UP THE VALLEY

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 90, 13 October 1923, Page 8

UP THE VALLEY

TRENTHAM-HERETAUNGA DISTRICT

After activities extending over six months, the Ratepayers' Association of Trentham, Heretaungaj and Silverstream, has issued a semi-annual report, which will be placed before members on" Monday evening next. The report contains the following statements of interest :—

"The roll now stands at 105, or approximately one half of the total number of ratepayers in the district. This is not good enough, and an appeal is made to all who have not yet joined, to link up with the association for the common good of the districts. There is no reason whatever why, if each member -will interest himself, the association should not, within a very short time, double its strength. "Almost the hrst step taken was to depute certain members to wait on the General Manager of Railways to plead for a better service between Upper Hutt and Lambton. Mr. M'Villy received the deputation very cordially, and, while making it clear that he could not authorise extra train mileage, promised to favourably consider a re-arrangement of the timetable to more conveniently snit the valley. There nepms no doubt that, within a very short time, we shall enjoy a very much more convenient service, and if the Minister is really sincere in his protestations. to Parliament of a desii'e to improve suburban services with a view to attract population, irrespective of present, profits we should certainly get more than the' General Manager intimated he had power to grant" Ever since it took office, the committee has been in communication with the Postmaster-General with a view to giving the districts better services, and although nothing tangible has yet been accomplished in this direction, it is considered that it is only a matter of "sticking to our guns" in order to obtain services which the districts are entitled to. This Department of the Public Service, judging by the correspondence which has passed, seems very difficult to move.

A deputation waited on the Hutt County Council at the beginning of June asking for a return showing the amount of rates collected from, and expended in, our districts by the previous council. The return has not yet been supplied, though several further applications have been made for it. The protest against any further increase in the rates, without an assurance that the money would be spent in the districts, was "treated with contempt." Other matters, such as roads, footpaths, culverts, drainage, Trentham sanitation, etc., were dealt with by various members of the deputation, but no real satisfaction was obtained.

The committee has-been quietly co-op-erating with the Upper Hutt Town tfoard with a view to ascertaining if some practical and acceptable scheme tor a divided borongh, to included the whole of the districts, cannot be evolved. A petition to this end has been presented to the Governor-General, and, no doubt, in due course, the matter will be submitted for an expression of opinion to the people of all the districts involved It Is felt by the committee that such an amalgamation would be for the benefit of the whole of this end of the valley besides, from the committee s. point of view, solving what has become an intolerable position for members as ratepayers to the Hutt County Council. J W?r^ ing-i*0 .i he effort 3of Sir Joseph A Arand her mem°ew of the Ways M M-wf Committee > ably seconded by r™ ♦ p SOm' C'erk of tho Hu«, County Council, and Mr. Sladden engineer to the Upper Hutt Town Board an arrangement, which will shortly be submitted;, to the ratepayers, has been arrived at with the Town Board to pTo vide an up-to-date water supply for the an ace ' fi^Pf™* to Zln become