STRATFORD NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 227, 13 February 1913, Page 3

STRATFORD NEWS.

[ (I'Vom Our Resident Reporter), I MJKISTILr.IAL VISIT UJa'UTA'I'IOXS AT bTRATFORD. The lion. W. 11. Hemes, Minister of Railways, was let nil" lightly lit Stratford. Tin; spokesmen of the deputations which waited on him wore eonimendablv brief and to the point. The member for the district, Mr. J. I!. Hine, M.P., extended a hearty welcome to the Minister upon his first visit to Stratford, and then introduced His Worship the Mayor, who supplemented the welcome and got to business. J\lr. Kirkwood reminded the lion, gentleman that he was in a town which believed in helping itself as fast as possible, but there wen? some works which were the duty of tin 1 State to carry out. One of I hose was the Stratford-Te Koura railway, connecting the Wollington-Xew Plymouth and Wellington-Auckland main lines. This work was of the utmost importance to the settlers and to the town of Stratford. In this district we were all dependent on the land, and the interests of the town were wrapped up in the interests of the men on the land. That was why the people of Stratford, and their representatives on the Borough Council and Chamber of Commerce took such a particular interest in pressing for the earliest possible completion o f the line, and why they now asked the Minister what were the intentions of the Government in the matter. They ! also asked for some information concerning the minimum number of men to be employed. They recognised as reasonable the fact that the state of the Dominion's finances necessitated shortening hands. They realised also that Mr. Herrios was not the responsible Minister, but he was on the spot, and they asked him to bring the representations of the deputation under the notice of his colleagues. Stratford, he added, was the outlet of this vast country, and they asked for an assurance that the line would be pushed on with reasonable vigor. It was. perhaps, the important unfinished line in the Dominion at the present time. Mr. YV. TT. IT. Young, representing the Chamber of Commerce, also referred to the great importance of the line, and pointed out that the whole of the settlement of the district being traversed by the western section of the line, and to be traversed for many miles vet. had been effected from this end. The settlers had worked in from this end. and they got most of their merchandise and all their young live stock from here. The townspeople naturally wished to maintain that business connection; hence the necessity for pushing on with the ) line. I The Minister said this was a matter! for the Minister of Public Works, who | Would doubtless be making a visit dur- f ing the present recess to all the lines under construction. He could give them { no assurance, except that the Cabinet' recognised the line as one of the most 1 important in the Dominion. He would ' not say it was the most important, "for J T represent the Tlast Coast, and I have a I line there which I consider of the ul- ] most importance. The Government re- I cognise that the Stratford-Oakura line j must be completed, but he could not say i in what time. They were endeavoring j to alter the whole of the Dominion's | financial arrangements, doing away with .' short-dated debentures, which had a j habit of falling due when they wore not wanted., The whole public works policy of this country depended on its finance. If the Government was successful in obtaining money, public works would be prosecuted with vfgor. He believed in opening up the back country, which would be better for the country than the expenditure of public money in the erection of buildings in settled localities. He agreed with the Minister of Public Works that even if there was a shortage there must he an active roading policy, for the road was more important than the rail. Concluding, he expressed the opinion that this line was of prime im- ) portance to the Dominion. I STRATFORD MATTERS.

Mr. J. 15. Richards, secretary of the j Chamber of Commerce, referred to the inconvenience and dan<rcr to the public . arising fvom the fact, that, owing to the . position of the Stratford railway sta- I lion, it was necessary for rollinft-stock to , be shunted across Kenton and .Regan J streets. -He stressed the point, that there was usually an engine working at Fen- J ton street 'when the 732 school children j . were dismissed from the school just close ) ' by. A very big majority of those chil-] i dren had to cro-s the line. In answer I to requests of local people, the Department had erected warning hells at the crossings, but something more was needed. He hoped it would not need a serious accident or a fatality to cause further safeguards to be instituted. It was not for him, he said, to suggest whether a subway at each crossing, or an island platform, would best overcome the dilliculty. Mr. Richards mentioned that it was inconvenient to have to travel right round the block to reach the goods shed, which was only a few yards j from the main street, but unapproach- I able from that side owing to the railway ) inlc veiling. He bad intended speaking of the necessity for a fence to hide some unsightly buildings and back yards in the railway leaseholds, but he was assured that that matter was being attended to. He asked win lher the Department would level and •' iss the spare bit of ground near Rep- ■ street, and said that if that were ' ne arrangewould be made to k '" the grass cut v ; th a mower. The Hon. Minister said V- ''nee was liccpssavv. and in.--t ruction- id been "iven to erect it. As for !' nation, ho was advised bv his respr hie olliccrs than an island platform is impracticable here, owing to w -t of room. The onlv alternatives were to shift the station 'out from its prescu: site, which would probably not be acceptable to Urn resident-. or for I he Through Council to put. in the subways spoken of. This was I not a work for the liaiiwav Department, but thev would raise no objection to the Council' doing it. Owing to want of room, thev could only adopt the long platform here, with "scissors" points. , It might happen that in future timetables the crossing of trains would take place at some other place, which would reduce the danger to street traffic. He mentioned that the present railway station was verv conveniently situated, and there would doubtless he objections to moving it. The Ministerial party visited the St. rat-ford-Toh ok nra section of the railway yesterday. A deputation headed by Mr. Coxhead! of Wbangamomona. asked for an improved train service beyond Pohokura. Mr. TTcrries said he understood the line would be through to WhangalTiomona in about nine months. The settlers very positively stated it would not. whereupon the Minister promised to look into the matter on his return to Wellington. PERSONAL Mr. P. Rennie. of the local telegraph staff, leaves on Monday for Wellington, having been selected to go into the school of telegraphy. A verv popular official, always courteous and obliging. Mr. Rennie will carry with him the good

I wishes of thoso having regular <]<> a with the Post Office. I Mr. T. Laverty. of Iho Warwick road, leaves next Wednesday on a tr ; ;> to the Old Country. Mr. and Mr?. W. Fid. r arc >pi>ii(iiiiu; a week's holidiy in Ntw Plymouth. The Hon. W. TT. TTcrries mentioned on Tuesday night that he first visited Taranaki about thirty years ago, as a landseeker. But the £5 or £lO an acre asked for land or! the Wnimate Plains seemed so ridiculously high—to-day it it woidd be ridiculously low—that he did not buy. Mr. K. S.' Cole, one of Stratford's early business men, has been on a short visit to Stratford. "Teddy" was warmly welcomed by the old-timers, whose ranks are steadily thinning. CROQUET The Tnglcwood and Stratford Croquet Clubs played a match on the local club's lawns on Tuesday, resulting in a win for the Stratford Club by 41 points. The following are the scores:— Doubles.—A Irani: Mesdanie* Curtis and Riera. 28, beat Mesdames Hamerton and Howarth, 22: Mesdames Munro and Dingle. 28. beat Mesdames Jacomb and Roberts, 11. 1! team: Mesdames Black and Fulton, 28, beat Mesdames Winfield and < ('Carroll. 22; Miss Riera and Mrs. Prentis. 28. beat Miss Johnston and Mrs. Orbell, 17. Singles.—A team: Mrs. Curtis, 27. lost to Mrs. llamerton, 28; Mrs. Riera, 28, beat Mrs. llowartb, 4; Mrs. Munro. 12, lost to Mrs. Jacomb, 28: Mrs. Dingle, 28, beat Mrs. Roberts. 11.' B team: Mrs. Black, 14. lost to Mrs. Winfield, 28; Mrs. Fulton, 17, lost to Mrs. O'Carroll, 28; Miss Riera, 28, beat Miss Johnston, 10; Mrs. Prentis, 4, lost to Mrs. Orbell, 11. Totals. Stratford, 270; Inglewood, 229. In each ease Stratford names are mentioned first. STRAY PARAGRAPHS Thirty-three dairy cows, at £2O a bead! Certainly it pays to keep good co\vs. This line was the property of Mr. W. H. Fen wick, at Waipuku, and Mr. Newton King sold them to a Palmerston North buyer. The cows are a nice lot of grade Jerseys. Mr. Walter Sparwath. formerly of the Red Post, has opened a furniture shoj. south of the bridge. The few specimens of his work placed on view speak volumes for his skill and knowledge of the cabinet-making trade. BERNARD'S PICTURES-TO-NIGHT Stupendous programme to-night. "A Moonshiner's Heart" (an Essanay feature) is a typical Western drama, with a pleasing plot, told in the rough and ready style characteristic of the West. The Kalem Company's ''Apache Renegade" is an Indian subject of the first water, the production of which entailed the active participation of hundreds of men and hundreds of horses. In one particularly fine scene, scores of settlers, with innumerable waggons, are depicted on trek across the American prairies. "His Fate's Rehearsal" is of a more subtle nature. In "Forgiven in Death" (an Essanay drama) the depth of human feeling and sentiment is reached, to the accompaniment of some superb acting. The scenic side is the strongest it. has been for some considerable time past. It eomurises a magnificent range of subjects in the shape of 'The Marshes of Oristaua" (Sardinia). "A Visit to Danzig" (fiermany). and "The Defence of ihu Dardanelles."