Stratford News.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 172, 19 January 1912, Page 3

Stratford News.

From Our Resident Reporter,

BOROUGH MATTERS. The Borough Council is to be commended for its readiness to fall in with Cr. Ward's proposal to purchase a steam road-roller. The increasing demands of the ratepayers for more roads'and better roads make it imperative that the Council secure labor-saving appliances. Those local bodies which have purchased road-rollers are wondering now how they ever managed to get along without' them, and how it was that they were foolish enough to delay the purchase so long. It has been proved again and again that metal rolled in well immediately after being spread makes a far better and more lasting road than could be obtained under the old system, when the road metal was just so many pieces of broken stone heaped on the road to be kicked about by every passing horse or ground to powder by vehicles, eventually settling down into a rutty road. With a heavy roller the metal is laid with a goofl camber, and-the camber preserved. Many of our streets are hollow, more or less, and this means expensive upkeep. Talking of streets, one is impelled to refer again to our footpaths. Asphalt is apparently unknown outside the business section of Broadway, and kerbing and channelling are also scare. There are channels, of course. Some are simply great. There's one side-channel in Regan- street that is fully two feet deep, and the intervening space between roadway and footpath would accommodate a creek. The matter of footpaths is referred to by a correspondent in this issue,

"Grass has.been cut in various streets in the borough." This is an extract from the borough overseer's report to the Council. Please don't infer from this that Stratford is so dead that the old phrase "becomes applicable about grass growing / in, the streets. But the energetic persons who laid off our streets made them a chain and a half wide. There's plenty of air space, and plenty of waste space. Eoad metal is so expensive that except in the centre of the town it is impossible to have the street metalled the full width. So in the bystreets there is plenty of room for the grass to grow. It looks nice iij flnp weather. It's a nuisance if you have to cross one of those streets on a wet day. Someone has been, cutting the grass in some of the streets, I am told, for hay, which fast is a remarkable testimony tp the- efficient manner in which the streets are patrolled by the borough inspector in search ofwanderiiig st'oek. '■ A NICHT Wl' BURNS."

The programme and mess committees in connection with the first Burns dinnsr in StTatford met on Wednesday evening at Mr. Elder's dining-rooms. There wis a good attendance, and all present were enthusiastic in the matter. Sales j>f abolit seventy tickets were reported, and the opinion'was expressed that about j a hundred guests would meet to do honprto Scotland's national poet. The exec'ji- ' tive has been fortunate in locating / a | couple of' Burns lovers, one of whom vrall j recite ,"Tam o* Shanter," and the othfer can stffely be depended upon to do jus-. tice to the subject when:he proposes the toast of the evening, "Robert Burns." AH the ceremony usually adopted in pon- | nection with the' Burns dinners in Ai ld I Reekie will be observed. Mr. W. Mi L. i P Kennedy is to preside. In Mr. Hend ;r- j i son, Secretary to the movement, the pro- j I motors have an excellent worker, and one thoroughly conversant witn th ;se •gatherings. It,is, intended to (levoti a short space of the, evening to the business of forming a, Scotch Society for Taranaki. The catering is in the hands of Mr. Elder, and his reputation if a sufficient warranty. Guests will iot be fashed wi' French, but New Zealafad,ers may' ;be Equally confounded by |£he use of so many Scotch spellings on -the menu cards. The dinner is to be held on Thursday, January 25, in the Forest ars' Hall, and, judging by the warmth of [the wishes expressed by Scotsmen all > (jver the province, it is-going to be a big affair. t . ' . >, ' ' ' ; PROGRESS AND POSTERITY.j ,

To the Editor. ' j Sir _The central situation of Stratford, the enormous output of butter! and cheese of the finest quality, together with its well known bracing climate ; ( notwithstanding the somewhat hfeavy rainfall) are factors that have the district what it is to-day—one of.the most thriving in New Zealand. But 'with' additional population, much still requires to be done to enable the district, especially the town, to retain the position it has gained. To my mind the borough 'of Stratford would do well to seriously] consider the advisability of borrowing! sufficient money not only to gain possession of' the electric light, but also to extend the sewerage and water supply to svery part of the town, as well as miking streets and footpaths wherever required. This may seem an extensive proposal, but it is now recognised that the judicious expenditure of borrowed money on public works is absolutely necessary if growing districts are to continue to prosper. The borough of Stratford has a very neglected appearance away 'from Broadway, and as it is impossible* jo do any .more permanent works out of ordinary revenue, the only way out', of the difficulty is to go on the money ltiarket. It is objected that we should not ihand down to posterity heavy liabilities, but if posterity enters upon a valuable estate it should have no difficulty in Meeting those liabilities, and, to my Jnind, posterity should not be considered when present-day necessities demand an increased expenditure in order to keep) pace ■ with the times. If communities neglect to do their duty for fear of what >those who come after them will say, then I am afraid that very little progressive work would be undertaken, and posterity would wonder what manner of stuff their forbears were made of. Better do what is required now, and chance the opinion of unborn hundreds, thousands, or millions, as the case may be.— I am, etc., PROGRESSIVE. GENERAL NEWS. The rain it rained to-day, and the tennis match between Stratford and W.Y.M.I, clubs was declared off. : The match between Eltham and Stratford has now been definitely arranged to take place at Eltham next Thursday. Rehearsals for "Pinafore" by the Stratford Operatic Society resume next Monday. The piece will be produced in April ot May, instead of in March as originally intended. Mr. C. Duff, solicitor, has joined Mr. W. G. Malone's staff. Mr. and Mrs. Wake were passengers to New Plymouth on Wednesday night, en

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route for Auckland, thence to Australia. Mr. iR. Spence arrived home from his holidays on Wednesday night, and left for Wanganui to-day to appear in % licensing case to-morrow. A meeting of creditors in the estate of Denis Brew, of Eltham, a laborer, was to have been held at the office of the D.0.A., Mr. A. Coleman, this morning. Only one creditor put in an appearance. The bankrupt produced a statement of debts, most of which were tradesmen's accounts, for necessaries of life, and totalling in all £lO3 18s 7d. The sum of £14.10s was due for medical expenses, a lawyer figured for £l4, and a farmer for £2O. There were no assets. The I bankrupt, a middle-aged man, said his ■ average earnings were about £2 10s a week, ibut sometimes he made as much as £3 at certain work. He had twelve children; the oldest .boy was 15 years of age, apprenticed to a plumber, and the youngest ten weeks old. He said that on New Year's Day, about six o'clock in the morning, the constable came to his •house and served a warrant on him, obtained by a creditor on a judgment summons for £lO odd. He was taken off that morning to New Plymouth prison, where he served fourteen days' imprisonment in default Of payment of the debt. He complained that the warrant was not served on him for a fortnight after being issued, and without any notice or ' hint of its existence. The debt was owing to a, medical man who had since left the district, and was for attendance on one of his children. To-be taken off t<J prison in this way, without warning, and i without having any opportunity to make I provision for tlfe maintenance of, his family, was, he thought, cowardly hard. The meeting lapsed. ' Miss E. C. Bpyshaw, clerk in Mr. A. ( Coleman's office, has received word frcim the New Zealand University that she hasi passed the first section ,of her examination as associate of the New Zealand Society. of . Accountant s.