HERE AND THERE.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 December 1920, Page 6

HERE AND THERE.

(By D.J.H.) 'Dip time-honored custom of our Taranaki papers omplmsising in large headlines the local amounts put on the Estimates has appeared. So much for Uawera, Eltham, Stratford, Tariki, Inglewood, New Plymouth, etc. Is it not a time.to go slowly? Uur political party's fossilised way of running the State machine is, to Say the least, full of hypocrisy. Each village pump political representative works the handle at election time, and the Press, which thinks his way politically, eulogises the good he has done by pumping the National spray over his electorate. The National issue lies at the bottom of the well.

When.is this country going to have a representative in England who will look after the marketing of our produce? Does our High Commissioner entertain and go to represent this Dominion at conferences, etc., and leave nobody to look after our interests? This is what ■the Prime Minister told us last week when enquiry was made about wool: "Sir James Allen was away at a conference."

Housing workmen is a great cry at present. Why 'put them in houses on an eighth of an acre of land? Every endeavor should be made to have enough land to carry a cow. ; If the schemes ahead were broadened a'little we would not have so much discontent. The tendency is for shorter hours, and if frugality, energy and home life were encouraged it would, T am sure, have a good effect. All permanent employees should also have superannuation to look forward to. \

There is a law in Yankee land whereby a young man who is seen continually idling about town has to move on, or he gets into trouble. Even in Taranaki on« can see young men loitering the best dajs of their life, away in this manner. Twenty years ago 'they would be ashamed to be seen very long in a town on sunny days not working. It looked peculiar and even humorous to see Autralian coal and sand going down the line from New Plymouth port by rail. How it ever was taken delivery of by the Government agents "beats Bannngher." I have heard of several small lots of fat lambs for Christmas trade being sold at 29a each, and a few sales of shorn fat ewes at 335.

Are holders of all endowments going to get the freehold? To be consistent and logical they are entitled to do so. It is a political popularity granting the freehold to leaseholders, and I wonder how many millions pounds of the future people's money (and ours) have been put into comparatively a few pockety? Kumor has it that prospectors are trying the ranges around Mount Egmont for minerals. It is alleged copper, gold, silver and platinum are to be found there.

Demonstrations are to be given in New Plymouth of making what is known as brown Roman blocks, made cheaply from Taranaki ironsand.