MINISTER OF MARINE

Taranaki Daily News, 8 May 1916, Page 5

MINISTER OF MARINE

| VISIT TO WAITARA.

VARIOUS DEPUTATIONS

Hon. R. McNab, Minitaer of Murtue, visited Waitara on Saturday evening, arriving by the mail train, and he met several deputations in the Borough chambers in the evening. Hie pay one was in connection with tha opening of the Mokau ftiver, which is fully reported elsewhere.

, THE TONGAPORUTU WHARF. - At the meeting of the Clifton County Council last month a letter was received from the Marine Department, asking if the Council was prepared to take over the Tongaporutu wharf. This structure was erected several years ago by Mr. Rattenbury, who was given a license to use it. It had now got out of repair and the license had been revoke 4. The Department stated that a plan would be submitted to the Council, but so flur this had not come to hand. Before deciding to take the wharf over the Council wished to know whether the Government were prepared to put the wharf in repair. Mr. Bower, chairman of the Clifton County Council, put the matter before the Minister, and stated that the wharf was of great importance to at least 100 settlers, who were within one day's journey of it, as against four days to Waitara. All elaborate wharf was not necessary, and he wanted to know if the Government was prepared to hand them the wharf in good repair, or would they pay for .£ towards the cost.

Hon. Mr. McNab said that in the Hobson country they erected wharves on[,al £ for £ subsidy basis and Would ba prepared to do so in this case

Mr Power: That is quite satisfactory^ HARBOR BOARD TRAVELLING EXPENSES Mr. J. Hine, chairman of the Waitual Harbor Board, asked whether gone amendment could not be made in -the Act, whereby members of Harbor Boards could be paid up to Is per mile (ope way) travelling expanses, as ha 3 done by Hon. G. W. Russell, In connection with Hospital Boards, pointed out that members using their own conveyances were defaarr?4 fr*m receiving travelling expenses. 1 The Minister promised to lode iatq the matter MOKAU POST OFFICE Mr. J. Carr brought up the urgent need for the erection of a post office, at Mokau. A few years ago, the p?st office had been run in the local store. Afterwards a post office official wa« put in charge, and some one put up an alleged post office for which, the Government paid £l2 per year. It was an Bft x 10ft structure, with an Bft stwl. When Hon. R. H. Rhodes was at Awakino, where a post office had Men erected at a cost of £I2OO, he was asked ' if it was not posible to erect a p?st ' office at Mokau, but he replied "No." It was pointed out that £l2 would pay interest and Binklng fund on £2QO, whioh amount would provide a pist office for the needs of the district. The sum of £240 was put on the Estimates, but the plans called for a building worth £4OO or £SOO, with the result that-no tenders were received and the post office Btill existed in a dog box. It was':so small that there was no possible chaftcs of privacy and no matter however care, ful the post office official was, the cpn« tents of telegrams, etc., which were received by phone often became publi* property. What, he asked, was the übb of swearing an official to secrecy in sijph a building? Moreover, the building Wftß / a most insanitary one and detrimental to the health of the official. It was like an ice box in winter, and a hot house in summer, and to obtain ventilation the official had to pull up some of the floor boards. _ He urged the Minister to place the matter before his colleagues with the object of having a building erected at once. , , Mr. H. Maine, who spoke in eupport, affirmed that the health of two postmistresses had already broken down. The Minister promised to place the matter before the Hon. Sir Joseph Ward.

NORTH EGMONT MOUNTAIN ! HOUSE. Mr. W. A. Collls, secretary, of the New Plymouth .Tourist and Expanaion League, invited the Minister, who is also Minister in charge of Tourist Resorts, to visit the North Egmont Mountain House on the following day. The Minister stated that as' he vr&a returning to Palmerston North on Sunday ho was unable to accept the invitation. He had intended visiting the district on Monday, when he had hoped to visit both the ' mountain and the prison. The early session, however, had | prevented' this. He intended, liowever, coming to Taranaki at the end of' the session, which would probably be a | short one.

At the conclusion the chairman thanked all the members of the deputation who had travelled so far to make representations to the' Minister, and he hoped that these, particularly »s regards the Mokau River, would bear fruit. Votes of thanks to the Minister and . the chair concluded proceedings.