STRATFORD NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 278, 16 April 1913, Page 3

STRATFORD NEWS.

FROM OUR RESIDENT REPORTER.

Office iind Job Printing Works: Next N.Z. Loan & Mercantile Agency Co., Broadway. Telephone Xo. 113.

t:o bo finally dealt with in the near future.

Lighting.—Tenders have been accepted for the erection of 20 new lights, equally distributed in the northern and southern portions of the Borough sanctioned bv the Council, and these should be ready to be lit this month. This will mean an additional expenditure on street lighting for the ensuing year of £39 for lamps, and £fll for light, a total altogether of £l3O.

Road roller. —Several streets have been scarified and rolled during the year, and the quality of these streets ills been very much improved. With a proper supply of stones the streets can still be further improved. The Council has placed on record a recommendation to the incoming Countil to purchase a crusher. With the roller and crusher the Council will lie able to obtain as much crushed metal as it requires. The cost of a new crusher will be about £4OO. Presuming the Council crushes 2000 yards per annum, we would with our own plant save £SO per annum, more than sufficient to pay interest and upkeep. In my opinion now that tarred macadam has proved a success, the Council should also consider the purchase of a tar sprayer.

Finance. —The voar closed with a loss on the General Account of £420. Against this must be set the value of the additions to the plant, and other permanent work, which it was fotmd nrcessarv to complete during the year. Road roller, £725 18s fid; Fire Brigade nlc.nt, £10!) Is 4d: repairs to buildings, .£123 10s 3d. and Miranda Street drain, £!!0, are four items totalling £IO4B 10s Id,, which had to be provided out of revenue.- Wc had also on hand at 31st March about 300 vards of broken metal valued at about £IOO. Taking all these matters into consideration the financial result is a matter for congratulation. The overdraft at 31st March 1912 was fl 013, and at. 31st March 1913 was £2130, an increase of £520. The difference between the loss on the General Account and the increase in the overdraft is accounted for in the decreased credit balance N on Old Cemetery Account, Water Account, and the various Interest Accounts.

O'punakn Railway—Efforts tto obtain the inaction of this railway at Stratford have not relaxed. The Prime Minister and Minister of Public Works have advised that the Government have not yet "tleoided the oucstion, so there is still reason to believe that this matter, of great importance to the Borough, may ,yet be decided'in our favour, to the advantage of the district generally. General.—ln conclusion, I wish to express my appreciation to the various members of the Council's staff for the eheerful mannr in which they fulfilled the extra duties imposed upon them by the conspiration of the loan proposals, and for the loval support accorded me /it all times. To the Councillors also I wish to express my gratitude for their invariable courtesy, and to thank them . f,, r the manner in which they fulfilled the duties of an arduous year of office. Cr. King congratulated the Mayor upon his successful conduct of the Council's affairs in a very arduous year. ' The streets would compare more thanI favorably with their condition in any | previous year. .As chairman of the Works Committee he was able to speak highly of the overseer and workmen. He supported the system of employing such an overseer in preference to a working foreman, and mentioned that Mr. Sullivan had saved the Council man?; pounds during the preparation of the recfent loan proposals. Cr. King said he had not yet decided whether to stand again for the Council, but he hoped the Mayor would come forward again, for he had the confidence of the Council and of the majority of the ratepayers. He eulogised the Mayor for his conduct, of the Council's meetings and the Council's business, and said lie had "never enjoyed himself so much before." Cr. King also eulogised the town clerk, who was as good a town clerk as the borough had ever had. Tie praised Mr, Skoglund for the manner in, which he had worked and studied, until now he was quite at home in municipal law, and » conversant with all the-business of the Council. The : whole' s-tafly he considered, was deserving of praise.

The Mayor concurred in all that had been said about the'overseer, and added that he had been one of the councillors who had voted for the .appointment of a man as overseer' who was more' than a working foreman; Mr. Sullivan, though not a certificated engineer, had a great knowledge of the requirements of a place like Stratford, which he considered had outgrown the ''coat-off foreman" stage. He trusted that at least some of the present councillors would be returned at the forthcoming elections. As far as 'was at present known, Cr. Healy was the only one who had definitely decided to retire. His Worship took the opportunity of speaking his appreciation of the services rendered to the ratepayers bv Cr. Heal)'. He regretted very much that Mr. Healy was not coming forward again. After- referring to the attendance roll of councillors (published yesterday) His Worship said its compilation and publication should tend to keep councillors up to the mark. Concluding, he expressed the hope that the best citizens would allow themselves to be nominated, as it was i in the best interests of the borough that | the best talent available should comprise the Council. Cr. Healy returned thanks for the Mayor's remarks and for the courtesy ever extended to him. Candidly, he felt his impending severance with the Council, of which he had been a member for nearly five years, during which time he had missed only one meeting of the Council. But he had other duties cast upon him, which made it impossible for him to give the requisite time to- municipal matters. He pointed out that the work of a borough councillor, properly performed, took up a great deal of a man's time. He concluded by thanking the town clerk and the overseer for their courtesy and assistance.

The Mayor also referred to the efficiency of th 6 town clerk, who, he considered, was well qualified for a city clerk's position. Cr. Morison followed on the lines of C'r. King's remarks.

Cr. Dingle said tliat the staff had done its best, and had done good work, but lie was opposed to the employment of a "coat-on" overseer. Though Mr. Sullivan had done good work, and saved the Council a good deal of money whilst preparing the loan scheme, he believed that a man would be better employed 011 the streets, in taking levels, etc. He considered ilr. Sullivan an excellent man, hut more fitted for work in a larger town, controlling a larger staff. Cr. Boon had a different opinion. The overseer was the right man in the right place. With a steam road roller, and a crusher to come, the town must have an engineer or overseer fit to control the whole of the works. Mr. Sullivan would he particularly 'useful when the time came for duplicating the water mains. He remarked that it had cost the Council ;CS9 to check part of Mr. Sullivan's

STRATFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL

ORDINARY MEETING.

The ordinary meeting of the Borough Council was held 011 Monday evening. Present: His Worship the Mayor (Mr. W. P. Kirkwood), and Crs. N. J. King. T. Lawson, R. Dingle, J. W. Boon. J. D. Healv and R. McK. Morison. ADVERTISING TARANAKI.

A circular letter was received from Mr. B. Richards, secretary to the committee, interested in promoting a Taranaki court at the Auckland Exhibition. The letter asked the Council to contribute £lO towards the cost.

The Mayor moved that the request be acceded to, and that the Council vote £lO to the funds. He considered the amount a small one.

111 answer to Cr. Dingle, the Mayor said the scale of contrbutions had been arranged on the assumption that all the local bodies in Taranaki would contribute. He had noticed that certain county councils had "turned down" the proposals. The Mayor said it was a great pity that this had been done. The Auckland Exhibition would present an opportunity that would not occur again for some years for advertising Taranaki. Cr. Healv asked a question, and was assured that if the scheme were gone 011 with, even without all the local bodies contributing, .this Council would not be liable to any more than £lO. Cr. Healv seconded the motion.

Cr. King said he would oppose it. Auckland, he continued, had not asked their opinion when they decided to hold this exhibition. Now that they had got it going, and were getting short of funds, they came to Stratford for help.

Cr. Healv: Who said they were short?

Cr. King: "Charity begins at home." He went on to say that frequently the Council had to decline to give their own ratepayers very necessary expenditure, because there were no funds. He reckoned that they should help their own ratepayers first, and leave the Auckland Exhibition to run itself. As far as he could remember, the Canterbury people had not made this appeal to local bodies for assistance, but had done the whole of the financing themselves. He supposed that if we had a Taranaki court at this exhibition, some people might look at our butter and cheese, but whether any 1 benefit would accrue to the district was a moot point. For his own part he though this £lO of the ratepayers' money, given to the Auckland Exhibition, would be wasted.

Cr. Healv: But we are not giving £lO to the Auckland Exhibition.

The Mayor: We get a quid pro quo. Replying to Cr. Dingle, he said that Taranaki had tentatively applied for splice. It was generally admitted now that , judicious advertising was well wbrthy of consideration by any town or district. This court would be seen bv all who attended the exhibition; and would benefit us. The £lO was voted. SUNDRY MATTERS.

The tender of Mr. C. .T, Wickham for use of advertising hoardings was accepted. It was decided tfo put in a crossing at Mr. Newton King's new garage andwareliouse in Fenton street.

Requests for footpaths were referred to the. Estimates Committee.

The borough inspector was instructed to act on the health officer's recommendation re premises in Broadway. .The Council decided to contribute £4 to the fund for improving the'road to the Stratford Mountain House.

THE MAYOR LOOKS BACK. A RECORD OF WORK DONE.

The Mayor, Mr. W. P. Kirk wood, read the following review of the year's municipal work.;—

The consideration of the loan proposals occupied a great deal of the Council's attention during the past year, no fewer that 20 special meetings being held for this purpose, in addition to the ordinary monthly meetings. A poll on the loan proposals was taken on the H)th March, the result being that the four proposals were riegaitived by the ratepayers. Although it was not generally anticipated that the whole of the loan proposals would be carried, it is, I think, a matter for regret that the water and drainage issues were rejected. Building permits to the value of £13,400 were issued during the year, -thus showing the town to be steadily progressing. \Vit.h the steady increase in building, naturally comes the demand for better means' of arcess on the various streets.

Valuation of the Borougli.- : The new valuation came into force on the Ist April, 1912, "Wild shows an increase in the capital value of £146,000. and in unimproved value of £50,000. The capital value has increased during the year bv £13,000, the amount of the building permits. Reserves.—Revenue from reserves increased during the year by £440.

Town Hall.—The revenue from the Town Hall shows a falling ofl' of £(io. The establishment of a permanent picturn show in the town seems to have affected small travelling theatrical companies, fewer of these visiting the town as compared with previous years. The larger companies do not patronise our town to the same extent as formerly, and although several reasons have been advanced for this, nothing in concrete form, has been stated by the large theatrical firms as reasons for not showing here. We now have to relv chiefly on local shows for revenue. The loss on the Town Hall during the year was £137. Against this amount can be set an item of £2.i for new scenery, and £lB for more seating accommodation. Abattoir.—For the period ending 31st March, the following stock were slaughtered:—Cows. 74T; heifers, 200: oxen, 171; calves. 3(1; sheep, 2803; lambs, 030; pigs. 367; tripes prepared, 476. Librarv and Rew ling Room.—The Reading Room continues to be well patronised. Subscriptions to the Library show a slight reduction for the year, but since the Library h<ts been improved an improvement in the number of subscribers lias been shown. A number of valuable reference books have been added to the shelves durin"' the year, and arrangements have been made with a London firm to supply regularly each week a good class of novel. Fire prevention—The Brigade still continues to maintain its high state of efficiency. It was found necessary during the year to provide new plant, and £10!) was spent in this direction. In next year's estimates should be included a. sum for providing a plug in Victoria Park for practises, Cemeteries.—The old cemetery has been placed in first-class order, Tn the future it will be attended to when re[ini red bv one of the Council'* workmen instead of employing a custodian. Water Supply.—Applications for connections and extensions continue to come in freely. The question of improving the pressure and the quality of thn water has 'exercised the minds of the Councillors durinir the pnst voar. Tim is a matter which renuires 'the serious attention of the Council, and will have

drainage scheme, and no alteration had J been made. j The Mayor stated his intention of] again standing for the mayoralty. J His Worship and the town clerk were) in turn requested to leave the room. The Mayor's usual honorarium of £SO was voted, and Mr. Skoglimd uv.s voted a bonus of ten guineas in rivoyitilion- of his extra duties so ably carried out in connection with the recent loan si-hemc. STRAY PARAGRAPHS Firewood is becoming almost unprocurable. The Stratford Dairy Factory is still wanting 100 cords. The Stratford abattoirs will probably have to burn coal this winter. The Saturday half-holiday petition is definitely "down and out." There were 18 eligible signatories short. One petition, bearing 40 or 50 names, was not lodged. Wonder why? Mr. O. A. Wilkinson is to again represent us on the New Plymouth Harbor Board. Good man, too. Kaponga and Stratford Rifle Clubs meet at Stratford on Thursday. On dit that the extra stove is to be provided at the infant school. Wonder why no one asked for it before? But "the press is too inquisitive." Big Gun Club shoot on the racecourse to-day. The Rev. ,Spence, until recently Methodist Minister at Palmerston North, but now on furlough, is visiting Stratford, ===== i