STRATFORD NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 222, 19 March 1914, Page 3

STRATFORD NEWS.

STRATFORD COUNTY COUNCIL. The usual monthly meeting of tin Council was held on Wednesday. Present: Crs. W. Hatha way (chairman) Jas. Thomson, John Smith, W. Rogers' E. Walter, T. R. Anderson, J. R Young' J. Christoffel and W. H. Were

ENGINEER'S REPORT. ■ Mr. E. C. Robinson, County Engineer reported that Mr. Skedgwell had not had his drain cleared out as notified. The bridges at Puniwhakau township and Pum creek needed repairs and reS lng ' t,le former squiring about 7000 superficial feet of timber, and the latter 4000. The necessary telephone

instruments for the connection of Cardiff Cottage had been ordered. The Railway Department had been twice applied to for trucks for metal from Skinner road, to Huiroa, but none were available. The foot suspension bridge over Patea, river on Bird road was completed. The water-way under Waipuku bridge had been straightened. Maintenance, painting, cleaning and screwing up work to the Wainogongoro anl Mangatoki bridges on the Opunake road had been completed, and the Winsrorc road bridge work is now to be put in hand Approaches to the small bridge on Makuri road east had been installed and other matters attended to as instructed The plans for the Stanley road bridge were in hand, and with! specifications would be submitted to the ' Government for approval. ' I

The chairman urged that in view of the present state of finances if the heavy expense of a new bri.lge could he postponed, it would be advisable to take that course, as the Council was reallv working on overdraft, and a curtailment would be necessary somewhere. Cr. Young urged the work being done at once but, after some dicsussion, he moved that the Puni creek bridge work be held over for a month.—Carried It wag decided to call tenders for the liimwnakau township bridge. It was decided to compensate Mr Brown for work done, by him On the motjon of Cr. Thomson, a vote of thanks was accorded to the Minister and the member for the district m relation to the grant of £2OO for the Bird road bridge. In reply to Cr. Christoffcl, the engineer stated there was no concrete material within miles of the bridge. Ho »? ~d. »? t sa y °fr-hand what would be the difference in cost between wood and concrete.

CORRESPONDENCE. A letter was read from Mr. Peter Moratti, Midhirst, thanking v the Council for th e work done on the Radnor l king for e w ° r "t Piece (Which had been left) to be taken in najd, as it was dangerous to horses. A letter was read from another settler urging the grant of a further £lO for work on the Rogers moved lor a grant of £7.-Carried. DEPUTATION TO MINISTER. The Stratford Chamber of Commerce wrote asking the Council to appoint a delegate to join the deputation to the Minister of Railways in connection with matters dealt with at the last meeting of the Chamber (alrwdv reported). It was decided that the West Riding mem. hers be appointed to represent the Council on the joint deputation pion.otcd by the Chamber of Commerce. After some discussion as to waitin" upon the Minister on Thursday rehv live to obtaining trucks for rarriK-e of j meteU it was decided that the, ami Cr. \\ erp wai , , p(m tJle Minist| , r of Railways and urge the matter on his ! atteition.

FLINT ROAD. Tlie Mayor of Stratford unci Cr. King , waited on the Council relative to the ! Flint road east., which was stated to ke in very bad order. The Mayor-) stated that if arrangements could iw • made between the Council and the i Borough for putting the road in order, it would be u great benefit. i fn reply to the chairman, the Mayor stated that the cost would be under £IOO. ' j The Engineer considered it would be | necessary to rip tlie whole road up. : kreak up the larger boulders that were I there, and put on a light layer of new J metal. He doubted if the work could : ke done for £IOO, which was onlv ' about £1 a chain. £25 was voted towards repairing tinroad. , ROAD WORKS. Cr. Were brought up the question of repairs to the Makuri west and Ahuroa roads. In relation to the former, the Bngineer was instructed to do the best he could. As to the latter, the engineer stated that the only sensible method was to reinstate the whole road—two miles. The Chairman: We had better put the shutters up. Cr. Wood moved that tenders be at once called for a sufficient supply of boulders from the Toko stream to metal the road. The motion was carried by the casting vote of the chairman. GENERAL. A letter was read relative to an unsatisfactory drain at Douglas.—lt was decided to send a copy of the letter to the district health officer. The Engineer's action in making a formal claim on the Consolidated Oilfields Company was approved, the chairman stating that the Council vould endeavor to the best of its ability to pet the money. Provided trucks were available, the Engineer was authorised to call for tender* {or metal on tmcks. Authority was given to the Engineer to prepare plans and specifications in connection with expenditure of Government grants. Mr Budge was appointed to act for the Council as a member of the Assessment Court in connection with the revaluing of the district. At the conference re toll gates to be held at Eltham on the 21st inst., the chairman and Cr. Christoffel will represent the Council, RESIGNATIONS. Crs. Walters and Were handed in their resignations. Cr. Smith moved that the resignations be received with regret.' Cr. Young seconded the motion, which was carried after several councillors had expressed regret at the action taken by the councillors in question. The Engineer handed in his resignation. Cr. Thomson expressed his regret, and hoped the Engineer would reconsider his decinoß. The Chairman said had he known that had been comine he vvouM have resigned himself.

FEC 1:1 cor: RESIDENT REPORTER. Office and Job Printing Works: York Chambers (upstairs) Telephone No. 113.

I rofsn, ti i gneer had Hs km on , the chairman expressed his regict at the course taken, statin.- that it was never expected the Engineer could After the chairman had inquired if the Engmeer woujd reconsider his decision Mr Robinson replied in the negative mating be could not see Im way to take any other course. I After some further remarks the resignation was accepted with regret, Cr. Thomson paying a high tribute of praise to Mr Robinson, and express™ the opinion that the Council was losing an i «ld ami faithful sevant, and the chairman stating that the blow was the worst of the lot. | Accounts amounting to £1419 lid ' were passed for payment, and the Coun- i cil adjourned at 6.30 p.m.

CORRESPONDENCE. ; Mr J. B. Hine, M.P., wrote forwarding aj letter from the Minister for Public Works, stating he had approved of j a grant of £2OO for the A'huroa bridge • but could not see his wav to approve of i a grant for Te Popo bridge. Messrs. John O'Neill and N, A. Brown wrote cancelling their consent to the proposed Pukengahu Road loan, and requesting the erasure of their names from the petition' to the Council.— } cceded From A. G. Rutherford, Huiroa, statI mg that the pegs just placed by the surj vcyor showed his building a' few feet : over the fence line. With the Council's : permission, he would erect a fence, leav- i ing a chain road, and leave the half- | chain on Section 3, Block IX., Ngati- , i maru S.D..

) Cr. Were explained that Mr Ruther- j ford had only allowed for a chain road, ( but the road had been pegged as a chain s I and arhalf. road. ! : It was decided that Mr Rutherford be j allowed, at his own risk, to encroach £ for a quarter of a chain on the road. c the fence to be removed at the pleasure 1 of the Council. Mr. Geo. Young wrote re neglect of \ noxious weds on a section on the Pern-' { broke road, stating he was suffering f from the neglect to destroy blackberry, ragwort, and Californian thistle.—lt was decided to send a copy of the letter " to the Noxious Weeds Inspector. t From the Stratford Chamber of Com- 8 merce, asking co-operation in the action a taken by the Chamber for urging the a establishment of Supreme Court sittings a at Stratford.—The request was compljed £ with. ' t

SCHOOL COMMITTEE ■ The usual monthly meeting of the District High School Committee was held on Tuesday night. Present: Messrs. P. Skoglund (chairman), G. Smart, J. McMillan, J. Jones and E. W. Hancock. ! REQUIREMENTS. With reference to the headmaster's residence and the playground, the chairman reported that the Minister had been interviewed, and, had admitted that the playground space ' was hardly sufficient. He promised that something should be done. It was decided to write to the Board requesting it to obtain the Minister's views. The chairman reported on the cost ••if asphalting the courtyard betweeen t'.ic two schools. He stated that lit had ou•tained an estimate both for grading and asphalting, the former being £7 lis, and the latter £54, making a total of about £O2. Some discussion took nlace as to tV* advisability of leaving the work for tile incoming committee, but it was considered important that something s-liou'd be done at onee. It was decided to call for tenders for grading, gravelling and patching, leaving the asphalting to be considered by the incoming committee. Reference was made to the unsatisfactory results from the present stoves, and it»was decided to ask tho Board to have all the stoves 1 altered so as to correspond with the stove in the High Schoool. HEADMASTER'S REPORT.

The headmaster reported that the I work of the school was proceeding satI isfactorily. He had found considerable I-difficulty in organising the year's work ' of the secondary department. 'He had suggested for the consideration of the inspectors a scheme for making advanced rural work possible, and if the scheme ! were adopted an additional iimior as- | sitant teacher would be appointed and the rural course carried on to the stan- : dard required for the Civil Service Senior examination. In connection with the technical classes the first four nights ' of the mechanical course would include I the study of oil engines principles of 2 and 4-cycle and Deisel oil-engines, design , and manafacture of modern oil engines—- , running and testing to get the most eco- . nomioal results—carburetters and oil engine accessories. The other nielits will be devoted to principles involved in generation of steam, different kinds of boil- ; ers, reciprocating engines, their construcj tion and operation. Drawings will be I made each night from actual models. The instructor, Mr. Kirkpatrick, knew Ms subject well and was gaining an eni viable reputation. The commercial worii ' would he that required for the Public Service entrance examination. The ''.:• structor, Mr. Duff, was highly qualified, and was doing very good work in the . classes at New Plymouth. The instructress for the dressmaking classes, Miss Bell had English qualifications, and came 'to the district with high recommendations. A part of the school ground, adjoining the asphalt, required covering i witli two or three inches of gravel.—The report was adopted. Accounts were passed for payment aal I the committee adjourned.

I BERNARD'S PICTURES. ' An exceptionally interesting selection of films, grave and gay, scenic, educational and entertaining, was screened at Bernard's popular theatre last nipht, j>with the change of programme. The . chief attraction, "The Fall of Constan- | tinople," is a fine historical picture dealing with the downfall of a peat city ' which was at one time a power in the | world. It deals exhaustively with all the causes that led up to the downfall of the Emperor Constantino, without in any way approaching the confines of the /merely' historical, for the scenes of \ battle' and the violent assault oif;" , city are plainly portrayed in a realistic ' manner. As an historical drama it takes rank with "Quo Vadns?" and as ■ an example of the topmost pinnacle of the art of the movinc picture fllm, it is • without equal. The supporting programme is an strong one, embracing all classe of pictures

dealing with a variety of subjects. As a whole the programme is well worth the attention of moving-picture devotees of the must e.vaeting tastes.

TOWN HALL PICTURE j Great interest is being taken in the fine assortment of films which make i.p the current programme at the Town Hall pictures, and large audiences continue to patronise this popular place of entertainment. "The Toll of Fear" especially is exciting much admiration as one of the most attractive pictures of its class ever screened in Stratford. The supporting programme is a strong one. GENERAL *here seems to be an idea prevalent I that if school committees are nrudent and conserve their funds. a balance in hand may be prejudicial to obtaining a grant from the Education Board for some special requirement. A long experience of the Taranaki Board's policy, however, does not justify that assumption, for there has always been a commendable desire on the part of that body 'to help those committees who help themselves.

With reference to the paragraph in yesterday's issue as to the trip of t'n Editor of the Auckland "Herald" through the Ohura country to the Main Trunk line it looks as if the puoished accounts of the tours made by' the New Plymouth and Stratford Chambers of Commerce have aroused the attention of the city of the north, and that Auckland is after the spoils. A photo-: grapher accompanied Mr Lane, so that some of the magnificent scenery whi:h I has already been noted will probably be the subject of the illustrated papers. Although the election of the sclnol | committee does not take place until I April 20, the question of who was going to stand again was made the subject of parting gossip at the committee's meeting on Tuesday evening. It would -,1-most most seem as if a lack of interest was anticipated, bu,t this, in view of Stratford having the largest school in the district, would certainly be neither desirable, nor in keeping with the importance of the school. In addition to this, the occasion is one when the parents and householders can show their appreciation of the splendid results achieved by the headmaster and his efficient staff bo that it is to be hoped there will be a large fnstead of a small muster on the occasion.

Your photograph will please them all —some of your friends have been expecting one for a long time—don't be satisfied with one taken years ago. just as you are to-day, in your everyday attire. Having your portrait taken is as pleasant as an informal call on good friends. Make an appointment to-day with Mr. McAlister, Stratford. Eight sticks of dark Haveloek tobacco for 6s; eight sticks of Derby, 6s; eight 2oz tins Haveloek, 7s 6d; eight 2oz tins Derby, 7s Cd. These are specimen prices from Stan. Sharp's stock of smokers' requisites. Next Bellringert, Stratford. There is no questioning the fact that "The Kash" is the best place in Stratford for men to supply their clothing and mercery wants. Quality and priee tell their own unequalled story in favor of the store.