HUTT AND PETONE NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1165, 28 June 1911, Page 8

HUTT AND PETONE NEWS.

(From Our Special. Correspondent.!

\ GENEROUS AID IN SAD CASE. • The Mayor of. Petone, Mr. ,T. W. M'Ewan, has convened a meeting for Friday night next to consider the best means •'6f"helping tho -widow and "family of the lfttfe Mf. George 7 Hepple, .who, along with his two sons, have apparently been lost, whilst boating on Coronation Day. Tho Mayor made a special appeal to Petono residents. A meeting was also held in the Congregational .Church, Alicetown, Lower Hutt, for the purpose of collecting funds for the widow and seven children of the lato Mr. Hepple.' The meeting,' which was convened by Mr. J. W. Rcade, was largely attended,. awl the sum of £140 subscribed, Mrs. E. P. Bunny heading the list with a donation of «£3O. The amount collected to date now totals ..,£IBO. Concerts will be held at Petono and Wellington for the purpose of aiding the bereaved family. PARK AFFAIRS. A meeting of the Hutt Park Committee was held last evening. Present: Messrs. Baldwin (chairman), Burridge.-Macaskill, Barlow, and Brockelbank.'" Mr; Baldwin was re-elected chairman. <; '• ... The Valuer-General wrote stating that the committee's objection to the assessment, of the park was to . the,effect .that ten acres were leasehold, tho? freeholder being Mr. CI. F. Reeves. :.The*roll entry confirmed this statement, the lessee being the Hutt Park Committee. Regarding the 60 acres and 40 acres, these properties were vested in the committee representing the various boroughs, but still tliev were rateable property, as defined by the Eating Act of 1908. The properties had been held to be rateable before the passing of the Hutt Park Act, 1907, and the position was not difforent now. The secretary explained that lie had forwarded -a' letter to the; Valuer-General drawing attention to Section. 27' of f.ho Rating Act Amendment- Act;• 1910, and a further reply stated that Section 27 conferred a discretionary power on local rating authorities to remit rates in certain eases, but did not empower the ValuerGeneral to determine tho question of rateability. After some discussion it was; decided to inform the Valuation Department: That the chairman would bo authorised to appear before the Assessment Court to uphold tho committee's objection. Lieutenant Hastings advised that he had taken the use of the park for military purposes.—On the motion of Mr. Brocklebank it was resolved .to charge the usual fCG 10?. : 1. •. • The Hutt Valley, Hockey ,Club intimated that, as they were only using one ground, they would forward- a cheque for .£2 2s. rent. The other ground which had been granted to them had proved unfit for play. The chairman remarked that it would bo a good idea to have more hockey grounds on the park.' . The treasurer's statement showed that the credit balance on April 1 was 3?. Id.; receipts, «£B3 8?. 4d.; total, <£113 lis 8(1. Expenditure, ,£ll2 9s. 3d. Credit balance to date. dH 2s. 3d. There were accounts amounting to X' 2!) Hs. 4(1. which had still to be met (these including tho earetaker's salary), and there, was -61G 6*. 7d. in hand to pay that amount with. The chairman: "These accounts, or some of' thoin. can- stnnd. over. ■V member: They will have to. It was intimated that the borough councils had each been asked to contribute d CGS, aud all, that, could be done at present was to await consideration of tho estimates. , It was rosolved to pay the caretakers salary. ... f Mr. Baldwin took exception to son)e of t.h» remarks made at the meeting of the Hutt Council regarding the park. After perusing the balance-sheets .of the park, he thought that the committee had done its work judiciously. "People will bless us," the speaker added, "for hanging on to this park in yeers to come. It was resolved to forward a copy of last year's balance-sheet to each council.