Our Stratford Page

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 259, 2 May 1912, Page 3

Our Stratford Page

THE FIRST CITIZEN.

Stratford, Wednesday.

INSTALLATION OF MAYOR. Mr. W. P. Kirkwood was yesterday installed as Mayor of Stratford. There were present the retiring Mayor, Mr. J. Masters., and Councillors N. J. King, T. Lawson, B, McK. Morison, J. D. Healy, J. 'W. Boon, J. McAllister, and G. Sangster. Apologies for absence were received from Crs. Paget and Ward. The town clerk, Mr. P. Skoglund, and the borough solicitor, Mr. T. C. Fookos, and [ a handful of ratepayers were also present. Mr. Masters briefly thanked councillors for the consideration extended to him during the past term, and hinted that failure to make the progress that should have been, made was due to the Want of harmony between the Mayor and a section of the council. Probably no Mayor of Stratford had ever had the • same uphill task that had been his. He said that past Mayors had been of par-, ticularly grea't assistance to him, for' they knew what was required of a man | in the mayoral chair. Mr. Masters urged j councillors to work in harmony with the Mayor, and to give him all the assistance ' they could. The Mayor was only one. 1 He could do so little by himself, and the council or some councillors could make things very nasty for him. They should put the people's welfare before party, but unfortunately there had been too much party feeling of late. Councillors should sink party and go for the good of the borough as a whole, and uphold the Mayor. Addressing the Mayor-elect, he said: "Mr. Kirkwood, You have been elected to the highest office the ratepayers can give you. I feel that you will fill that position with credit to yourself and honor to the town, and I trust you will be able to work in harmony with, the council. I now ask you to take your seat at the head of the council table, \ and I heartily congratulate you upon your election to this honorable office." Mr. Masters vacated the chair, and Mr. Kirkwood, before assuming it, made the customary statutory declaration. Then, addressing the . council, he thanked Mr. Masters for his congratulations and his kind remarks; also for asking the council to pull with him on all occasions when he as Mayor introduced proposals making for the welfare of the borough. He heartily reciprocated the expressions of goodwill. No doubt Mr. j Masters would welcome the ease given j him by his retirement from the very arduous duties a 9 Mayor. He realised the responsibility which had been placed on his shoulders, and, without any spirit of bravado, he had a firm conviction that he would be able to carry out the duties attaching to the office, and that no contingency was likely to arise which he would not have the ability to contend \ with. As Mr. Masters had said, it was J impossible for him alone to carry out the I works necessary in Stratford in the near j future, and he hoped the council would follow the lead given by the retiring | Mayor and support him in his office. He j trusted, too, that his relations with the 1 council would be of a most cordial nature. There should be a spirit of compromise and reasonableness in every individual, and in every body of men, else they would be governed by autocrats. For his part, whilst insisting on decorum, n the council's deliberations, %e would I wt curtail councillors in the expression] of their views, and he asked his colleagues to conduct the business in a spirit that would be a credit to them ill. He quite realised that he would not please everybody, but he would aim to do the greatest good for the greatest number, and if he could do that he would feel at the end of his term that his efforts had not been wasted. He made it quite clear that he would not illow himself or the council to be unduly influenced by any individual or faction. Mr. Kirkwood expressed his view that it was better for a man to wear out than to rust out. and he would not spare bis energies in carrying out his duties. As their Mayor he would be „ very busy man in the coming year, and he would expect councillors and officials to work hard with him. He spoke of the very op-eat responsibilities of the members of the council. They had a large borough, of nearly 2000 acres, with many miles of streets a chain and a half wide. It had been very difficult in the past to provide necessary street improvements, owing to the straitened finances and the scattered population. But as population increased—and he expected to see it increase, largely in the very near future —the task would become easier. Progress of a town, he averred, depended to a great extent upon the ideals of its

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

public men and viewpoint of the inhabitants. If the public men set themselves high ideals—and he believed this could safely be said of the public men there—and the people took a broad view of municipal affairs and requirements, always looking to do the best for the borough and its inhabitants as a whole, the town must progress. They must all agree to do the most necessary works first, and he would number amongst these drainage, water reticulation, and street improvements—particularly in providing reasonable access to the home's of the people. He announced his intention of bringing down certain notices of motion re loans at the first meeting of the council. The Mayor /again thanked Mr. Masters for his expressions of goodwill, and gave his assurance that he would ever do what he considered in the best interests of Stratford.

The councillors present, speaking in the order of seniority,-congratulated the Mayor on his appointment, and gave assurances of loyal support in any schemes he might advance if those schemes were in each speaker's own individual opinion for the good of the borough. Cr. Morison was the only one to step over the border, relieving the monotony and solemnity of the proceedings by expressing a wish that during the present Mayor's term of office the councillors might once more have the pleasure of subscribing a silver cradle. (Laughter.) Mr. Kirkwood briefly returned thanks, and promised to do his best.

Mr. Masters asked to be allowed to mention one matter that he had overlooked. He praised the town clerk's ability, courtesy and obliging nature; and the ability of the borough overseer. Ho expressed his opinion that Stratford was singularly fortunate in the personnel of its municipal officials, and thanked them for their unvarying kindness and generous .assistance. Mr. Kirkwood endorsed these remarks, adding that if any member of the staff was, in his opinion, not doing his duty, he would be quick to' let him know of it. At the conclusion of the proceedings, Mr. W. E. Porter, "the poet laureate of Stratford," recited an "ode to the conqueror."

A NEW BOWLING GREEN, A second bowling green is being laid down in Stratford. The new one, in which the grass is just showing nicely above the ground, is situated in Victoria Park, on the part of the ground leased to the Croquet .Club. The green will provide for three rinks. Perhaps the croquet ladies intend taking \ip the ancient game of bowls, or is a bowling club to be formed for the north end of the town?

FREEZING THE CHILDREN. PvELIEF IN SIGHT. The local school committee is indebted to Mr. P. S. Whitcombe, secretary to the Education Board, for his promptness in seeing that the Work of fitting up the heating appliances in the new school is put in hand. Men are at work to-day, and the children may look forward to some rays of comfort by the end of the week. At the special meeting of the school committee last night Mr. Tyrer, the headmaster, reported on this matter, and also that several other details in connection with the completion of the school buildings needed attention. The list included: (1) No means of warming the eight rooms of the new school; (2) no hooks fixed (for raising or lowering) on any windows; (3) moveable doors not bolted down; (4) two broken panes of glass—west wing; (5) no hooks or shelving fixed in any of the offices; (6) no arrangements made, for hanging on wall, maps, etc. Mr. Tyrer added that nothing was being done at the school by the contractor, all the men having left some time ago: A part of the asphalt already laid down had, ho stated,- been damaged by the contractor, and should be repaired. These matters are to receive prompt attention. TERRITORIALS. MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS.

Medical examinations will take place in Stratford at 6 p.m. next Tuesday, of all those Territorials and cadets who were passed as unfit last year, or cadets who have reached, or will have reached, the age of 18 before May 31. Those men in possession of record books are requested to bring them with them. The above also includes those who were absent from medical examination last year. Examinations will be held for the same purpose at Eltham between the hours of 6 and 8 p.m. on May 8, and at Kaponga at 11 a.m. on May !). Examinations will be arranged for all sub-centres east of Toko at a later date.

THE ELECTRIC LIGHT PLANT. Mr. Hill, the expert who has been engaged in setting up t;he Diesscl oil engine anil the new generating plant for the Stratford Electrical Supply Company, has practically finished his labors. A trial run will be made this week, and the official opening of the new plant will probably be held in a week or so. The result of this enterprise on the company's part will be to greatly improve the lighting generally, and to provide a day load for power, besides giving separate private and street lighting circuits. i:t; THE LIBRARY. Complaints are still numerous about the manner in Which the reading room is conducted, and j honestly there is only too much room for dissatisfaction. Stratford is now visited by a large ■number of outsiders, who expect to find all the principal papers regularly filed, but although many; of the lesser lights find a place on the stands, the chief papers of the Dominion are conspicuous by their .absence. Even the local paper does not find its way on the files. It is dumped down on the table, and from there finds its way into the waste-paper basket or the butchers' shop. If the library committee studied the interests of the district they would see that at least one of the New Plymouth papers, with those of the chief centres (not forgetting the local production) should be carefully kept for reference, as is done in all other places of importance. Then there would be no difficulty, if the necessity arose, in looking up any matter of the past. As at present conducted the reading room is a reflection on the borough council, and the sooner the question is faced with a view to mending or ending

the institution the better. There are some people in the district who favor accepting assistance frem Mr. Carnegie, and having an up-to-date library and reading room, but whether the council will fall in with this view is a matter which rests with the future. This is a splendid opportunity for the new Mayor, to show what he is made of.

| BERNARD'S PICTURES The star film for the remainder of the week, beginning to-night, will be the great picture adapted from one. of Shakespeare's best known tragedies, the imnrortal "Macbeth." The story of "Macbeth" is, of course, "familiar in our mouths as household words," and the tragedy lends itself particularly well to pictorial presentation. It has been acted for picture purposes by a specially strong cast, and the play, as depicted by the films, is just as interesting and just as dramatic as it is in it» stage setting.

GENERAL. Mr. Davey left here yesterday in a Cortland waggon with a tremendous bundle of bags. They were required in connection with the North Taranaki Hunt Club's first hunt in the Ngaere district to-day. It was facetiously suggested by a wit that the bags were for the new chum hunters to tumble on, whilst another thought they were to assist in "bagging" the hares. The real expkna-' tion was that they were to be used in sparring the fences, for the encourage-, ment of horses that are unused to fbl-' lowing the hounds over fences. A shopkeeper told me yesterday that the shops would close' at 5.30 p.m. as from May 1. 'But if that was meant to be the rule it was very badly bent, even broken, for the lights were still going at six o'clock. The welcome social to the Rev. A. Reader, tendered by the Methodist con-' gregation, was held in the Foresters' Hall fast night, and was largely attended. A team of Stratford cribbage players' will play a Denbigh road team to-night at Mrs. Brown's rooms, commencing at 8 p.m. The local men are entertaining the visitors at supper. Last year the Denbigh road team won the rubber in a lengthy series of matches, and this time Stratford is looking for scalps.