WAITARA.

Taranaki Daily News, 23 May 1919, Page 3

WAITARA.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) Waitara, May 22. The adjourned meeting of the Peace Celebrations Committee on Tuesday night was again postponed on account of the uncertainty of the date on which peace will be celebrated. Statements from some collectors as to the amount of money they had. received were heard, and that was all the business done. There is some talk of forming a choral society in Waitara, and I understand a meeting was held last night to inaugurate it. A meeting of the electors, called by the Mayor, was held in the Clifton Hall yesterday evening, at which there was an attendance of about 80 persons. His Worship gave a resume of the position of the council. He stated that the electric light plant was not at all in a satisfactory state, and was not paying its way. To remedy this it would be necessary to increase the capital by about £IO,OOO to instal a storage bat* tery, a 75 h.p. engine, put in larger wires in the centre of the town, and fix up the wiring generally. An alternative scheme was to link up with New Plymouth, and this was the course he thought would be best, and would cost about £7OOO, Referring to the waterworks, he said that a lot of extensions had been made during the past two years. The mains had been extended to the Waipapa factory, along Princess Street, and to various other parts of the town. The Waipapa factory extension had, unfortunately, cost considerably more than was estimated, through the rise in price of material owing to the war, and to this and to the cost of other extensions was attributable the fact that the expend!-" ture on water had exceeded the revenue by about £BOO during the past two years. This, with the loss on the electric light of £I2OO during that period, had made the finances of the borough rather straitened, but, with economy, the position would right itself. Very little work had been done on the roads, but there was 1000 yards of metal crushed and ready to put on, which, at a cost of about £2OO, should keen the roads in a fair state of repair. A loan of about £I2OO to buy a crushing plant for the borough was needed The money paid now for the use of a roller and crusher when it could be got would easily pay interest on the loan. The Major then made an appeal to the electors"to show a public spirit and nominate a council. During the past ten years or so there hod not been an election of the council, a difficulty being found to get sufficient to fill the vacancies, and he appealed to them to end this state of affairs, and prevent Waitara from being the laughing stock of Taranaki.

The Mayor was cheered several times during his speech. The first meeting of the Waitara Fire Board was held to-day. Those present were: Messrs E. P. Webster, L. S; H. Clark, and H. T. H. Grave, elected by the insurance companies; and W. F. Jenkins, H. Spurdle, and W. R. Procter, elected' by the Waitara Borough Council. The Government nominee, Mr. T. Buchanan, sent an apology for his unavoidable absence. Mr. W. F. Jenkins was appointed chairman for the meeting, a permanent chairman to be elected next meeting, Mr. A. Frost, captain of the brigade. was appointed superintendent, and C. C. Limner, lieutenant, deputy-superintend-ent. Mr. A. James was appointed secretary. The remuneration of all officers is to be fixed at next mcetins of the board, to be held on Tuesday, June 17.