CURRENT TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 223, 8 February 1913, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

RED TAPE. The law's delays are proverbial, and In view of the ruling given in Wellington this week to the effect that witnesses' depositions must be read over to the accused, proceedings in indictable cases •will be further prolonged. At the close of a case in the Magistrate's Court on Thursday, in which the accused was committed for trial, the clerk of the Court drew the attention of the Magistrate to the ruling on the point raised by Mr. Neavc at Wellington, whereupon Mr. Crooke, S.M., directed that the whole of the evidence should be read over to the accused. Counsel for the accused stated that as far as he was concerned he had no desire to have the evidence read over again. The accused had already heard it read over to the witnesses themselves, and if it were of any use he would undertake that the omission to repeat the reading would not be raised in the higher Court. Much as he would like to, the Magistrate failed to see, in view of the recent developments at Wellington, how he could waive the useless repetition. "Supposing," lie remarked, "the presiding Judge asks the question whether the evidence has been read over to the accused?" The reading over of the evidence to the accused was accordingly inflicted on the Court, and a few minutes later the farce had to be repeated in another case arising out of the same set of circumstances, in which the witnesses' depositions were the same as in the preceding case referred to. "''ln order to please Mr. Neave," as the Magistrate put it.

MOUNTAIN CLIMBING. Mr. H. W, Baxter, of Egmont Villain, writes again anent the above, and in the course of his letter he says: —"1 do not confuse Mr. C'ollis' committee with the gentlemen who are standing behind the new hostelry, nor, I think, does anyone else who is interested in this matter. I am also quite aware that his committee have always been short of funds. But surely Mr. C'ollis will admit that his committee, has spent much money, time nnd trouble in providing for the comfort and convenience of climbers, and that the provision made for their safety has proved inadequate. In his plan for a wire rope leading out of the crater, he, has already tacitly admitted the present inadequacy. Furthermore., no reasonable person will expect the committee to erect a telephone line out of its ordinary funds. An appeal to the public must he made, and past experience should make the committee confident of the public's response. Mr. Collis' reasons for not installing a telephone, strike me as singularly futile. We will suppose that climbers in trouble, have reached the telephone, and telephoned for help. 'Knowing that they could not lose connection with the telephone, line, would they, if still capable of further descent, be likely to lie still and freeze, while awaiting rescue? And now suppose climbers incapable, from exhaustion or physical injury, of unaided descent: of what use would Mr. Collis' wire rope be to them? A party of two or three climbers might quite imaginably be unable to convey an injured member to safety without assistance from the house, and here let me suggest that Mr. Collis' own wire rope, if provided with an insulated core, could be turned in a telephone line at any time that the financial position allowed of such an improvement. I was sorry to note that Mr. Collis' remarks contained no reference to the St. Bernard dogs. The omission was probably accidental, but. if not, I trust that the mere novelty of the idea will not tempt Mr. Collis or his colleagues to treat it with levity or indifference. If they do, they will commit a, serious error. In conclusion, I wish to say that at no time have 1" intended to impute to the committee any culpable neglect, but only ordinary human fallibility, and that. I think, will be the general view of all those who wish to sec better safeguards provided."

PATEA'S LIMITATIONS. Mr. Walter Powdivll, chairman of the Patea "Freezing Works, is urging the settlers of Southern Taranaki to allow their properties to be pledged as security for a big loan to put the Patea river port in a safe condition. Whilst many of our South Taranaki friends have been assuring the deluded folk up this way. who have gone in for a progressive policy in regard to the port at Moturoa. that Patea. fully meets their requirements, and that it is really no fault of the river itself that, accidents to shipping occur there with such distressing frequency, Mr. Powdrell now "lets the cat out of the hag." Hear him: "During the month of January the Patea Freezing Works put nearly as much stock through for the month as the works did for the whole of last season, employing, with the nine butchers, about 40 hands. Had we the facilities to get our meat away, with the stock offering we could have employed nine more butchers with very little more expenditure in buildings, thus

giving employment to another 40 men, | not mentioned the additional boats and] men required to handle the increased I output. At the present time we have I 150 casks of tallow and sundries, as well as several hundred hides, lying on the wharf and in the works awaiting ship- j ■ment. In other words, for several months ' we have had from £IOOO to £ISOO worth of our produce awaiting shipment when our capital was badly needed in other channels. At the present time the freezing works are Mocked with meat awaiting boats. Year after year the farmer complains about the delay in getting his wool away, missing sales, etc., and to my knowledge much wool, cheese and meat is railed away from instead of to Patea, If Patea did as other places—Wanganui. New Plymouth and Waitara—did and borrowed £-10,000. their interest would be roughly 12000. or probably £2 per ratepayer using the port, and this allowing that no revenue was earned from endowments, wharfage dues, etc. All factories, the, freezing works, and, in fact, every farmer would lie prepared to pay increased dues if lie got regular service, but under the present conditions the port is almost, if not quite, valueless to a precarious business like a freezing works. At present we are railing all our meat to Wellington, and unless something is done very shortly we intend to pay the increased rate and ship on the ocean liner through Wanganui. when we will get a guaranteed service. The increased cost will be borne by I he farmer, because he is afraid of a direct tax in the shape of a small rate, and which is very problematical whether .he would ever be called on to pay." The Patea Freezing Company need not labor under the present difficulties much longer. Very soon, this year, we believe, the Home liners will be berthing at Moturoa. and instead of paying the coastal shipping charges, etc., the company could send their supplies direct to Moturoa. and effect a big saving. "You provide the cargo and we'll provide the ships," said the London manager of the Shaw. Savill and Albion Co. when be was here. The Patea Freezing Company could, with advantage to themselves, help us to provide the cargo.