A STATION AT LAST.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 168, 17 July 1924, Page 4

A STATION AT LAST.

So we are to have our city railway station at last. It is ten years since Mr. E. 11. Hiley, then the new General . Manager of Railways, wrote of the Auckland station that the accommodation was already overtaxed, and business was done "at much inconvenience to the public and at excessive cost to tlie Department." Mr. Hiley then outlined the scheme for making a new station on the Beach Road and comj bining this work with the deviation via Hobson Bay to Westiield. He also ! said that the most serious question to be faced by the Department, because of the expenditure involved, was the rebuilding of the stations and the improvement of terminal accommodation [at Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Since then nothing or next to j nothing has been done to improve the > I terminal facilities in these three cities, yet traffic has increased considerably. Accommodation in Auckland and Wellington especially has become a by-word. The Minister has j been studying for some time the pro- | blem of such improvements in order of ' importance, but lie has not waited for the publication of his conclusions to announce that the erection of a new Auckland station is to be taken in hand, presumably at once. For Auckland this is a groat matter. We shall at last have a station building worthy, in size at least, of our city, and yard . arrangements commensurate with our goods traffic. At the same time the deviation that is to cut out the slow I and expensive haulage both ways between Auckland and Penrose is to be j constructed- Incidentally we may express the hope that the aesthetics will not be disregarded when the station is built. Our news article on these im- ! provements last week said that the building would not be so artistic as the i Dunedin station. But why not? Why | should it not be equally pleasing to I the eye? To combine beauty, or at any ! rate dignity, with utility, is especially , a duty of the Government, for the State should set an example. All this improvement will be expensive. Mr. Hiley j estimated the terminal costs at £450,000, and the deviation costs at £375,000, and construction now is much dearer than it was ten years ago. All i this —and Auckland is only one of ; three cities where improvements are overdue —will add greatly to the capiI tal expenditure of the railways, and make the problem of economical management all the more urgent. At the meeting of the Newmarket Borough Council last night a letter was read from Mr. Richard Golding, who I forwarded a suggestion in connection : with Hobson Bay and the "construction of a harbour there as a moans of dealing with the railway traffic problems at present under consideration by the authorities. The letter was received and allowed to lay on the council table. According to the final volume of the 1921 census just issued, there were then 110 centenarians in England and Wales, of whom SO were women and 30 men. England had 103—29 men and 74 women — while Wales had seven, six of them women. In the whole country there was one centenarian to 344,000 inhabitants, in England one to 340,000, in Wales one to 315,000. Among the men the proportion was one to 000,000, while the women were one in 245.0Q0. London had 10 centenarians, of whom six were men and ten women. The figures show a falling off as compared with 1911. Then, in a slightly smaller population, there were 128 centenarians, or one to : every 282.000 inhabitants. | At the general meeting of the Auckland Justices of the Peace Association, held last evening at the S.M. Court room, the president, Mr. J. H. Fray, '' J.P., gave an interesting address on his recent trip to Australia. Inter alia, he mentioned that the Melbourne Justices' Association had experienced some opposition from the Victorian newspapers. This tendency was facetiously referred to by Sir William Sowden in proposing I the toast of "The Press" at a social ' function. He said that the power of ' the Press in obstructing reforms went ' back to ancient days, and quoted Mark ii., 4: —"And they could not come nigh Him for the press." But, the lecturer added, he was pleased to say that such opposition from the Tress did not exist in New Zealand. i A report presented to tlie Finance Committee of the Sailors' Home last evening showed donations by his Excellency the Governor-General, Messrs. Winstone, Limited, and L. D. Nathan and Co., Limited, the latter firm also enclosing a substantial cheque on account of the Shaw. Savill, and Albion Company. Acknowledgment was also made of "a bequest by Mrs. Caroline Dawson, re- . ceived through Messrs. Parr, Blomfield, [Alexander and Burt.

The subsidence of the footpath at tlie | top of the hill near the Birkenhead' wharf was again under consideration by the Borough Council last night. The foreman of works reported that the, ".short cut" had been repaired by driving five 4in by 4in jarrali .posts down to a depth of 18ft on the inside of the foot- j path abutting on Mr. Burton's property, i These posts were tied to posts erected on the outside of the footpath. The middle jarrah posts, however, were not in solid j ground. The two ends of the slip had ' been cut down and ash spread. The council authorised the erection of a fence from Mr. V. J. Fitzpatrick's property to join with the iron fence, to prevent anyone crossing the road to the slip. It was anticipated that the "short-cut" could then be reopened for pedestrian traffic. ' The foreman stated that the footpath • had sunk a further 9in, but would be filled with ash as subsidence ensued. The article which appeared in last night's "Star" dealing with a Newmarket citizen's complaint about the prevalence of rats in that borough, and the neces- j sity for a rat drive, was strongly re- I sentcd by the Mayor and councillors at last night's meeting of the council. The Mayor (Mr. S. Donaldson) described the article as a "tissue of falsehoods," and said that he was surprised that the citizen concerned did not bring the matter before the council instead of volunteering the information to a reporter. Evidently the citizen did not have much regard for the suburb he resided in. Newmarket, continued the. Mayor, was the only borough that paid for the extermination of rodents, while it was the first borough to have a clean bill of health following the influenza epidemic. Frequently tho health inspectors had complimented the council en the cleanliness of the district. Other members joined in' the discussion, and strongly protested against the publication of tlie article. ' Tlie Acting-Secretary of the Post and Telegraph Department. Wellington, ha 3 I replied to the Birkenhead Borough Council regarding its overtures for similar treatment as Devonport and Takapuna in respect to telephone toll communications with Auckland. He pointed out that "when the Devonport and Takapuna telephone exchanges are converted to automatic working it will be possible for subscribers to those exchanges to call any other subscriber in the Auckland exchange area direct, without the assistance of an exchange attendant. Sub- I scribers to the Devonport and Takapuna exchanges will be charged at least the same annual subscription as subscribers to the Auckland Exchange. On the other ' hand, the number of subscribers to the Birkenhead and Northcote exchanges is ' only CO, approximately one-tenth of the number of those connected with the Devonport and Takapuna exchanges. The Department does not propose at present to alter the system of working at j Birkenhead and Northcote, because the : number of subscribers is not sufficient i to warrant the installation of expensive | automatic apparatus. It is, however, the desire of the Department that means be provided for small exchanges near a largo centre to have continuous communication with that centre, and the question of arranging for automatic apparatus to serve Birkenhead and Northcote will be kept in view." j It was reported at the Birkenhead Borough Council meeting last night that! the Mayor had interviewed the chairman of the Mnin Highways Board in connection with the council's desire to have tho road from the Birkenhead wharf to Glenfield and Albany proclaimed the main highway to Albany and Wainui. - Mr. Wynyard intimated that the board would consider the matter at its next meeting, and pointed out that the Highways Act was no framed to assist boroughs which were closely populated to maintain their roads, and the board, before making a recommendation, would have to be thoroughly satisfied that the road was largely used for through traffic. ' The Rev. D. K. Fisher, of Lumsden, on' his visit to Scotland had an interesting ' experience while visiting the U.F. Church of Longforgan, one of the oldest in tho country. Here among the congregation he found a gentleman of over 90 years of age. a Quaker, keenly interested in New Zealand and in anyone who hail 3 from "God's Own Country." He and his wife, now deceased, were New Zealand 1 pioneers, and amongst the early settlers ' in the city of Auckland of those days—■ 1559. This veteran, Mr. George Hardie by name, passed over into Mr. Fisher's keeping a tattered but cherished docu- I ment, bearing the date ISSG, for him to put to some service if he, Mr. Fisher, could do so in New Zealand. The slip of crumpled paper carries this title: "Land Order for Forty Acres tinder the Auckland Waste Land Act, 1858." This Government warrant, as it might be termed, declares Mr. Hardie entitled to select 40 acres of general country land in the province of Auckland. It is signed by James J. Myers, emigration agent for the province of Auckland, and is dated Southampton, December 31, ISSB. | This paper Mr. Fisher promised to find a worthy place among the antiquities in one of the museums in.New Zealand. The reason why this document was still! in hand is that Mr. and Mrs. Hardin never moved up country from Auckland to claim their 40 acres, but instead sailed soon after to Sydney. The captain of the Newmarket Fire Brigade (Mr. T. J. Watts) presented his annual report to the council last evening. He stated that the brigade had been summoned to 13 fires, which, with the exception of the Newmarket School, were not of a serious nature, the promptitude of the brigade having prevented them gaining a firm hold. A most- unusual feature was that nearly all the fires had occurred during the day time. In view of the increase of two-storeyed buildings Mr. Watts recommended the purchase of a hand pump and an extension ladder. The five big League football matches ' played by tlie Englishmen in Sydney during the past couple of weeks produced £10,300 0/, the first Test heading tlie gates with £4715 19/3. The takings at the other big games were: New South Wales (first), £3750: New South Wales (second), £3050; New South Wales, (third) £1958 18/9; second Test, £253 l ! 11/. In compliance with the City Council's I decision the Traffic Inspector has, after i consultation with Ensign Gill Inglis, j the Commanding Officer, allocated the . Army's Saturday night open-air meeting j to Fort Street, and the first meeting will be held there next Saturday night. ■ Thus after over thirty years the" Army's stand leaves Victoria Street West. The inquest into the circumstances surrounding the death of Charles Edwin Couzens, who fell from a ladder down the hold of the steamer Toftia, was I continued before Mr. J. W. Poynton,! S.M., yesterday afternoon, but was! adjourned pending the production of photograph and the accurate measurements of the ladder from which deceased fell. These were ordered by the coroner, and will be provided by the police photo-, grapher.

I Solicit6rs seem to be "on a good ; often. At to-day's meeting iof the Waitemata County Council the clerk, Mr. Cawkwell, reported, in respect of the matter of raising a loan: ■ "Although all the legal work was done by myself at no cost to the council, the bank's solicitors sent mc a bill for £21 .6/ for perusing the debentures and the j file of the legal steps taken by mc. This 1 amount I submit for payment, and recommend that it be paid, as there is mo way out.'' 1 .il ! People go into debt for as well as necessities of life. Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., had before him a young man who was asked to pay £87. The judgment creditor was represented by Mr. W. F. Still Well, instructed by Messrs. Chrisp and Chrisp, of Gisborne. The debt was due for gramophone records, pianola rolls, a guitar, a mandolin, and various musical instrument repairs and requisites. The gramophone records ranged from "There i Are Two Eyes in Dixie" to "Over There," and one was called "Destiny." Mr. Hunt fixed the debtor's destiny at 10/ per week until the £87 was paid off. A refreshing frankness marks the ' reports of the clerk of the Waitemata County Council. Referring to a loan of £30,000, on which only £5000 lias ' been paid to the credit of the council so far, he reported to-day: "Regarding the balance of £25,000, in respect of which you (the council) agreed to pay interest as from the first of May la-rst, tlie rublic Trustee has taken no action However, I am sending a letter inquiring when the necessary documents will be ' available." | A wireless operator on a steamer which was 750 miles from Auckland on Sunday, said' to-day that last Sunday evening he picked up the service of the Congregational Church at Beresford Street. "It came through quite clearly," he said, "all we had to do was to put on a loud speaker in the i saloon and we heard the Rev. Lionel |B. Fletcher's sermon, as well as the choral service that followed." I Applications for possession of tenements continue to come before the Magistrate's Court. In one case an order was refused for a house 50 years old. In a second case, Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., made an order for possession of a tenement within one month, on condition that the landlord let the tenant have another house at a rental of £2 per week. Mr. H. A. Anderson represented the landlord, and Mr. J. J. , Sullivan the tenant. A poll of ratepayers of the Waitemata I County will be taken on August 14 in regard to proposed loans of £10,000 i (Pukeatua Riding No. 2 Loan), £20,000 | (Takapuna Riding No. 3 Loan), and ! £5000 (Waikumete loan in respect of concrete road to Henderson). Respecting the Kumeu Riding Loan (No. 2) for £30,000, the first instalment, £5000, was lodged to the credit of the Waitemata ; County Council on July 7, the deben- : tures being sold by the Bank of New j Zealand at par. I At a meeting of the Otago University Council, Dr. Benham said that Mr. Nilli Fels had handed to the Otago University museum the largest single gift which the museum had ever received, and had placed it in the position of having the largest collection of Oriental arms in Australasia, and the finest assemblage, |in certain respects, of Maori articles in New Zealand. ) The Mount Albert Borough Council's new stone quarry, situated on the banks of the Oakley Creek, at the foot of Springleigh Avenue, is to be officially opened on Saturday afternoon. The function is timed to take place at 2.30 p.m., and following it visitors will be entertained at afternoon tea by the Mayor and councillors. In a report of the fire which broke out in Mr. W. Bellchamber's motor car, I on the morning of Tuesday last, it was j stated that Mr. Bellchamber had his ! cat" on the Karangahape Road rank at the time of the outbreak. Mr. Belli chamber keeps his car on the Quay : Street stand, but was proceeding to a "fair" at the time of the outbreak. While playing in the football match, Auckland v. Hamilton, at Carlaw Park yesterday afternoon, Wilson-Hall, a member of the Auckland team, sustained a broken collarbone. He was immediately attended to by members of the St. John Ambulance Association who were present. I A collision between a motor car and a young man riding a bicycle occurred in Beach Road last evening at five o'clock. The only damage done was to the bicycle, which was knocked about j slightly.