The Daily News. THURSDAY, MAY 20, 1915. FOR OUR WOUNDED.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 293, 20 May 1915, Page 4

The Daily News. THURSDAY, MAY 20, 1915. FOR OUR WOUNDED.

The message from his Excellency the (Jovemor to the people of the Dominion, „,, ''lining an appeal to them to have COIK, Oil a share '" lu "- v l ''l u 'Pl im g ll hospital ship 'for 'the conveyance »'" X™ Zealanders from the ui mt to h^Q l">«l»tals,

will be read with the fe : e «t Cßt "ttercst by those to whom it is addre,. ' ' kindly sympathy unci touching woi*.* " condolence which permeate the letter are a trihutr to the goodness of heart of Lord and Lady Liverpool, who have so thoroughly identified themselves, not only with our aspirations, but also with our sorrows. It was a most humane thought that prompted the appeal, and as such should impel the 'people of the Dominion to respond in the same spirit with a liberality worthy of the sacrifices '■' our hoys'' are making on behalf of Xew Zealand, the Empire and the cause they are upholding. The proposal is most happily phrased: "I feel that we should all like to have a share in this work,'' and it is on that ground that the people are asked to assist. There surely oannot be found any one person in the Dominion who at heart will not he in sympathy with this most fitting project. The idea is to procure, lit out and thoroughly equip a hospital ship, so that those of our brave men at the front who may he wounded shall receive the best attention that can be provided. How necessary that is everyone knows. It means the saving of valuable lives, and the relief of grave anxiety of the relatives for those wdio are near and dear to them. We are all asked to assist in equipping this ship for the great services for which she is required. To do so should be esteemed a privilege as well as a duly. The claims of our wounded heroes on our practical sympathy are so great thai the response to I lie appeal is sure to be prompt and generous. "War at the ho-,t of times and under the most favorable circumstances involves tremendous suffering and sacrifices; how much more, then, are these augmented when the foe is as fiendish and brutal as (hat against which we are now contending? We should count our money, however little we have, as nothing when weighed in the scale of duty, or as a, factor in the healing of the wounded. Taranaki has already given freely for other funds connected with (lie consequences of the war, yet we are confident that this fresh opportunity for good work will he eagerly embraced. We shall be only too please,! (o receive and transmit any sum—large or small—thai may be forwarded to this ollice for the Hospital Ship Fund, and lo acknowledge the same from day to day.

r.njiounn i-oax" pkuposata Once again the burgesses of New I'lynioulh are faced with loan proposals which till! I'on.ugh Council has been virtually compelled to formulate in order to curry out works of more or less urgency. To-morrow (Friday) a poll is to be laki-ii on two separate proposalsone of £22,000. nearly half of which is

required for making a good permanent roadway on either side of the tramway track, the remainder being necessary for building a culvert in King Street, a.t :i cost of £1(100, and for other street work that cannot be executed out of revenue, and thi! erection of a destructor at a cost of €I2OO. The other proposal is for £IIOOO, which is intended to defray the cost of new municipal buildings, togetlicr with a museum wherein to house the very valuable collection of curios and historical treasures donated by '.Mr. W. If. Skinner and his sou. The total amount asked for is £28,000, and the aggregate of the rates therefor will amount to fourpence halfpenny in the. pound. Ratepayers should understand that the £22,000 loan proposal will he voted on separately from the £OOOO proposal, so that they are given the oppor-

tuiiity for accepting or rejecting either or both, but before recording their vote they will do well to give the proposals that fair consideration which the peculiar circumstances under which the loans are required demands. There is no question that the present council, through no fault of its own, has to face, two serious problems that can only be. solved by means of further loans. In some instances public bodies decide upon borrowing merely because it is easier to follow along the line of least resistance than to formulate a plan that will avoid the necessity for raising a loan. In the case of the council's present proposals that lax principle does not apply. When the tramway loan proposals were formulated no provision was made for any road work except in relation to the actual tramway track. It seems almost inconceivable that neither the Mayor, for the time being, nor any councillor or member of the borough stall' should have given a thought to the inevitable necessity of providing for the laying down of a permanent and suitable roadway on either side of the tramline. The consulting engineer was doubtless concerned only with the tram construction work, so that he cannot be blamed for the omission, nor at this juncture need there by any concern as to who was responsible. What matters is that the provision was omitted, and the default has now to be made good at an estimated cost of CIO,OOO. This estimate certainly does not err on the

.-'ale of extravagance, for if the work can be done for the money it will be

one of the cheapest and best undertakings that the council has entered into. Wry wisely, however, the proposal does not tie the council down to the £IO,OOO, and the only elfcct of an increase in the cost will be. the lessening of amount available for other street work, which would either have to be postponed for a time or defrayed out of revenue. There can be no gainsaying the absolute necessity of having a thoroughly good road alongside the tram track from Fitzroy to Moturoa. If the loan is turned down, there can only be a. road that will be a. disgrace to the town. It will possibly be negotiable for a while with tlie greatest care, but ere long it would inevitably he rotten from end to end. Such a state of affairs is unthinkable, and we are confident that the burgesses will see the matter is this light. One point is absolutely clear—this road cannot possibly be made out of revenue unless the ratepayers are prepared to burden themselves for several years with oppressive, rates over and above those already provided for. Even so, it would be a suicidal policy, for unless the road is made up as the tramway proceeds it will not only cost far more in the long run, but the tramway track will be so , ~'V injured that the expense of ron." '"'... '--> to a grievously high figure. pairs will n»v '- • " ',„ . ~ •);„, so that the urgent That, is the position, .. " ~ • ii.:,. i, "n should be notessilv of carrying this 10... apparent to all. The ;Cl(iflO for > lle culvert is also urgently needed, though had the stream been diverted some years n«<> as advocated a considerable saving would have been effected. Matters, however, have to be taken as they are, and the removal of a danger in the heart of the town should commend itself to the citizens. With regard to the £OOOO loan for municipal buildings, were it not for the urgent need of a suitable habitat for the Skinner collection, this loan might well have been deferred. Xew Plymouth, so far, has not been blessed with offers by generous benefactors. There have been all sorts of suggestions for housing (his collection, but not one of these is worthy of a moment's consideration, except that on which the biirscsses are asked to vote to-morrow.

The idea of erecting a lean-to at the Ciirnegie Library might well be regarded as little short of an insult to the publicspirited donors. The present municipal offices have long since outlived their purpose, nor can they be improved. They are a standing; disgrace and might well be taken as an evidence that a town which owned and used such an

ancient and dilapidated tenement for its Town Hall was elfete and poverty stricken. We pride ourselves on the prosperity and progress of the town and district, and yet suffer a building such as the present Town Hall to exist for years beyond the time when it should have been consigned to the wreckers. Surely the citizens will not allow the present state of affairs to pass. At most it will involve less than a penny rate, and they cannot afford to lose their reputation for so small a sum. On the whole, we look forward to the good sense of the burgesses impelling them to vote for both loans, not that we are pleased with the prospect of idling up our obligations, but because it would be slioekingly bad business not lo carry the proposals.