The Waipukurau Press. Friday, March 30, 1906. NOTES.

Waipukurau Press, Volume I, 30 March 1906, Page 2

The Waipukurau Press. Friday, March 30, 1906. NOTES.

There is a quiet movement afoot in Taranaki that is likely to spread to other districts. It is nothing less than a quiet boycott of certain wholesale firms by retail dealers. It appears that some wholesale firms send their travellers into country towns to do business with retailers. They book all the orders they can and at the same time do a semi wholesale, semi-retail trade with hotelkeepers, boardinghouse keepers, etc. The retailers look upon this as poaching on their domain and, without making any fuss or complaint they will withdraw their patronage from those firms who do this duplicate class of trade and reserve their orders for those establishments who confine their business to bona fide wholesale buyers whose business is to do retail. A “ little list ” is being prepared and some wholesale houses will shortly begin to wonder why orders are falling off. They will cease to wonder as they read this paragraph.

In response to the brisk agitation for the continuance of the 11.20 Napier and 2.50 Waipukurau train, the Acting-Minister for Railways has “decided to continue the service for another month, to enable the question of its dis-continuance or otherwise to be exhaustively gone into. Undoubtedly the matter is one that should not be decided too hurriedly, for their appears to be reasonable arguments in favour of the retention of the service, and perhaps there might exist good reasons for supposing that its discontinuance would be beneficial, at auyrate so far as this district is concerned. This paper is perfectly open on the matter, except in expressing the opinion that important recommendations of this kind might be more satisfactorily considered by public meetings of those interested. By this method, at anyrate, the likelihood of heartburnings existing

would be considerably minimised. Waipukurau, being the terminus, naturally has a large say in the question under notice. The public, however, may rest assured that the Department will meet the people’s interests in the very best way possible consistent with all circumstances. Since the Waipukurau hospital was first opened, there have been 5680 patients treated in the institution, and in the year ended December 31st, 1905, there were 421 patients treated, which is the greatest number for one year since the Hospital was opened. The actual expenditure for the year ended March 31st, 1905, was £2673 19s 7d, and the actual receipts for the same period were £3136 15s 4d, which gave a credit balance of £196 19s Bd, as against a debit balance at the commencement of the financial year of £265 16s Id. In the coming financial year, commencing April Ist next, the board is going to make alterations and additions to the Hospital in the way of putting up new lavatories and a bathroom, which has been suggested by the Government inspector of hospitals, the estimated cost of which was £320. The average cost per patient per day was 4s 4|d, less patients’ payments 3s B|d. That was after reckoning all expenditure such as insurance, etc., and, as compared with all the other hospitals in New Zealand, is satisfactory.

The marvel of New Zealand’s tremendous output of agricultural products is rendered striking by the fact that the last census shows the number of farmers holding land under any tenure to be only 28,337, of runholders 3220, and of dairy farmers 4720. As the other landowners, including horticulturists, vignerons, poultry farmers, etc., do not contribute more than a fraction to the export trade, and very little in comparison to the local markets, it will be seen that the bulk of the £21,000,0u0 representing New Zealand’s annual output of agricultural products is raised on the holdings of only a little more than 36,000 men. Could anything show more strikingly the importance of the industry these men are engaged in or the necessity for increasing their number ?