WESTPORT NOTES.

Grey River Argus, 6 November 1928, Page 7

WESTPORT NOTES.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) WESTPORT, November 5. Th e Buller Supplementary Electoral Roll contains 1585 additional names. The total number on the roll is 9877. A total of 508 names have been removed from the roll since it was closed for printing on July sth, 1928. Since “the cat was let out of the bag” in regard to the supplying 100000 tons of smokeless fuel for eight years to New Zealand, for use on the railways, the solicitor for the Smokeless Fuel Company has been credited wi h saying that he is only inquiring int 0 ti'e possibilities of N.Z. coals being treated so as to stop them smoking. It was first cabled that a contract had been signed, but the solicitor stated that he had no knowledge of that,-but he forgot to mention that he was here upon another mission alto-. gether; and it was only when an ex-, planation was demanded that he recollected what was his real mission to N.Z. The Buller Progress League did not move one moment too soon in the matter, and it is to he hoped they have averted the disastrous results of importing such fuel into New Zealand. ,

An amusing story about a certain Parliamentary candidate is told by one of the P.W. men at Tiraroa. • It appears that the Reform candidate was on the job on Saturday, and after his address in the cookhouse, he made himself agreeable to all and sundry with whom he came in contact. Being a well set up man, his appearance was a recommendation, and his promises for the workers if he should be returned were said to have eclipsed even Sir Joe’s £7O 000,000. After conversing some time with one of the workers'’ wives, ns she stood at her cottage door, surrounded by her young family, he moved further along. The lady’s firstborn, aged five, watching him depart, turned to his mother and said, “Mum. is that Santa Claus?” The death occurred at Christchurch on Saturday evening- of Mr Alex. Len nie, wife of a former licensee of the Commercial Hotel, Westport.. The late Airs Lennie was a’ sister of Air J. Morgan. and Airs W. Stevens, of Westport. Air W. Blair, who has been a resident of Westport for 30 years, left on Saturday t 0 reside in Wellington. He was made a presenta'ion by the members of the Westport Soccer Club. Constable Robinson received a cable last week informing him of the death of his mother at Carlyle. Deceased was .8 years of age. Her husband, Dr Robinson, predeceased her by a number of years.

Alr s Robir son. wife of Constable Robinson, of Karamea, left on Saturday by the Komata on a trip of a few weeks to Napier and Wellington. The. death occurred in the Buller Hospital of Mrs Pratt, wife of Air T. W. Pratt, of Stockton. Th e late Airs Pratt was 49 years of age, and a native o f New Silkworth. England. For the past 19 years she had resided in New Zealand. She leaves a family of four sons and two daughters. Prior to his departure by th e s.*. Komata to take up his residence at VA ellington, AI r W. Blair was met by members of Buller Caledonian Society and presented with a tangible token of esteem. Air Strachan, Chief. in making the presentation, referred to the valuable services Air Blair had rendered o the Society, regretted his approaching departure, and offered the best wishes of the members for his ■ uture career. Air J. W. Shanks, Secretary, endorsed the remarks, and’ Miss Gilbert, lor the ladies ; also voiced appicciat.on of Air Blair ’s good services to the Society. Mr Blair’s reply wa> characteristic. “It is only when I’m g’ ing away that I find out what a good man I am.” lie would be sorry to mi s the Inglesides, where he has spent some of the happiest times in his life. Air Blair also received gifts from other societies with which he had been actively associated.

It is not :> good plan to leave everything to 'he last minute. We are nearing Christmas, and many and various little things ai'e requited for home and fiiend'. A perusal of the advertisements on this page x\ ill help you to make up your mind what you want, and where you will get it. There ia hope for the local morning paper yet; it may eventually b* 1 gathered into the fold. A settler of the back blocks penned a *cw lines asking for an explanation through its columns as ■ to the change of attitude towards the Coate’s Government, and pointing out that the newspaper had all along been chiding the Government for its neglect of the Buller especially in respect .to the Buller Gorge Railway and the Harbour, but that now on the eve of the election it was changing 'over to a supporter of Re form. The hack blocks writer points out that it would be very nice to have the Premier of N.Z. representing the Buller, and so say all of us or about 80 per cent of' us. The answer given to the query boiled down is thar it can hardly be expected that the Government will not play fair to a district whose representative is in opposition to it. Of course that was the parrot cry last election but the amounts placed on the Estimates for the Buller are a {dear refutation of that Agument. The hope of «alvation, howev.r lies in the probability that Ixabour will be so victorious at the polls that Harry Holland will beccane Premier in The not distant future. Then, the morning paper will doubtless somersalt once again and l>c a staunch suppbrt?ir of Labour until —• The Westport Times the other evening winds up a well reasoned article 2*pon. t,he alleged contracts for the smokellessi fuel, news of which has leaked out in the following manner. The Bull.a- Progress League has given Air Holland a lead to make full inquiries and if these are not satisfactory ,the people of this district or any of New Zealand’s coa ( lfield l may lose th'i little confidence they now have in the. Reform administration. There were about 400 kiddies present at th'o Matinee at the Victoria Theatre to witness the “Flag Lieutenant ’ Readers contemplating investing in Xmas presents’ could hardly do better than send for a price list to the Central Pharmacy, Palmerston Street They would probably savij themselves much trouble in making a selection later on. The Hon, W. F. Finlayson of Australia and Rev Moses Ayrton spoke upon the Prohibition question at the Town Hall. Mr Finlayson started to speak outside the Hall to a fair collection of listeners and later took his audience insid-A where he continued the address. He told stories whicn the audience appreciated. He urew particular attention to the adVertisements with which th?i liquor people were placarding the town. He

lauded N.Z. for progressive measures and suggested that this country might be th?, first of the British Dominions to adopt Prohibition. He gave instances of what he had seen in America during three visits that country and maintained that drink caused crime* and quoted statistics to prove the assertion. H? also quoted scientists’ opinions as to th>_> effects of alcohol upon the individuals, the American Review of Reviews being brought into the .argument and many of America’s foremost officials and Representatives of different States. The speaker was of the opinion that next week in the election of th? President of U.S.A., the Americans would cho'ose Hoover and also the enforcement of the Prohibition Amendment which would prove that the people were convinced of its value. He said the people must understand that it was not the brewer, distiller or hdt.lkeeper that was the trouble, it was alcoholic drink that caused the mischief. There were nwiy attempts to- make the drink respectable but he asserted they all failed. Prohibition was the ’only alternative, The individualist he claimed was an example of the value of Prohibition. What was good for the individual wias good for the State.’ Prohibition was contrasted with No License. There were 12 no license districts in N.Z. in each ot which ha said there was evidence of

great improvement. S'ome 77 years ago the State of Maine adopted Prohibition and the speaker had visited there and found it a. prosperous State. It took America 75 years to abolish the* slave trade. The hand had been put to- the plough ami the work would be carried 'on until a clean sweep was made of the liquor traffic. The law was only eight years old yet, but they had made great headway. He claimed the 18th Amendment would never be nopealed. He wound up with a spirited peroration and an appeal to all electors to help th.i carrying of pro.ibition in N.Z. The Rev Ayrton referred to the argument that no l prohibitory laws that already had been 'enacted had proved 100 per cent .effective. He instanced tKe ten commandments ami asked bad these proved 100 per cent effective. He, himsplf, he stated had been an extremist in this matter. He claimed Hue prohibition movement eminated with working m n and that it was for the benefit of the working men and women. He also cited" Cooperative movement which had eniinated from" the minds ‘of working men and said gr ia,t results ccjuld be achieved*. A thought he wished to convey was that, a man could never be a man as long as his appetite governed his policy, lie said the responsibility was upon his hearers to decide* at th? referendum on November 14. He favoured the referendum in prefer nee to any plank 'on a political platform. Sober men and women were required to clean up the mess that the liquor trad? had made. (Applause). Rev., Mr Aliller asked all present to aid in carrying prohibition and moved a vote (if thanks to the speakers which was carried with acclamation.