Stratford News

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 279, 22 May 1912, Page 3

Stratford News

i Fnv.n oar Resident Reporter. i Broadway North, next Loan & Mercantile Agency Co. OPUNAKE RAILWAY COMMISSION. STRATFORD EVIDENCE. The Opunake Railway Commission met at the Borough Council Chambers. Mr. Jacob Marx, of Mangatoki, who wa.i unable to appear at Eltham on the previous day, gave evidence in support of the route along the existing railway reserve, with the junction at Eltham. Mr. J. B. Richards, secretary of the Stratford Chamber of Commerce, and secretary of the committee set up by the ' Borough Council and other local bodies, submitted a statement advocating the construction of the line from Stratford to Opunake, with a branch towards Mnliiiiii, which would bring the new line into direct communication with the existing railway system. Mr. Richard Dingle, chairman of the Stratford Dairy Factory Company directi>rate, expressed the opinion that New I'lymouth would ultimately be the principal port for the shipment of produce from the district. With further development the northern part of the district Would increase its output, and a line from Stratford to Opunake would most effectively serve the whole of the productive country. A feeder should be constructed from Kaponga to Manaia. Mr. W. P. Kirkwood, Mayor of Stratford and president of the Stratford A. & P. Association, considered that the district would be best served by a line from Opunake, via Kaponga. to Stratford, and j a branch line from Kaponga to Manaia. j Mr. ,S. 11. James gave evidence on similar lines in favor of the junction at Stratford and a feeder line from Kaponga to Manaia.

Mr. W. A. McCutchan, of Whangamemona, who had farmed land in various parts of the district, considered that Stratford would be the most suitable point at which to make the junction with the main line. He referred to the coal deposits in the Tangarakau. Mr. G. W. Stubbs compared the shipping facilities at Patea and New Plymouth respectively. Mt. W. H. IT. Young, auctioneer, stated that Stratford was the most suitable centre from which to conduct the live stock business, with the western district.

Mr. George N. Curtis referred to the first sale of town sections in Stratford. Mr. Edward Marfell, county councillor, mentioned the heavy expenditure necessary to keep the roads in repair. Mr. John Smith, county councillor, made a statement regarding the heavy rates necessary to maintain the Opunake road within the county. Mr. James Thomson, county councillor, referred to the relief to the roads which would result from the location of the railway via Kaponga to Stratford. Mr. E. A. Gray, Lowgarth, favored the Stratford route to take produce to New Plymouth port. Mr. Robert Masters put in a statement of comparative freight charges on goods consigned to Kaponga by the vari' ous suggested routes. Mr. Walsh, of Lowgarth, put in t statement of actual returns from farms near the mountain reserve. At the conclusion of the business Mr. Holmes, the chairman of the Commission, thanked the gentlemen who had given evidence, and remarked upon the care which had been taken in preparing it, as a result of which the Commission had been placed in possession of all the necessary information concerning the Stratford route. His Worship the Mayor, speaking on behalf of the people of Stratford and particularly on behalf of the witnesses before the Commission, expressed their thanks for and appreciation of the courtesy extended to them by the commissioners, and gave expression to the opinion that the gentlemen into whose hands had been given the task of deciding on the best route for the railway could be depended upon to do what was best in the general interest, and their decision would be unanimously accepted.

THE FIRE BRIGADE.

The Stratford Fire Brigade will hold a one-man coil competition on the King's Birthday. June 3, for a gold medal presented hy Mr. Backhouse, of the Goldsmiths' and Silversmiths' Company. Twelve members of the brigade have entered, and the handicaps have been declared as follows:-Captain Grubb, Foreman Wilson, Foreman Burgess, Firemen Evans, Boon and Drake (scratch), Firemen Gorton, Payton and Davey (ssec), Firemen Crossan, jun.. Bennett and Milner (Ssec). The competition will be held on the brigade's practice-ground in Page street.

THAT WATER RATE. HAS TT BEEN OVER-COLLECTED? The Borough Council on Monday night prefaced the estimates wrangle with a discussion of Cr. X. J. King's motion to rescind a resolution passed last week on the motion of the Mayor, the object of which was to limit the amount of the water rate to a sum sufficient to pay the interest on the loan. Cr. King, in pointing out that the water account was in credit to the extent of £OB2, said that that sum had accumulated since 1904. But during that period the Council had collected from the extraordinary water supply £932. Last year the amount collected from householders was £404, and the interest on the loan of £12.000 w £420, so that they were collecting ir,,m the householders £ifi less than would nav the interest on the loan. The whole of the money lying to the credit of the water supply had been, with the exception of £3O, collected from the extraordinary supply. In a very short space of time they were going to lose this revenue, on account of the vogue of the electric motor. Xo doubt the Mayor, in bringing down his motion, considered it was for the good of the borough. But councillors had evidently not given the matter snlhVieiit coiiM.lciation. In making a commercial undertaking out of the water works, the Council was doing a right thing. Householders were quite satisfied with the existing state of affairs; they got a good water supply at low rates. In Xew Plymouth 'they charged a fid rate, as Stratford did. but the former charged 20s per annum for water closets, and 3s for each hose tap; in Stratford no such charge was made. Cr. Boon, in seconding the motion, said that having heard what Councillor King had to say there appeared no reason why they should reduce the water rates. Compared with other boroughs they were not overcharging for water. He failed to see exactly how they were going to reduce this rate, and wished to know how they were going to get over the fact that it was possible that during the year they would lose about £l2O of the income from extraordinary water supply. The Mayor remarked that evidently Councillor Boon did not understand the position. His Worship quoted figures for the water account since the loan was raised, and showed that there was, as Cr. King had said a balance of £982. Cr. King had been

I entirely wrong in stilling that the £95 I accumulated ircr.x extraordinary watc J supply revenue, for he had overlooks the fact that in 11)06 the sum of X,ii [ was transferred from the water accour I to the general account. There was n reason why users of water should 1: penalised for the purpose of swelling (li funds in the general account. As fi: as new work was concerned, there wa sufficient in the water account to do a that was necessary. The motion wn only intended to hold good for one yea and at the end of that time the rat could he again increased if thought di eirable. Cr. Paget considered that there was n reason to rescind the resolution. It wa a bad thing to encourage councillors t undo work that had already been doni unless there were very strong reasoni which had not been advanced. There wa no reason why users of water should b penalised to relieve the general rate payer. 'Cr. Ward suggested the advisablenes of allowing things to remain as the were for this year, considering that tile were purchasing a road roller. Th Mayor replied that that meant takin money from the water account to pa for the road roller. Cr. R. McK. Morison opposed the m< tion. The Mayor's proposal .was fairc to the ratepayers. He pointed out tha there would still be revenue from res dents outside the borough, and thi would meet the charges for maintenance Cr. McAllister said he had votec against the Mayor's motion, and he was of the same opinion still. As one of the users of the water he was perfectly .satisfied that a profit should be made out of it to help those people who had not got any water. If the position was as stated, the ratepayers were in a very fortunate position, compared with other places. Cr. Healy was strongly of opinion that every account should stand on its own. He did not believe in "paper credits." Cr. Sangster opposed the motion, and added that had he been in possession of the information now adduced he would have voted against the Mayor's proposal. Or. Lawson, as one who paid the rate, said that he was perfectly satisfied, and expressed the opinion that the surplus could well he expended in extending the service to the people on the outskirts of the borough, who were already rated for it.

Cr. King, replying, said it was very ) amusing to hear all this talk about rescinding si motion, especially the remarks made by Cr. Paget, who had moved to rescind more resolutions than had any other man at the Council table. Cr. Paget rose to a point of order, saying that he had used perfectly moderate language about Cr. King, and it was not fitting, and not within the rules , of debate, for him to say that he (Cr. 1 Paget) brought down ridiculous melons. I Cr. King remarked that it was a case 1 of "trivial minds thinking trivial I things." ] Cr. Paget insisted on the remark be- ■, ing withdrawn, and this was done. 'The motion was lost on the casting,' vote of the Mayor. ) BERNARD'S PICTURES. j The benefit entertainment at His i Majesty's Theatre in aid of the Convent ) dormitory will be given this evening. I Patrons can rely on an excellent pro- j gramme, and as the ticket-sellers have j been most importunate for some time I past this popular picture theatre will doubtless be packed. Change night to- ■ morrow night. i THE STREET LIGHTING. BROADWAY GLIMS REMAIN.

The lighting of Broadway, as has been previously mentioned in this column, is not one of the best features of our municipal services. To be plain, it is atrociously bad. The Borough Council's lighting committee is aware of the fact, and its recommendations to the Estimates Committee included provision for making improvement. The recommendations, which were as follows, were deferred for consideration later:

"That Broadway should be better lighted, and we recommend that either of the undermentioned proposals be adopted: "(1) Five lights on poles erected in the middle of the street between Brigade Station and Opunake road. Each pole to carry four lights of 50 c.p. each.

"(2) Ten lights, five on each side of the street, of 100 c.p. each. "(3) Five lights on lines swung across the street, with clusters of lights equalling 200 c.p., on each line." The erection of poles in the middle of Broadway, or the suggestion to put them there, will doubtless "raise the dander" of those people who could not find Toom once upon a time for a Coronation band rotunda at the Loan and Mercantile corner. The experience of the Devon street lighting in New Plymouth by means of lamps swung over the middle of the street should be interesting. THE LIBRARY A CHANCE OF IMPROVEMENT. The following items appear on the borough estimates, which were before the Council in committee on Monday evening:— (1) That £25 be spent on improvements and alterations to the reading room, viz., 12 chairs £9, table £5, shelves and files for papers £lO, incidentals £25. (2) That £75 be provided for the library, viz.,- £2O towards librarian's salary, in addition to £2O already provided; £25 for furniture; £4O for new books. Total for library and readingroom, £IOO. BUSINESS CHANGES. Mr. E. Drake, one of the members of the firm of Messrs. 'Wilson, Drake and Co., of the "Dreadnought" Grocery, has acquired the interests of his partners, and will conduct the business on his own account as from the beginning of next month. Mr. Drake is an old New Plymouth boy, and his Fitzroy schoolmates of olden time will be glad to hear of his progress.