GREATER NEW PLYMONTH.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 233, 30 March 1912, Page 5

GREATER NEW PLYMONTH.

To the Editor. Sir, —With very great surprise, indeed, I have read in the "Daily News" the result of the poll taken at St. Aubyn on Tuesday. Personally lam disgusted with those who did not vote for the scheme, and I am more than disgusted with those ratepayers who did not vote at all. In my opinion those who voted against the scheme are not the ones with any progressive ideas in their top storey, but purely and wmply like some of our M.P.'s in Parliament—"blockers," possibly from the backblocks, but i:ow retired into the quiet suburb of New Zealand's finest city to be, as soon as those with the brains and go-ahead nature are allowed to put their shoulders to the wheel of progress and make New Plymouth hum, whidh will, I feel sure, happen iii spite of the few quite behind-the-times and as-you-were-and-alwavs-will-be ' people if they could manage to block all schemes such as the Greater New Plymouth. As to those who did not vote at all it is really a pity that anyone should be allowed to take things so easily as not to bother themselves to go to the polling-booth and record their vote either for or against on such an important question as has just been allowed to bf defeated by a majority of five votes. I feel sure that if the balance who did not vote had been stirred up, the result would have been quite the other way, and St. Aubyn would have been like other wise suburbs and put its shoulder to the wheel of progress and doing justice to itself and to the whole of the district on either side of it. I certainly hope that another poll can be taken soon, which will certainly arouse more feeling amongst the ratepayers who did not vote this time, and who now see their folly by allowing a few sleepers to block the chance of progress as far as their little suburb is concerned. In my opinion some progress is required to keep it something like up-to-date by having more lights, better footpaths and a good road right through to the breakwater, and soon the penny tram section of St. Aubyn would be in demand, instead of the old 'bus rattle, which up to the present has been of good service, but things are changing and will change. Let all wise ratepayers do their little towards the progress of the town in which they have lived and are going to live by waking up and doing only what other smaller and less important towns have done. -I am, etc, ADVANCE. Omata, March 28.