DISTRICT NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 November 1918, Page 3

DISTRICT NEWS.

-MOKAE HARBOR-BOARS.

,'"' ISjet-ordtesry-inonth-ly meeting, of ■sJarbor "Board was held on the 14th " "inst. Present: Messrs S. Whitehead... (charnnarc), fl. Mame, A. (3. Sainpson. >J. E. serril,_A. W. Sole, and F. W. Car-; rington. Mr Carrington was cordially' welcomed by the chairman and the other members. A considerable amount of correspondence was placed (before the -meeting, the most important jjart being ■' dealt with as follows:—Prom the Engineer Public Works Deparment, advising the Board he had received i(o engineer's plans for proposed snagging punt, and had held them over pending receipt of information from the Engineer of the Lands Drainage Works, Auckland. This was in order-that the latest improve.ments might be embodied in the Mokausnagigng point. Now that he hud received tho information required he itad in accordance therewith made certain; suggestions to the Board's engineer w'n-ieh. would entail somn slight alterations of" the original pkiis- From Mr John Kelly re the same matter stating he lmd. received instructions from tbe Public ,Works Department to allow for hea-vier construction, and advising him tlw snagging plant installed thereon later, for work on the river, must be purchased and not hired. (Ihe Board, from motives of economy, and on the assumption that the river once snaged woukLnot require .similar work done for perhaps years again, had thought to lure a plant for tlie work at present projected.) Itwas resolved that the secretary write to Mr Kelly thanking him for Iris communication and requiring him, to acquaint the Board when lie submits the amended plans to the Public Works De-: partment, and also to impress upon the.' Department Engineer the necessity for a speedy decision with regard to them. ; The secretary was empowered to call ai. [ special meeting of the Board should re---, ; plies received warrant it. From Mr W. T. Jennings. M.P, r« snagging plant. It was resolv-ed that ) the secretary thank - Mr Jennings for the . interest he is taking on behalf of the t Board and that the position up to date i be placed before him. i From the Awakrno CtouTrty€auneil,*p- ■ pointing Mr F. W. Carrington to the ' vacant seat on tiro Board for the Awa-

kino Hiding of the Mokau Hurler district, in place of Mr W. J. R. Avery, resigned; also from the Marine Department ratifying the appointment. Prom E. C. Gray, Ingtewood, of-

fering the Board all information in Ms possession with reference to coal and mineral deposits on the Mokau river,, and otherwise render any assistance in his power for the furtherance of the township.—To he thanked for offer. .

From the Marine Department, agree-

ing to allow a war bonus to Captain J. Bysantson, signalman, for 'the period of the war and eight months after, to datefrom April Ist of the present year. From J. L. Mac Donald, secretary and to the Board, tendering his= resignation as from December 31at., ISISj Mr Mac Donald stated ho was resigning purely on account of family rea-

sons, and was really sorry to leave the Board's service after having been treated so well by chairman and members alike. Proposed by Mr S. Whitehead: "That Mr Mac Donald's resignation be accepted with regret, and the Board's appreciation of the courteous manner »in which he had discharged hisjduties while in its service, bo recorded in the Seconded by Mr J. R- Terril and carried ■unanimously. The mat-

ter of advertising for a successor was left in abeyance pending receipt of certain information from the Department of Marine.

Notice of motion' by Mr J, !R. Terrill, "That tho present by-law stipulating a wharfage charge of 9d ger bale on wool he rescinded, and Is be charged instead."

It was mentioned the wharfage on wool had been fixed at a time when tho commodity was very much lower in price than it had been for years past. Several accounts were passed for payment, andithe meeting «losed*iofy-10.30" p.m. GENERAIi. In .-common with the rest of "the i)o----■minion Mokau is-wrestling with the prevailing epidemic. Odour of eucalyptus, Jeyes' Fluid or formalin meet one's nostrils at every turn, which slows thecomnranity is fully alive to tho danger. The malady, however, whatever it may be, does not seem to have taken the> virulent form so evident in other places. Practically the whole township has been down with it, but no loss of life has occurred so far. As a matter of fact Mokau should be, from its position, one of the healthiest «f places at the present, time. It exists in splendid isolation—it has a river on one side and a vast expanse of water on the other. Its drainage is well nigh perfection, and high winds sweep across it at such a rate daily that microbes of whatsoever description find but a 'brief resting place within its borders. Were it not for the through traffic from New Plymouth to Te Kuiti and vica versa, Mokau •would be immune. As precautionary measures the se" : iool has been dosed and patriotic dance',, oi-flcelled until further notice'.

All toWS 3 and cities in 'God's Own'' went in for peace celebrations on the 12£ h inst. So did Mokau. Upon receipt of the glad tidings tie schoolmistress lined up tine children, commandeered all the empty 'kerosene tins, and formed an inrpromptu tin-can iband. This she marched to the wharf where the chairman addressed them in words suitable to the occasion. Afterwards, the procession moved up to the township again, marching to strains of music as would make the members af the New Plymouth Citizens' Band turn gTeen with envy. It is tTue the music consisted of only one note—but it was the note of victory. In the afternoon the school committee organised races and other sports for the children to the tune of "all prizes and no Wanks," and the end of a perfect day sow them the happy •possessors of miniature fortunes. In the evening the young, the middle aged, and the old (ladies not included in this term), celebrated tho declaration of peace by holding an impromptu socJal and dance in the public hall. Prior to the beginning of the festivities Mr MacDonald, secretary of tho Patriotic Society, outlined in a short address the beginning,* progress and termination of: the most terrific war known to history.. At its conclusion the audience stood andy sang a verse of tho good' old National' Anthcm—then proceeded to nrake merry. A number of visitors were over from Awakino and MohaJcatino and wcre-i largely instrumental in making the af[fair the success it was.

j In tbese days it ia no&atfalHuicoirimon to see young ladies in eiiarge of motor cars and, in fact, driving them as

-fairly uncommon, •to~aaythe'Jeast of it,* i'iior them to be seen diriving motor-' r-faunehes. Such, however, was to ; ba ; seen a few days ago on the tMokau, river.. Masses Chapman, Taylor and Jeune fMowni braced the-- perils of the deep jior a stretch of 25 miles and landed a '•caigo of w.ool at the-local wharf in fine jstylc. It is true there was a "mere man' on board, but apparently he was '.more ior ornament than use-

Mr F. G. Taylor, of Mokau river, Jias: .'. just- imported -a. powerful steam engine • -of marine type. It is understood lie- is' ;aixnit to instal Kon.abaTge,andwiirru.ii,:i coal, firewood and fencing posts-downitSfe,* river for transhipment outside. All things good lis up the river. A returned soldier commenced dairying up there just recently. He used a kerosene •tin for milking at the start. After working hard for about five minutes it -seemed to liim tlie milk rose no higher :in the tin whatever. Opon' investigation he discovered a pool of milk on the ground beneath, and was astounded to find he had been driving a hole through the bottom of the tin with, every stroke he made. He says cither they don't make tire this so strong as when he- was a boy,, <jv else he himself is too strong for light -work. In that case he is thinking of taking on navvying as a profession. We notice a number of cures for influenza havo been published in the Taranaki dailies lately. Mokau has a cure too, and its success may be gauged from the fact of there being no really -serious eases here since'it has been in use. However, as the hotels are all closed now it is-.no u&o telling what it is.

The harbor Ear Ita's'- 'Been very rough forw eeks past, the boats being able to get into port only on* <ruring thn month. Business people have, been at their wits end to supply their famishing client?; i