WHAT PETONE IS DOING.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 11, 13 July 1909, Page 8

WHAT PETONE IS DOING.

Speaking at last evening's meeting of the Petone Borough Council, with reference to the unemployed question, the ' Mayor (Mr. J. W. M'Ewan) remarked that while the council had succeeded in finding employment for twelve men on the duplication works,- and a batch, of nine on various works in the borough, there were yet several men out of work, particularly able-bodied, single persons. It ha-d occurred to him that any Petone and Hutt residents desiring to eraploy casual labour might send a statement of the amount of work they could offer, to the municipal office, which body would then be able to make a selection, and send men out to the respective jobs. Councillor Piper asked, in the event of private subscriptions being collected, what prospect would there be of a subsidy from the Government on all amounts received. In reply, the Mayor slated that the matter of a subsidy would have to go before the Charitable Aid Board, and lie was afraid that any subscriptions received would have to pass through its books. Councillor Piper remarked that it would suit the purpose just as well. A donation of £3 3s towards an unemployed fund was received from the Poneke Lodge. The Mayor, in expressing his appreciation of the donation, said that while he was aware that there was a large number of men out of employment,, still, it should be borne in mind that every winter, as the result of the slack season at the meat pneserving works, numerous persons were thrown out of work.

A change nas been made in the sixpenny return tickets issued on the city tramways. The new ticket only allows of journeys being broken at intersection points —that is to say, a passenger from Island Bay to Oriental Bay may (and in fact must) break his journey "at Cour-tenay-place, or, to give a second instance, a passenger from Newtown to Brooklyn may break his jqurney where Manners-street joins Willis-street. This alteration will reduce considerably the number of street names that had to be printed on the tickets under the old system of "stops off." In the Lowei Hntt Police Court this morning, before Messrs. Cudby and Wilkin, Justices, Peter Neilson was sentenced to fourteen days' imprisonmeatt > for stealing an oilskin overcoat,