A WANGSNUI WANT.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 172, 14 April 1908, Page 11

A WANGSNUI WANT.

V/HARF SHED ACCOMMODATION. .MINISTER DEPUTATIONISED. The • imports into the port of WaiiEanui last year tvero as follow:—General merchandrrjo' tous, 290,6G0 feet of timber. 23,969 • tons 'of ccal, .24,813 sheep, and 88 cntfclo;.' besides small quantities of various aitiples.'- The import ; tonnage ' has..' almost ; doubled, in the past ten years, and uith the."oxtension of: settlement and tho opening • of.the Main Trunk Line, it is expected that ji'tho'j'nexfc. few .years will witness a piling 'offinow. trade. ; The; old state of tliinss. in 7 regard to wharfage, and ■ especially shed accommodation (which is controlled by the , Government Railway < Department), has ceased;io he adequate- It was to urge more up-to-dato provision that Messrs. J. B. Murray (chairman of tho Wangaimi Harbou- : Board)- and Mr. W. J. Bassett, a member, waited'.oil .the .Minister.; for. Railways., (the Hon.-.-.'Wv; Hall-Jones) on Saturday. , ; . '' Replying. to correspondence on the matvter .'recently; tho Minister instituted comS Prisons' botv/een Wanganui and . Timaru. .©■pointed' out that limaru -was; doing- a -. considerably lar/ror' voiumo of trntlo .. tliun Wanganui, and their shed accommodatw).i was ample ; and ho proposed that Wanganui should rliavo. tho same provision. . , . ...Ueplj'ing ■ to this proposal, • Mr. Murray said ■'•.that exports did •• not enter into tbo matter, • becauso outward- goods rarely went ; . into ithe' - sheds; "and in ; ,the : -matter : 'of 'im? ports; though Timaru's total was the larger; tho .• majority of tho goods wero of a description.that did. not reouire to be .placed -in J tho % sheds.". ;. : .K - was - gehera|,;me.rchandiso thoy .had to. deal .with; 'Goods,of this class imported .into Wanganui .last year totalled <t1,084 ? tons; which was considerably in ox-cess-<of :'the.-amount.'.enterma. Timaru. The. Minister'.-.had suggested the addition- of-100 feet v to-i.tho shod r .making tho sizo- 280 ft. Ho ; ;pointed ' out-ilfai-tho? Harbjur Board wcro-'.about-to- spend, £100,000 m. harbour improvements, and that ill a few >years; the trade-would -.; develop .out. of- sight. Last year tho 1 Railway . Department - collected £1690 .for handling-charges, but.,if, there were,greater- facilities, these charges would heavy- on- Wanganui. : 1 . .•. • : -Tho i-.'Ministep': --.Your-, .figures «. differ. 1 considerably from' mine. Illy figures show a less volume of trade. ; Mr--'Bassotb: They are all from • Governr ment-.returns: ; -Tho Minister: 1,, am assured that some of lyour/.-pegplo are using that shed as a ' store'.. ,'K. •• ..-•' : •

'■ <Mr?<Bassett:• Oh no;.tho peualty is too gteafcc " ' , ;-'The:Minister:, Well, the penalty will liave to be strictly enforced. , He r added that it was'owing to too-great leniency on the pittrpif officers : that goods r'eiiaainijd-virif' tho v shfed V and«; consumed \ the room.' i Goods hold' for Customs oxamiliation?:;.were:-; allowed to lie four days/ and .goodi going' out by rail three days. i.'Mr.'. Bassett said .that any unduo delay ;jn-.'.Si.Qiijjig : -'goods.'-WM' the "faiilt of ,tlie ; Department, r . He - -understood the r. people wantetl'the' regulations. onforepd. . He contihuod-. that; they'.could not, at Wanganui, hnndlo. direct from tho -steamer to the truck?,- as at Timaru.:, Wanganui was going tfio '..'handling", harbour, for tho Mam Trunk-Line. It would be a wise thins for the Government, in this .resncct, .to anticipate the future. Ho -that at 1 least

200 ft. should ,bo -added-to thoished. 1 ■ The Minister- said -he would -examino the -.- fifpires-'submitted to him ,by the deputation. Either the. deputation or .the ' railway oflicers,- who had ;supplied him 'with records, had 1 made a mistake. The Government had to'.'provide proper conveniences, -and-. would do' ; so for Wanganui if necessary. ■• But .it wqi not . desiretl to spend' money, iri ant'icipa r -.;If ~200 ft'. 1 ' wai required, Tit ;would be added, but . ho. was notxgomg to Imvo-. any railway/.shed'in tho, Dominion used as-a .He was,pleased . to that...WanEaniu'j had,j,ataken : ■ in .'hand ! the improvement- of:i her harbour,. • for : he-did-not .know, of i. any place m. tho Dominion which was.capable,ongoing phead more- than Wansanur with- tbo • trade- thatwould come with 'the opcninu' of the Main Trunk Line. j i ',

UNIVERSITY/DEBATING SOCIETY. • e DEBATE ON THE TRANSVAAL WAR --An audience of about 200 <person 3 was present:' at): '--the .first '/meeting?, of//the ■ Victoria College I *Debating Society, on Saturday evening^when ', a motion to the effect. That > England was' justified in undertaking the recent-Transvaal-war " was;discussed. ■■■;: Mr. H; I'. O'Leary occupied the,chair, and announced that., in addition . tothe.., other i awards (of ,' tho, ; Society, at thethe season,' a prized of -£2,25. in books; would be awarded-to the newspeaker;.who-showed ■the ■ greatest .-improvement in speaking: • "I '•'iTho 'by-. Mr.-\ H. ■ E.. 1 Evin3, : and, Bccbndecl" by ■ Mr. E.; E. Ruther- • furtl v \vhilethe ■ opposition 1 . was' led' by Mr. l C.' and.scconded' by Mr. A. Mr.c- ---• DoUgall.' vThe" movers* contended ..that .upon th'd iquestioiis 'iri issue..England was in the: right anil the Boers -were; in the..wrong, and ;that'.ihe: questions, involved were;of sufficient importance to /warrant:;' England in - undcr'.takiiig;the war. for. her. own protection.'/- Thoy : further contended that England occupied t'o,wards; the' Transvaal .the .'position of suzerain towards ': vassal, / and- was. therefore : justified upbri'.-that' ground,'if upon jio other,', in', inter?,': ■ veriings'for, the purpose; of' sscuring . political ■ I rights for'-.-the Uitlanders'in, the Transvaal.; They'pointed out the. dangers ..by.-which -Eng-. lana ; was threatened at the-time. of ; .tho Bloemarid' 'c.oritejided .that, .there'was the .strongest' evidence', of; an intention, oni the. : part '. of the j Boers, not, only to secure ahsolute-independence for themselves, but;.also to- add .to .-theiri ow'n. 1 territoryBritain's possessions" in' Cape ,Ckilony> and Natal.,,, ■ - ; ;v r: '"/ 'Hr'"'/ Messrs'. , Taylor, artd vJlacDougall, arid ' .the speakers who supported them, contended thai , the ■ British Government had either knowingly undertaken •,the war for tho express purpose of depriving the' Boers'' of ■. their ■ territory and; of the' immensoprofits to bo, derived from the ■ gold- ind : diamond :niinos,VoV that the British .Government, had been misled ■ by, the cariitaljsts 'of ..the Rand "arid by the; Rhodes' Administfatioh into 'an "entirely wrong "con- ; ccption, of the true state of 'the facts, and that, •if ; it had "taken' proper' .'Steps,- to: ascertain,\theyposition-, the war would; never, have • occurred;.- : They gave'an -outline of the means which had been .adopted .by : the --capitalists for '-'the.-- purpose of. securing-' control 'over. the-Pifess' of the Transvaal and of England, and I con tended that ■ Englishmen, now : that the,/n'ar was'.past and .there- had. been an opportunity, of .examining -the matter- in the 'light':; of- \reason,- +ere' j unanimous in holding..thatlthe war/could- have been,- and oiiglii' to have-been, averted. The defeat of: tlie;.. .C'.niservativo Gqvcrnmeut - shortly■ after--.'iKe'v%{t>.sho<%re3; they submitted, that public opiniijiv'.hiHl -condemned ,it's South "African i policy' , ''' , :• 't A.,large number' of members .took part in thejdebato, arid-.at the conclusion tho motion, on -being put to <the meeting,, was -declared lbst..l>y- '24-.votes .'to'-26. ' - 'jMr- E. ;J.; Fitzgibbon, .who judged the dobato for the purpose of awarding points for the'.Union Prize, plaood tho first five speakers in this following ordor:—-Messrs, CJ. 11. Taylor, /. Mason,;.D. S. Smith, R. Kennedy, and T. Boyco: The niovor of the motion 1 dicL not take' part in the competition. - - 'At' the noxt meeting of'tllo Society,: which will 'be iheld on ' Saturday, April 25, the motion which will' bo discussed is '-That na'vnl supremacy is the only effective defence ot the Empire." - (Everybody likes to bo painted,,but to see one's self carved in marblo produces such ah;'overpowering sense of. death that many sensitive persons put , off'immortalisation at -the hands of a sculptor until they are really dead:—"Press," New York. • j Tho British, taxpayer is not going to supply; any. more millions for, any Irish. purpose. Ho thinks ho has dona enough, and he is going/ to squeeze all tho millions he can out. of .the present generation for old-age pensions for himself.—"lrish Homestead." .