STRATFORD.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 March 1918, Page 3

STRATFORD.

(From Our Own Correspondent) [All eommlmiciUlons, letters, etc., loft lvitli Mr. 11. .1. Hupkin:*, ljookse:ier, will rcccho Dioinpt attention ] Stratford, March The visit of the Hon. \V. H- Ilerries, Minister for Railways, to Taranahi n:tulted in deputations waiting upon him during his »hort stay in Stmt ford on Thursday. Ife was met 011 arrival of the. mail train by the* Mayor and Lr. D. J llalone, and at tlie municipal buildings was formally introduced by Captain J 1} Hine. Our member, in welcoming thy Minister, said there wore a few matters to lie brought under iiis notice The railway leases on the east side of JBroad- : way did not come under the borough bylaws, and at times created conflict between tenants and authorities The borough had also decided to go in for certain street improvements and desired ;n----formation as to how they stood regarding the railway crossings, as a chain on I'.ieh side of thu- crossings was maintained by the department The Mayc-r regretted the Minister's Gtny w.ig so brief, but they were pleased to see him that morning. He immediately plunged into the matter of the raihvay [eases as mentioned" hv Captain Ifino. and referred to the difficulties caused through these properties not coming with'n the scope of the borough by-lavs Visiting tradespeople could open a shop on the cast side of Broadway and not pay any taxes* and this was hardly fair to oth?r business people. A fee of £lO should be levied under the by-laws. Billiard rooms on the same side also escaped paying lec-s to the borough. The places wtre also a menace to the town owing to the absence of brk-k walls. The building by-laws did not apply to these leases. With longer leases the council believed a better elasr of buildins: would he erected, and this would lie much more satisfactory, to the town. The Mayor next referred to the railway rrosslngs, which were a source of danger lo travellers, and also to the erection of public conveniences, the suggested site being in Began Street, near the signal box and on railway property The .Minister thanked the gathering for their welcome and .-aid he would urfce the opportunity of inspe:-t : ng the various sites mentioned. Regarding the leases of shops, he understood the majority expired in lS2t). and then the department would brhr; them under the Council's by-laws as far as possible. It was only right to-do so, and he hoped this would relieve'~tlleir minds on tbe matter

Mr. Joseph McCluggnjre said ho had a small complaint to make about the .Wiry in getting parts of machinery and other goods at a reasonable time. He related liow a small pie'.'e of machinery took a week to come from "New Plymouth to his mill at Pohokura. The Soods department only took goods f OT Pohokura on Tuesdays and yrKlay.?. Hoods taken to the station on Monday went to Tc Were, on Tuesday and remained there two days, and ti.en on to Pohokura, thus hanging up a trucV for a week. His remedv was that the department should pay the guard 2s or 3s p?r (lav extra and the surfacemen at important Hal stations a little overtime, and also put in a K waggon behind the guard's van to take goods up to half a ton. This would save a lot of wujfeons and supply a quick service for goods. He also touched on the tfonble of gettin? trucks and timber away from Pohokura. He suggested the ballast train should lift tl'.e timber or leave a runner for the ordinary train. Ife desired it understood that he was not complaining about the local statiotim.isler or ofiieials, who were painstaking and obliging. Mr. Trotter drew attention to the difficulty he had in getting coal railed to Stratford. He was always short, and the coal firms (Taupiri anil TTuntly) dfitified him the shortage was due lo want of trucks He couid do with a larger quantity. Mr. Henries stated he 'hardlv thought It a shortage of trucks. He believed Mr. Trotter would find it a question of coal shortage rather than the difficulty uf obtaining trucks. The deputation then thanked the Minister and withdrew. Accompanied by the Mayor, Captain J. B. Hine, and councillors, the Hon AT Worries then inspected the approaches to the railway station, from the north, it was pointed out that the train emerges from a cutting, which required better lighting. The alarm hells, too, were not strong enough, and those approaching the crossing frequently did not hear the warning owing to the noise of the motor car or cycle they were riding. It was suggested that s gong or something -giving a larger volume of sound was required These were small things, but vital to the safety of the public, and the Minister promised to have them improved. GKXERAI, Tariki has done remarkably well in securing £l4O for tile Red Triangle effort. H is only a very small community, and the results show that the settlers hereabouts are very patriotic. The Hawera Technical School boys, in charge of Mr. Burlev, Stratford High School, visited the Model Dairy Farm on Thursday. ' The weather was far from ideal, but the scholars took great interest in what they saw, and the visit , proved very instructive. During the short stay o! the Minister for Railways and his secretary here this morning, occasion was taken to show the visitors over the Municipal Buildings and the new picture theatre. Both gentlemen were agreeably surprised at these modern buildings.