the suppliers to the factories to combine and erect works for freezing and shipping pork or making bacon at Moturoa. By the time home boats could come up to the wharf we could have the works ready, and 1 should be happy to make one to meet representatives appointed by the factories at a conference to more fully go into a scheme of this kind. Conditions have entirely changed, now we have the London market opeil to us, and I should be pleased to hear of a scheme of this sort being taken- up by the directors throughout Taranaki.—l am, etc., PORK. BOROUGH AFFAIRS. To the Editor. Sir,—Now that- the borough election is close at hand, I should like to remina the ratepayers that now is their clianct to elect good sensible men 011 the council. Ratepayers must ren . mbcr thai the present councillors have plunged New Plymouth heavily into debt of late,, and are very likely to recklessly plunge our little borough into greater difficulties in the near future. There is ■no doubt that, perhaps with one or two exceptions, 'the present councillors are in favor of that suicidal notion of having electric trams-cars installed here. What ground Have they for the idea at all, except to show off? They probably like to hear the noise of the city car plying to and fro, empty or not, regardless 01 the accumulating expense of the cost of running. Why, our present horse-'bus is very often empty. There is no doubt that more would travel by electric cars, at the commencement, mostly for the novelty of the thing, not because of speed. Our town is not like Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch or Dunedin, and never will be. It does not concern the majority of the councillors what taxation is put upon the people. Their own property valuation is not increased according to the increase of the borough debt year after year. Why, our borough is the most heavily indebted of any borough in the Dominion in proportion to size, and yet our lovely councillors intend to plunge our very small borough into still greater debt! It is nothing short of madness on their part to talk about electric trams inside the next twenty years, and also the forming of a greater New Plymouth. Let the councillors first of all get our borough out of a debt which they very considerably helped to recklessly bring about before entering upon the idea of increased expenditure in the way of electric trams and a Greater New Plymouth. Our town is great, enough for our wealth. Then, again, most of the wealthy of New Plymouth reside outside the borough area, and thereby escape the rate on their residental property. Now is the time for the ratepayers to put a 1 fresh batch of councillors on the council pledged to look after the best interests the borough as a whole, pledged to strictly vote against the tramway proposal and greater New Plymouth, also any further taxation in the way of special rates, and to reduce the present expenditure and rates imposed upon the ratepayers. We shall all have to quit New Plymouth if things go on as they are going. It does seem ridiculous having a secretary to look after the "Greater New Plymouth" interest. The town will not become great until industries anil manufactures of various kinds and large traders visit our port. T would conclude by respectfully asking our ratepayer# to pledge themselves to vote only for the man who is against the increased rating, electric ears in New Plymouth, and the greater New Plymouth scheme, and to vote for the. man who is in favor of reducing our expenditure in the borough.—l am. etc., RATEPAYER. [We liave tnken the liberty of deleting several passages from the above because of the innuendoes conveyed nnd deliberate unfairness of tlie statements made.—Ed.]