Our Stratford Page

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 248, 19 April 1912, Page 3

Our Stratford Page

* * * From Our Resident Reporter. * * * * Broadway North., next Loan & 'Mercantile Agency Co. * * * ************* ******************

j Stratford, Thursday. THE MAYORAL ELECTION MR. MORISON WITHDRAWS HIS CANDIDATURE. MR. W. P. KLRKWOOD IS NOMINATED. There were developments, as I hinted, this morning in connection with the mayoral contest At an early hour Mr. R. McK. Morison informed me that he had learned of Mr. W. P. Kirkwood's intention to contest the election, and in that case lie would withdraw his name. Mr. Kirkwood, approached on the mat-1 ter, said that he had learned of an intention to present him with a requisition, hut, unless it were signed by representative men, he would not contest the election. If the signatures were such as appealed to him. he would accede to the request of his friends. During the morning a number of ratepayer* waited upon him with the following requisition: ''We, the undersigned, electors of Stratford, are of opinion that it would he in the best interests of our j town for you to contest the coming mayoralty, and to that end herewith petition that you will allow yourself to be nominated for the office. Should you decide to accede to this request we.' pledge ourselves to do our utmost to secure your election." Then followed the signatures of forty electors. Mr, Kirkwood, in acceding to the requisition, said that he would not have come forward had it not been apparent that his candidature was desired by a large number of electors, as evidenced by this requisition signed by representative men "If elected," he concluded, "my platform will be one of steady progress, with reasonable caution." THE NOMINATIONS. Messrs. J. McAllister and W. P. Kirkwood were nominated this morning. AN INTERESTING SITUATION ' INTERVIEW WITH MR. MORISON. It being generally believed that other than municipal matters had entered into the contest, resulting in Mr. Morison's withdrawal, I saw Mr. Morison. and his explanation of the position was, briefly, that when he announced his candidature he had no idea that Cr. McAllister was going to enter the lists, having had an assurance from that gentleman that he would be glad to see Mr. Morison holding j the mayoral position, adding that he deserved it as a reward for life long years of faithful service. Mr. McAllister also gave his opinion (no doubt in view of the rumors of Mr. Kirkwood's intending candidature) that it would not be in the best interests of the town that •■the"chief magistrate" of Stratford should be a member of the trade. Mr. Morison went on to say that he had written to • Mr. McAllister referring -'to this state-' ment of his, and, continuing:-' You know! I have always been loyal to that section i of the community who are of this way of thinking. . . I have looked on you r as a r friend and thought it was' reciprocal; but now . . . vou at one blow practically make it impossible to put the ideals into practice unless one of us retires, which no one at this la'te hour should be asked to do. However, to show that I can still be Joval to the' principles above-mentioned, rather than seek the fulfilment of mv own ambitions, | I will not contest the seat." i Mr. Morison then intimated tnat'he s had received a deputation at his house that morning, and on his reading to them the letter he proposed sending to Mr. McAllister, and from which the above are extracts, they complimented him on the stand he had taken This statement was madenow so that Mr. McAllister could explain the position at his meetin« on Monday evening. ' ° ~ CANDIDATES' ADDRESSES Mr. McAllister proposes to address the electors at the Town Hall on Monday evening, and Mr. Kirkwood on Tuesday evening. ' Mr. Morison had the hall booked for Tuesday, but gave it up on condition that, if he wished, he could make a short statement to the peotile : assembled; a condition to which ; Mr. Kirkwood immediately consented WHAT THE TOWN REQUIRES. Mr. Morison. in reviewing municipal matters generally, sa id that all forwardmovements in providing municipal services, such as water, drainage, abattoirs, and street improvements, should, he undertaken immediately. Speaking <,f the' ' need for further improvements, lijr Morison pointed out that the money spent m .keeping side-channels open'm " portions of certain streets would more than pay interest on a loan for concrete channelling, and, at any rate the cost of maintenance would be greatly reduced thereby. He considered that .Broadway should be made a good street, the biisd- ■ ness section being asphalted. The total cost of asphalting from Celia street to Soaton street was estimated at £IO,OOO, giving eight inches (six inches when solid) of'asphalt, but this appeared to him excessive, even including footpaths, kerbing and channelling, and re-forming and grading. He fav.-.-.d undertaking the commencement of t'-'s "-ork without. delay, as the present road was : vi costly to maintain. At the same time he would not concentrate on Broadway at the exjpense of the other streets'in the bor[oiigh. believing that residents even .in j the remotest streets should have access j to their homes. Broadway cost .Cl2 a month for labor only...and even with [tin's expense (hey had mud in" winter" jam] dint in summer. Tf not too costly- : the more modern tarred macadam should. . be_ vs.'.]. The !|ii'~l!oi] ~|" widening the '.bridge over the I'atea river, which at present made a detrimental break in the view of the main thoroughfare, was one which could fairly be left in the hands of the council, for if ever it was to bo j done the ratepayers would themselves i have to vote for it on a loan proposal; , but if. after careful consideration, it j could ho shown that:the property aft'ect- . Ed would produce more rates—"then do , it." More attention should lie [riven to J kerbing and channelling, expenditure in j which would be economy indeed It was I rumored (hat a further attempt would 1 be made to induce the ratepayers in j take over the electric light concern, but. lie would be no party to it unless (he I ratepayers were taken fully iulo (he j confidence of the responsible people. Mile matter of (he purification and extension I nf our water service was one that should ! be taken in hand at an early date, and 1 the same remark applied to the exten- [ sion of the drainage scheme. Referring to the Town Hal]. Mr. Morison did not i consider the 1 0 -s on (lie undertaking a | yew serious matter, for the public rrot i the h- fi|.. 0 f the hall. The council | should rc'O'jnise the faithful, oftentimes '. unpleasant and frequently dangerous , service given by the fire brigade, and

should assist in bringing the equipment up-to-date. Coming to the loan proposals, of which not much had bee* heard for some time, Mr. Morison gave his opinion that the scheme would be rejected by the ratepayers, because the amount asked for was too large, but a modified proposal would probably be presented to the council and the ratepayers shortly, the engineer being now engaged in preparation of plans, etc. A saving of £843 had been made in the general account this year Perhaps the council had been too saving, and possibly the cost of maintenance would be heavier next year. But in any case there would be a saving, which should be spent in I permanent work, such as kerbing and channelling, etc. Mr. Morison quite agreed that the public reading-room should receive more attention.

COMMERCIAL J

j J. LAMASON'S WEEKLY REPORT. A fairly good entry of birds, vegetables, etc., came to hand at my last sale, and pri«e3 were very satisfactory. I quote as follows:—Cockerels, Is to Is 9d; hens, Is Id to Is 9d; roosters, Is to 2s 6d; pullets, 2s to 35.; chaff, £2 to £3 per ton; potatoes, 3s Cd to 10s fid. 1 Only a limited supply of fruit came in, apples bringing Is 6d to 4s, pears 3s to 4s. tomatoes 4s to ss, quinces 2s to 2s 6d. Furniture, etc., at usual auction rates. THE GYMKHANA A GOOD DAY'S SPORT. There was glorious weather to-day for the Stratford A. and P. Association's gymkhana, postponed from Easter Monday, and there was a splendid attendance, -which was well over two thousand, for £,IOO was taken at the gates. The programme was undoubtedly an attractive one. Horse jumping competitions, driving competitions, novelty races, a couple of trots for horses and another for ponies, provided the menu, but the item which seemed to give the greatest enjoyment was the buck-jumping exhibition. From somewhere or other there were brought to the showgrounds a trio of bucking bronchos.. The preliminaries were exciting sometimes, particularly in the case of a big vicious chestnut, which had a very apparent dislike to saddle and crupper. Young Calvert essayed to ride him, but the horse promptly threw himself backwards,, and the rider wisely let him go, after which the chestnut gave a kicking and bucking solo in front of the grandstand. Calvert was beaten by the next, a black mare, but remounted and got the animal under control. The third horse was an expert in the art of kicking, and-would "kick the eye out of a needle." Herbert Glenl Worth, however, "bested" him. The leading competitions provided some fine exhibitions of horsemanship (and horsewomanship, too), the presence of many of Taranaki's best performers making this inevitable, but a bigger sprinkling of new competitors would be welcomed in this ;us in other show-rings in the province. Whilst the management was not of the same high standard as that of the Association's annual shows, it is but fair to say that.this was not due to any laxity on the part of the officials who were on the ground, but was wholly owing to several of the workers failing to take up their'appointed duties. Those who did turn up toiled like Trojans, and got through a tremendous lot of work.. It .was an enjoyable day's sport; rendered all the-more so by the music of the Stratford Orchestral Society. Mr. Diamond, of the. CM) Hotel, had the" licensed booth, and there was also an excellently .conducted luncheon and afternoon tearoom. Results of itheVarious events were as follow: 'Maiden Hunters' Competition, carrying not less than 12 stone,—Misses Maggie Brings' Grey Star, 1.; C. H. Pollard's : Lady Shot, 2. Pony Jumping, ponies under .14 hands, ' ridden by boy or girl under 46. J. D. ' Mitchell's Princess, 1; E. Wills' Makahu, 2; Miss E. Abbott's Mickie, 3. j : (Best Lady Driver.r-Miss .E. Walsh (.Stratford), I; Mrs. Craddock, 2. Most of.-the competitors .drove very correctly; but many neglected to carry 'their badge of office, the whip, thus 'having both hands to use on the horse, whilst others had their whip hand engaged. ■(Maiden Trot, one mile, in, saddle.—W. Clifton's Madcap, 1: Thompson's Fern Root. 2; R. Garlick's Twinkle, 3. There ■were■'seventeen starters,;' of.,which R. Coat's The Ganger was on the scratch J mark, giving away 28 seconds to the' •limit horse. Some of the starters showed good pace. Madcap'made .a fine fight, and won from an obviously aged grey trap mare, whose performance was most creditable. Time, 3min. 9 2-Ssec. Ladies' Leaping Competition. ~ Miss Briggs' Dougal, 1; Mis? Abbott, 2. 'Motor-car Driving, backwards and forwards through hurdles and flags. L. Curtis (30 h.p. Cadillac), 1; Mudford (40-h.p. Overland), 2; Rook (3i5 h.n Molinej, 3. Trotting Race, one mile and a half (op.'n).—R. Coates' Rothschild Lad. IS sec, I; J. Brake's Singlet, 30sec, 2; J. IT. Butcher's The Flasher, losec. 3. A .fine race, with an exciting finish. Girls' Novelty Race, each competitor carrying billy of water for half the course,- and an Vgg , W'V , sp6on'for"'the remainder of the distance.—Miss D. Hammond, 1; Miss E, M. Bernard, 2.' Race between Man and Horse. Miss .Maggie Briggs,- oit Mr. Mitchell's pony, beat Anderson, on foot. The "ped." had J no'-eliance, the pony boring him. at the turns.

INTEREST AWAKENED. Interest awakened everywhere in the marvellous healing of Cuts, Bums, mid Wounds with Dr Sheldon's jl.ignetie Liniment. Is 6d and 3s. Obtainable everywhere. SORE LUNGS. When your lungs are sore and inflamed from coughing is the time when the germs of pneumonia, pleurisy, and consumption find lodgment and multiply. Dr. Sheldon's New Discovery for coughs and colds stops the cough and heals and strengthens the lungs. Dr Sheldon's New Discovery is a safe and never-failinsr remedy. Price. Is Cd and 3s. Obtainable everywhere.