WESTPORT NOTES.

Grey River Argus, 20 July 1922, Page 2

WESTPORT NOTES.

(Our Own Correspondent). A very nasty aevidmi came within i hair’s breadth of happening lhe other day whim a motor ear was about to take the Orowaiti bridge. A woman' was sitting on the doer of the ear when it suddenly gave way ami but for the lightning grab ot' another woman oe-! eupant goodness knows what would have been the result. This save should i be a warning to ihose who persist in ' overcrowding motor vehicles and per ehing themselves on anything bin tli»e proper seats. At. the Uoiinfy Council meeting on ■ Tuesday night Ur. Simpson asked the Hon. Mclntyre, as the County re[iri'sontative, to urge the speedy construction of 2!) chains of road in the Opara-I ra. district which li.- <•.»; .-idercd. was the most urgent, wmk in Ihe County. ’ He estimated that the construction would cost £2OO. There would be a ' saving of £lOO per year in maintenance, ami also a saving of £.150 to lite daily company. Discussing road making at the Coun-

ty meeting on Tuesday night, C'r. Simpson said thi‘ day had come when machinery must be substituted for day labour. When finances were low it. was the very time to make every post a winning post, and he considered that a junior grader, at a cost of £-10, would give better service that £l4O worth of man power day labour. In lhe Grey County the motor tax is £5O per annum, and the speed limit 5 miles per tour. Bevan and Co. have expressed their intention of suing the Buller Count} Council for £2l 12s compensation for damages done io their motor lorry breaking through one of the culverts | on ihe Wes’.port-Charl-eston road. Ljioii the notice being read out at the meeting on Tuesday night the council decided to decline liability. temp'ating proceeding to the Umpire City to urge Barlianu n t I" expedite the completion of the West Coast road via Barry town. The Karamca medical association has communicated to th-e Buller Comity asking them io reappoint M r W. IL I Simpson as their represents is e on tin.' Buller Hospital and Chai Hable Aid Board. Ci. Simpson was later elected unopposed. He thank-mi th*' Council for Lis elect ion and apologised tor lia\ ing absented himself lor tour conseciimeeting. .He did not think that the importance of some mootings warranted the expense ol £S lor h.s ap].(‘arance. Lt. camo to light, al lhe County meeting on Tuesday night that the ’exorbitant juice placed by ihe settlers on lan l along the projected route ol the West Coast road was holding up Ih‘expoditious completion ot certain sections of the w»ik. * Mr Rea is engaged uniting a (piaiititv of hardwood from the scow ,“.lluia” for Mr R. Atkinson, who has in haml a County bridge contract in the vicinity of Norris’s sawmill on the Lo'-pline road. I don’t know whether it is a sign ol an cai’ly suuniK-r ur imt, but seasnleo are pa. paring their whares for camping out at Utopia, and already se\-orai houses at the ('ape have been “bagged” for the usual yearly sojourn at tlii' seaside. Air B. Me Herron’s little boy is in hospital suiTvriiig from pneumonia. The latest, report is that his condition is very low. I hope there will soon be word of a change for the better. Owners of stock arc complaining about the poor class ol grass growing on the Borough streets, and Dame Rumor says they are contemplating sending a petition to the Oily < ouncil to induce them to scatter a better class of grass seed on the' roadsidi'sAt. Ihe next Borough Council meeting which takes place nt the Town Hall on Wednesday night week, Crs. Henley and Fox will lecture on “the vices of proportional representation. All those privileged to cast a vole should be interested in the working <7l the proportional representation sell cine, ami their presence al the would no doubt be weleoioed by ( ouir < eillors •oho propose to debate the vn- ’ lues and the vices of the one man one vote, system. I would like to make j common knowledge of the fact that nice tings of all local bodies are open to the public. That is, any rate

payer can come and listen to the de . liberations of those elected to control the business of the Borough or the ! County.. The public of Westport have ' a reputation for rushing free entertainments, yet no one avails himself ol the periodic and regular concerts proi vided by our Town and Country legislators. Why it it so? I Messrs W. T. Klee and Mr J. Sin- | clair J.P.’s occupied the bench at a j sitting of the. Magistrate’s Court held on Tuesday morning. The little, son of Air B. McHcrton, ’storekeeper, who was admitted to the Westport Hospital a few days ago underwent an operation yesterday Tor pneumonia, and a large abscess was removed from one lung. Dr Foote, and Dr Dunn did the operating, and the lad is now making a very good recovery. Mr Joseph Elliott, who died at Granity on Tuesday, at the ripe old age of S2, was a well-known identity. H n ' followed coal mining all his life, havl ing begun in the mines when quite a lad in Yorkshire, England. Ho camo over to New Zealand about 40 years ago. He was a great lover of band music, and was the drummer for the Granity band for many years. He was recognised as the best timekeeper in drumming in the Dominion. He leaves two sons, Tommy and Joe, both

I'orncf. players, who havt? In Imnds(B('n from their youth. ”1• late Joe was one of tin' minors tliai arranged the banquet in the Brunner niiiTo many vears ago for. 'hu Governor—.l th'iik it was I.ord Onslow. Aftur leaving the Brunner bo ramo to Denniston, ami when the Granity mint' opened, shifted to that township, and was a deputy in the mine. His wife died Last week four fresh <-;.s. - < I iii>> : ■ thei’ia were reported in Inangahna dis- | trier. I The Minister of Railways has informed .Mr T. K. Y. Scddon, M.P.. that a request for a railway siding at (’liest'Orfield, below Kumara Junction, can'not i»e granted. He says the country in the vicinity is of poor quality an I sparsely settled, and neither the preI' sent nor the prospective traffic is sufficient to warrant the expendituri' which would bo involved in furnishing j the facility in question. It is undor- | Stood there is a partly formed road along the ’oeach which will, when com- • pletcd, give a connection between Arahura and Kumara and provide an across from Hie Chesterfield district to the Awatuna station.