HON. THOS. MACKENZIE.

Clutha Leader, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 8, 1 August 1911, Page 5

HON. THOS. MACKENZIE.

DEPUTATIONS. ( « The Hou. Thos. Mackenzie arrived iu !J. Balclutha on Saturday evening, and J was greeted with three hearty cheers * from the Southland contingent of the v commercial travellers. He was met r and welcomed by the Mayor (Mr E. J. i v Boyd) and the ex-Mayor (Mr John j v Dunne) and .others, and was escorted ; I along to Vezey's Commercial House. | During the evening he received two de-, x putations and gave a short address at * the band rotunda, assisting in the ef- j s iort to raise funds for the Balclutha ' Coronation Park. Yesterday morning, c lore leaving for Kaitangata he receiv- . s ed two more deputations. I? RIVER TRAFFIC. IJ A deputation from the River Baard t consisting of Mr D. T. Fleming and r Mr Jas Stewart (secretary) put before f the minister the present position with i regard to the river traffic, pointing outt i that' owing to the state of the river i the steamers had to be laid up, and, \ there being no railway the only outlet ? was blocked, the settlers at Clydevale i owing to the punt being stopped, and c having no direct outlet to Balclutha, 1 which they were with justice demand- 1; ing, being seriously handicapped. The ( deputation asked for a vote of £IOOO t to assist in removing shallows at 1 Begg's and Upper Clydevale, also that i the Government send one of its engin- , i ecrs to report on the present condition 1 of the river. \ t The Minister appreciated the diflicul- I ties of the Board and its desire to do c its best for the settlers, and reeoguis- i ed the hardships of the settlers. He j would represent the matter in the pro- < per quarter, and wjould reply formally \ in due course. I TOWN BOARD FOR OAVAKA. ' Dr Stenhouse and Mr J. Paterson ( put before the Minister the proposal , to form a Town District at Owaka. j j Dr Stenhouse said that the matter J, had been' considered at a public meet- ;j ing, and considerable enthusiasm was i, shown. A petition was now being ' ( signed to have a town district formed. \. There might be some opposition, but , he thought the majority was favour- ] able. He also .expressed hope that an ] application for £IOO us a coronation grant for a town hall would be favor- i ably considered. j Mr Paterson supported Dr Stenhouse ( and said the opposition was due to a fear of increase in rates. The present j countv rate was lid, but there was | power to rate up,to There were , already 32 names to the petition, til- ,: though it had only been two days in circulation, and he was sure there wo- , uld be no difficulty in getting the required two-thirds. The town district area would comprise 1000 to 1100 acres, and there were about 72 house- ■ holders. ' , The Hon. Mr Mackenzie expressed pleasure in the evidence of progress, and said he would place their repre.sen-' tations before the Minister of Internal Affairs. j BALCLUTHA COURTHOUSE. j The Mayor headed a large deputation regarding the courthouse at Bui-, clutha. The Minister saw for himself the large sheets of plaster that hud , fallen off the walls. Messrs John Dunne, T. V. n<-nniston t | Jas. Sheddan, R. R. Grigor, and R. It. Stewart, emphasised the iicnl tor , immediate repairs, or a n-\y building; ' and additional accommodation for witnesses and counsel. ' The Minister : It appears to me that a new building is required. The present building is about 40 years old, and must be nearly done. Howe/er, Mr Furkert is to make a report on it, ' and what you have repsesented will be duly considered. 1 know that more , accommodation is necessary. I EXTENDED TELEPHONE HOURS, j The Mayor and Mr D, T. Fleming put} forward a request for the Balclutha telephone office being opened till 8 o'rlock in the evenings. There were at present 38 local'subscribers, and the regulation required 50, but in addition the Balclutha office was the centre for a wide system of telephone connections in the country. No additional staff was required, as the officers were engaged now till 8 o'clock on postal husiness. . The Minister recognised that compliance with the request would be a great convenience. They were a few short of the number required, but the office sgr- '• ved a wide net-work of telephones. He would carefully consider their repwsen-