The Grey River Argus. And Blackball News PUBLISHED DAILY. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY, 3rd 1911.

Grey River Argus, 3 February 1911, Page 4

The Grey River Argus. And Blackball News PUBLISHED DAILY. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY, 3rd 1911.

A good, deal ;of : criticism.has; been indulged in, and .-not always . of a complimentary character, regarding trie raising of the Five Million Loan. . A curious feature . of lour national borrowing; is the .ease with •. which .the Legislature can always be got ; to sanction a loan, and .how-ready a number are in condemning- borrowing generally; .. A good deal of ike criticism of the Five Million Loan "was rather loud in the circumstances.- Considering the temper of the_g?eople of ■the dominion in their eagerness to share in the expendfture ' of borrowed money. Sir Joseph Wardi is- deserving of credit in- not allowing himself to be carried away by borrowing ten millions at.ione scoop, instead, of only five. For all would only be top.anxious ,to get^ a ; share, of ..it, ,e.ven the great guns of the Opposition .are as eager for loans as any one else. The latest 'instance, of ti&e popularity .. of raising' loans for public purposes, in Wang:anui, whichi is a decidedly goahead town, 'which " had no f e'weir than •three polls for separate; loans o 1 " one day, everyone of which, was ' duly carried ;by swinging "majorities. -The vote for £35,000 ' for . tramway extension was carried by 713 to 225 vote's; ,£15,000 'was voted for, . water r and drainage' at Aramoho- by 137 " .t0,, ...47 age at Durie&own by 68 to one. There was another . poll .in . wihdch a , member of the Labour Party suffered defeat. Wanganui.is evidently determined \o keep on' the pp-grade ; . and .is making the pace hot . in pnovidirig . all . necessary municipal requirements of the best. While the' municipality is able and willing- to pay for all those modern civic luxuries, who has any rignt to object. There was a good deal of doubt about the success of the town tramway; at firs.t, but, that proving a brilliant. succes s . appears . ... . ito . have given the . ratepayers courage .to plunge ,a little deeper in v t'he way of civic expenditure.;... We^ wish the en terprising- little town, .every success.,..

When we last - eqmmemed . upon the inquiry into the mysterious loss ■ of the steamship Waratah one' of; the features of the inquiry was the strange discrepancy, in the evidence &s to the stability., .of the., vessel. Some- of those aboard. tE.e. ship were positive in their testimony as to the steamer's seaworthiness,. ..whale others were X just-' as pronounced as - 'to the suddenness with which .she sometimes heeled ovetr - and her slowness of recovering- her balance. She heeled over in. what seemed am unaccountable manner and remained' £t a dangerous angle for. a long- time without irig-htwg- herself pjroplerly;' There also appeared to Have been, differences of ; opinion as to ,the plaa of the structure between, the builders and the owners, and disputes as to'alterations of the plans before the vessel was ibuilti. One point, however, that there seemed to be no doubt about was that the vessel could hot be re_moved from one dock to /.another with out ballast This was a vtry suspicious fact, which together with her •strange rolling- propensities were enough to cause the seaworthiness of the ship to be regarded with a good deal of suspicion." In the course- of ou? criticism on this disaster we sug : gfested that the lines on, which the" vessel was built should be produced in court amd submitted to ship architects with the view of determining whether in- the view of the majority of shipbuilders the plans could -be considered -safe. ' Although the'inquiry is still going on, no attention seems to have been paid to this point We asked that the plans .should be producedj 'as in some measure they would ispeak for themselves, ;and, ought to be regarded as the, most important and convincing evidence as to ship's stability and seaworthiness. It ; .'seems obvious that this should have been done, as letters passed beitween Mr Lund and Captain lib ery regarding" • the vessel's stability. G>ouaisel for' the. builders said , that • the experts' exidence proved ..stability., though there is a crowd of facts that are! calculated to' lead to an opposite opinion. 'Then comes the suspiciuos allegation on behalf of- the builders ; that they were not! responsible >for deviations from the plans Trade by '.he owners. It wouldi seem, from, these few facts, as 'itfiey stand apart from all the other evidence, that the most important feature *bf)Mne' ; Teyiden ce-f---the original plans ■[ of Jthe vessel," and any' deviations subsequently " made fbom them — should be at onee 1 laid . before titoe court ji:iWhy' ?I this .lias n*.t

been, dome seems to be as mysterious almost as the loss of the vessel itself. ' The "plan on the vessel was .built ought to be sufficient, in the eyes of experts, >to prove whether her lines were sueh 1 , as builders would ordinarily regard as safe. Then any deviations ; farom these .subsequently made, whether at the instance of the tmilders or tihe owners, should :-h r w whether the departure from the original design was an improvement or a danger: We ask again how is it that the original 'plans of, ( vessel have not been produced in " court? The paiodudtion of these . iought .t.o dear away a cloud of doubt that still •surrounds tHe facts disclosed so far. If the -builders and owners are all satisfied with the way they stand in the one would thinfc that the first that '©ach? would ask few; would be the production of the; plans; and we dare< venture • to' ■ say that untii •these are produced all parties be more "or less in the- flark.: -

It seems almost inconceivable that such- cold -blooded murders as • the Narrandera tragedy* could be attributed to the reading of "penny dreadfuls" and such literature, as is represented by the "Deadwood . Dick" •class. Yet it would only seem to be too true. We- hear ■■ so frequently of the most, cold-blooded atrocities- be-ing-associated, with -the habitual reading of such literature by- yo"'ng and impressionable- boys that no other conclusion is left than that the bulk of tEese youthful crimes is due to : ithe promiscuous perusii <ii t-iich" dangerous literature. When young lads become fascinated with the 'joys of such dangerous literature they cannot be- expected to know the danger they run in disturbing the balance of their minds. They are im-r mature and at the most susceptible periods of their lives. Their \ninds are in a plastic state, ready to receive a perhaps lasting impression in any direction- towards which they may have any - sort of a natural berit. At : that susceptible age- most lads worship anything which they fancy is. accompanied- with a dash of the. heroic. The imagination of most lads is- .apt to" : be captured 'jv anything pertaininig 1 to courage or to the diieroic, though it may be but am only poor imitatdon of ithe real ;h ; .ng. "rheif reasoning powers are not <ripe enough to enable them to detect the true. -From *he fictitious. As long as itheir imagination is itaken • captive they" at once become he worshippers of false godis and absurd ideals. They- look ion- bold iasqalsi .as heroes dotibed with all the dazzling-: glory- with which a boy's imagination, can- invest the chiaraoters he regards as heroes. It is difficult to find : a remedy against the poison insidiously imbibed by the constant perusal of ni'bibish -so dead^ ly to ithe growing- mind of a boy at Che mo s t i rapres sionable " period if his life, and at. a stage of his : minid whan it is easiest^ if the eff oiits are well .dir«cted, to arouse an enthu/siasm for the good,' the lofty, and the noble 'that might be indelibly . impressed ■On the youthful mmd for 1 the remain•der of life. We have heard of the makings of- so many fine men with generous instincts ruined before they had arrived at years ; of discretion, solely through devouring- this wretch^ ed, this atrocious, clais,s "of literatuire, that we think- every Government in the world ought to join in bariming its ag-ainst publicity in any shape. If a 'censor is wanted at all—^-and that is a point open to a good deal of ar-goitnientr-that censor . shoiuld surely be one whose .duty it is to protect tfie susceptible mmdi vof youthi from being contaminated : by such horrible ?rash as is now to be printed amd published broadcast.

The Adhilles and Speedking Cycles lead ith-e way. Wade and Co ; A meeting of tihe Grey County Council will /be held on Tuesday. 7 * h inst., at 2.30 p.m. ' v " • ' ; . .Ilariey and Co., Ltd., advertise a cottage to let in the best part of= Blaketown, at 10s per week... ; ■ - A .conger eel/ 6ft;- in. (length was caugiht at tihe Tip Head, last evening (by Mr.R. Johnston. Oh being opened it was found to contain a large sdhnaoper.'adog fish and a flounder. W. ,J. Mcllroy and .Co.. ..Lave just 'landed a prim^xonsignimenit of pickling- onions which they are retailing at 3s 6d per 281 bs .— Advt. •". ■ ! • The settled weather ' oif the last week has enabled the trawlers to get put, and some fair catches have been made, mostly confined, however, to schnapper and groper. There is one atieani. ship company complaining, says a oontemporary, Chiat when its ship reached a South American, port it was not only .put into quaranitane, . but the Marconi was forbidden to comniunicajte with the shore,; as if the /mere tick of the machine migiht spread the grams. ;:•;' The Hon. Minister, of Mines ihas informed -Mr Gnmmond, w!ho is now at: Waihi, that the Government, has ordered' another keystone drill to^ replace the one intended for W.estland," lost in 'the .wreck of "ithe.vParisJana. Tihe hew machine is expected to, arrive, in the iDiominion in the course of albput edgiht weeks. The Government cannoi provide a ma6hine locally till ''hen. . . ■".. ■■'-■;. ' : ■ -^ ■. .... \ u ■ ■ "■■ . ■ . The evergreen question, of the -contributions "by South Westlahd residents -towards the upkeep of the medJoal officef for^ that district again engraved *he attention- of -the Hokitita ObJaritalble Aid .Board at its last meet. ing 1 , members expressing- the opinion, that -tihere was- no forward -move in tihe arranjgements, imafcters being np more advanced now; than before 'the officer was appointed s Ultimately, after carisidersilble discussion it •>•&£- decided that' Messrs v Duff (County Chair man) and Murdoch, who are Tibcx.s - ctf "ithe Board ..and who prapis>7v-sit- . ing South iWestland by v:e - -iej t ti ip of the Jane Doug;las r 'should 'nWet the residents- at' Bruce B>y ".nd endeavour ito come to «a lefiaite setlleoient off tie position, • '•

Eaikoura has been, the .possessor of two newspapers for some years — tihe Sun and the Star. .. The, former, i however, was on Tuesday last merged .into .the Star., v Mr Harold yFarar, proprietor of -the Star, having- purchaisied .tike plant, maohinery _^and goodwill of the Sun. The death took . place -recently at Mount Eden, Auckland,, of Mrs Lpiiisa.S. H.-iG.iles,.'wife of,'Dr J.. iGjles; The., late, 'Mrs 'Giles, : ,,wih.os,e maide© name was Miss iDrake; was a .direct ' decendant. of the celebrated (admiral of that name and "came out "to New Zealand, with heir husband in tihe earl^ sixties. She resided in Holcitika with her ihusiband for tmany years, and was widely, known, and respected on the West ■ '■Coast,. 1 wihere many will 'h ?ar of her^death 'with^reifffet. "".""" A somieiwhat serious report was made, by the jWestland Hospital House Committee on Wednesday ..night (says the Guardian) to the T effect = that one corner ■of ihe new- Manson cward was overrun with ibugs^and cockroaches. Mr Clifton and other members stated they were astounded to find such a nuisance in the new ibuilding. It was resolved 'to : t»ake immediate steps.- to have the nuisance removed and its future prevalence prevented, members recognising that .the matter was ccc regu v king > serious attention. ,-. If theGpveirnor rode a cycle 'twould be either an Achilles or Speedking. Stocked. iby Wade. and Co . We iregret to report the death i(says the Guardian) of .an old and esteemed resident in the person.of;. Mts Leslie, wife- of Mr John Leslie, of Brittan Street, 'ntvihich * took- place -yesterday imioming at ' four o'clock. The deceased, M .fead M been, jailing^ . for ; .a ; long time past. 'She was a native of Glasgow., and 72 years ";pf age,, i and -had been a resident .. of .fibkitiikia for 'aiboui 45 years. A family of tihree sons (John, Alexander, and Archibald) the former ibedng in Australia and the ftwo latter resident in Hokitika," are left with their father to mourn their loss land tiKey. will have the sincere sympathy of their imany friends in itiheir (bereavement.- 'r * '""_ " Keep yourv eye. on myicyclery, and your mind on my, sale- bargains, for only genuine B.S. A bicycles. Qualities like these; tell; prices like sell. Your satisfaction is my success. — G. Kitchingham, Boundary Street. •The iDunedin ; sewerage sdicme (stays an exchange) is 15ft. below sea level. There is !a pumpihig 1 station on the flati, where thevsewage is lifted out of, ,a ibig tarLK about 20ft. deep, pumped up a slanting - *• ' r to a higher level and driven . out w>; jca. Jaawa^h. pipes, : with cpneete . around them, were used for the rising imam, ibut the pressure of the s pum ping engine in the stuff along, burst! the pipes and. the jarrah-coh-cete comibination had to be replaced toy .metal pipes at a very considerable exspense. These pipes are about "3ft. in diameter. The storm water, which is a separate scheme, discharges into the harbour. .Nothing dredged out. of ■tihie harbour is carried out to sea. All, the spoil is used for •' V lam.'- J tion. purposes. " ■"'■ . : The reason I: sell. my. only genuine B.S. A bicycle so much cheaper than anyone else is because I- am satisfied with a great deal iess profit^^G. Kitchingham, Boundary Street. / . Auckland is three days' steam nearer to Fiji than iSydney, and the geogiaphical position of New Zealand would, alone ...suggest, Jhisd. in tiime pur ( ; political boundaries, .w^ich already include some o£ .ithe.-;inearer island ,gttoups, will be extended to. cover Fiji .as^veli. . /Assuredly New Zealand hias a ibetter natural claim upon such adestijiy thian New SouthWales, and' ..we once more ,tirge upon Ministers the necessity for .looking tothe future and itaking steps to counteract any such ajtteniipt to secure, control of the PacMc for Anstiralia as is suiggested iby the proposal to remove the Higfli 'Commissioner from Suva to ' Sydney .—^Aucikliand ' 'Star."

' ; In ireg-ard to my only-genuine B.S. A •■' bicycle, telling, the iplain truth .;and . misrepresenting ihbtfiihg are ' my . strongest Weapons of 'defence against competitors.— G. Kitchingham, Boundary Street. V v . -, i&.; t . ..■..-.. ,v '"';,:■■ '. ; .... , k , . ■ .-''{■Some of the Clearing; Lines; at. W. McKay and Son's Summer Sale:— 3s6d Blouses forts Ud, tadiesf |elt 3 2s-:6d rfot Is, Hoyand Coats for Is, jjob ; Corsets Is 6d and ■''% Hd pair. •Damaged half; Curtains '^^ Is, . and : 2s 6d the :^iep^. v --It.,v|[i'.;!pay you to call in. aind see our big baj^ains. W. McKay and Son, THe Leading Drapers.

At a meeting of the Fire Brigade Demonstration. Finance _ Committee, au. offer of £15 for the rigihiti to the official programme, sijibanitted; 'by Messrs Mark Sprot and Co. for a client, was accepted. The Avork of canvassing for suJbsoriptions towards tihe entertainment fund was left in the hands of Messrs E. H. Roibin.s.an. and D. J. Evans, and it.Avas decided to secure the co-operation of tihe local bodies in connection with the luncheon proposed to be held on the opening day, when, the iHon. D. Buddo Miaiister of Inteirnal Affairs, will be

present The Picnic Cctinmitteej at. a meeting presided over Iby Mr G. H. Eisfelder,rece ived satisfactory jepojts from suib-committees as to itihe caterin>?r and other 'anrangem'ents for 'tihe excursion on. Maroh 7th: to. Lake Mahiinabua. .<" '".' ' :

The fJ Hoiise .Committee of Westland Hospital reported to the Charitable Aid Board on Wednesday evening <!hat considerable annoyance was being caused to the staff and patients by the action of visitors in failing to enter the institution by the main entrance, in •accordance with the rules for visitors, who are expected to ring for admittance and 'attendance. La> terly quite a numiber of visitors have entered t>y the Manson ward, without, notifying the staff and .this breach of tihe irules :- has caused ■ :Consddenable inconvenience. , Memlbers of the Boanrd expressed regret at. the action of visitors, pointing- out itihat. every latitude was given visitors who desired to vfsit friends who , were patients in the institution, even after hours, but that this latitude bad . ibeen .(taken, advantage of in some instances, and if a stop was -n-qt made, it would mean the cuirtailmenit of all privileges after hours and the more strict carrying out, of. tihe rules for visitors during hours. It was resolved to notify ithat'iall visitors must .in future strictly abide iby the rules posted ait the 'hospital.— Guardian.

On. Wednesday nigihit at the .Exchange Hotel, Hokitika, the members of the commbtee of the Westland Racing Club met for the purpose of making a presentation to Mrs B'riggs in appreciation of her support of the local Club, and spo.rt .generally. Mr E. H. Robinson (Presidenti) occupied the chair, and Mr F. McGregor was Vice-Chairmany The Mayor was aimong the guests present. A ver\' pleasant evening was spent. Mrs Briggs had prepared a very nice repast, while the ladies and. gentlemen present contributed to the harmony of tihe evening, Mr G. Heppell presiding at "tihe piano. The principal toast was proposed by the Ohadrman who referred to Mrs Brdggs' enterprise and loyal support. He took occasion to present <the lady witih a gold watch and chain, the former being suitably inscribed. The VicejChiainnan, the Mayor, Messrs Evans, Mclntosh, Sellers, ■Cook, Thompson .and o'lhers

the remarks of the Chairman, and the toast of Mrs Brigigs' 'health was drunk with .musical honours Mr .S. Brig,gs replied <m (behalf of ihis mother. Other toasts were honoured, and the sentiments well expressed, and a vary pleasant •time was passed.