FEILDING

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 165, 13 June 1936, Page 5

FEILDING

BOROUGH COUNCIL.

THURSDAY NIGHT’S MEETING

The Feilding Borough Council mot on Thursday, the Mayor (Mr T. Collins) presiding. There were also present Crs. E. Fair, W. W. Andrews, G. Darragh, P. G. Guv, G. J. Fitzpatrick, A. J. Kellow, A. C. McCorkindalc, T. L. Scddon and Y. E. Smith. It was decided to make a grant of £25 to the funds of the Feilding Plunket Nurso Society with a condition that £5 of the sum he earmarked for the society’s building fund. Accounts amounting to £409 3s 8d

were passed for payment and accounts amounting to £1486 Yos 3d paid since tho last mooting were approved. The treasurer reported that payments on account of rate arrears collecxcd to May 31 totalled £155 18s Id. CORRESPONDENCE.

i A. letter was received from tho Napier Borough Council recommending . the formation of a local bodies employees’ union, covering all outside ’ workers. Tho Mayor said that he had ■ noted that other local bodies had . taken the question up, and lie agreed ■ that it was perhaps tho best method or meeting tho position created by the recent legislation. Tho council unanimously agreed to support tho proposal of the Napier Borough Council. An intimation that tho rate of subsidy payable to relief labour engaged on. road improvement loan work was to be increased was received. The ■Mayor said that tho letter was anticipated in view of recent legislation, and tho subsidy would now bo £2 5s per week instead of 35s per week. The position wgs that tho council had already made an increase of Is per day on the wages paid and it was now required to grant another Is per day, making the pay 16s per day. The effect of the new subsidy would be to increase the cost of tho road improvement work by approximately £SOO, but he anticipated that it would not be necessary to borrow any furtliei money, as the work was being carrioci out well within the estimate. The additional Is per day would operate from June. Letters wero received from the Minister of Public Works and the Main Highways Board, acknowledging the representations of the council regarding the necessity for sealing Awahuri Road. Both letters intimated that the views of the Borough Council would bo carefully noted when the highways estimates were being dealt with. RESTORATION OF CUTS. The council adopted the recommendation of the finance committee to restore to the extent of 5 per cent the salary cuts imposed during the depression on niemebrs of tho staff. The amount involved to provide for this restoration is £lO6 18s. Or Guy: Don’t you think we could give the staff the whole of their cuts back P Most of tho other local bodies have done so and we are rather late in tile day in restoring 5 per cent. The Mayor said that it was simply a question of finance. The amount allocated was taken from contingencies and, ns he had announced earlier, the council was likely to be £SOO short on its road improvement scheme. Cr Andrews supported Cr Guy and said it was to be regretted that tho finance committee had been unable to recommend the full restoration of the cuts. Cr Smith also favoured the restoration in full of the cuts. At this stage of the discussion the council went into committee to further consider the position. On resuming in open council it was announced that a motion in favour of restoring the cuts in full had been defeated by six votes to three. 1 ” PROPOSED TOWN HALL. A proposal advanced by a deputation, which waited on the Borough Council, that the time had arrived when the town should be equipped with an up-to-date town hall, was favourably received by the council, and it was agreed to investigate the , position with a view to going fully , into the question when the necessary i data had been collected. The Mayor ; expressed himself as being in favour ( of the proposal to provide the town with a suitable public hall. ( Cr McCorkindalc introduced the ; deputation which, he said, was repre- i sentative of various organisations of < the town who felt that the facilities 1 in the way of public hall accommoda- ; tion had not advanced in keeping with , tho progress of the town. 1 Mr W. G. Short, a member of the ) deputation, said that the inadequacy • of the public hall accommodation in Feilding had been brought home to j the farmers’ hall committee recently. , when, with an attendance of over 800, , the greatest difficulty was experienced ; in providing for the large crowd. So- ( cial gatherings of the kind meant ] something to the town, and as far as the ball committee was concerned it ( had spent just on £7O, this year and , last year, on incidental items. He j was sure that patrons must spend, in ( the aggregate, a considerable sum. (j Mr A. J. Humphreys said that there j

was definitely a need for a public hall. Ho had been associated with a number of organisations that had required tho use of a hall on different occasions, and had suffered considerable inconvenience through the absence of proper accommodation. The question of civic pride entered into tho matter and from this point of view it W'as necessary for the council, he suggested, to visualiso tho growth of the town and its obligations to ratepayers. The speaker appreciated that the cost was likely to cause the council to take a pessimistic view of the representations, but he suggested that the revenue from such a building would be larger than provisionally estimated. Mr F. J. Allen, representing the Feilding Hockey Association, supported the previous speakers and said that through the absence of proper facilities for public gatherings tho pleasures of these had been considerably curtailed. Ho instanced occasions on which visitors attending functions in Feilding had, owing to tile shortage of facilities, been obliged to travel 12 miles away to secure supper. Mr Allen felt that the council should remember that certain gatherings were in danger of being lost to Feilding through the inadequacy of the existing facilities. Feilding had to cater not only for its ratepayers and citizens, but also for visitors, and he referred to the polo tourney and its value to the town. Mrs H. E. Hocken, on behalf of the women’s organisations of the district, supported the representations made.

After members of the deputation had answered a number of questions as to the size of tho building desired, rents, etc., the Mayor thanked the deputation for bringing the question forward. The council had not been dormant on the question of a public hall, and he recalled that soon after his election he had requested the borough engineer to look up the original plan for a town hall for Feilding. This had been rejected by the ratepayers because, at the time of the poll, they had just previously supported large loans for drainage and sewerage. Since that time two theatres had been built in Feilding and for some years one had been closed. He thought that the council had lost an opportunity of securing a town hall when two theatres were built. Mr Collins had in mind a building having twice the supper room accommodation of the drill hall and half ns much floor space as the drill hall. This type of building would involve a cost of about £7OOO, on which sum would require to be found interest and sinking fund. Ways and means of finding the money were the next question, and in this regard he felt that ratepayers, at the moment, would bo ready to support a loan. The cost might ho assisted by a carnival effort—an effort backed by the whole town. His view was that Feilding definitely required a suitable public hall. Ho did not favour a building designed to meet tho requirements of visiting theatrical companies, but tho plans should he drawn up to provide for pictures. While the council was unable to do anything at the moment, he thanked the deputation for bringing the matter forward, for ho considered that something would come of tho movement.

The Mayor suggested to the council that steps be taken to investigate the proposal, his idea being that with full information before it the council could go into ways and means of securing the type of building desired. 'Hie council agreed to the Mayor’s proposal. METHODIST CIIURCH. JUBILEE CONCERT. Last evening a most successful concert was given by pupils of the Methodist Church Sunday school and Bible classes and other artists. There was a good attendance despite the wintry conditions which prevailed. Rev. J. IT. Allen, who occupied the chair, announced that the services tomorrow would bo taken by Rev. F. Copeland. At the morning service Mr Copeland would be unveiling the tablet to the memory of Mr and Mrs W. Cartbew. Mr Allen further advised that gift envelopes were still being received, and he was confident that the church funds would reach the amount aimed at. £IOOO. Before proceeding' with the programme, Mr Allen announced that the recitations to be rendered by the scholars were composed by Miss Gloria Rawlinson, of Epsom (Auckland), a cripple who had been confined, to her bod for many years. The programme was as follows: National Anthem; children’s choir, “Like a Lighthouse” ; G. Thompson, recitation ; Phyllis Hunt, recitation; children’s choir, “Fairy Land”; J. McPhail, recitation; Willie Olliver, recitation ; song, girls. “Butterfly Land”;

Ernest Kenny, recitation ; children’s choir, “Hnsli, Here Comes the Dream Man”; swing song, three senior Bible class girls, “Swinging in tho Moonlight” ; Ray Lean, recitation; Stanley Hunt, recitation; song, “Three Ala ids of Lee” ; Graham Guy, recitation; Valerie Lane, recitation; song, “Iveys of Heaven” ; Hugh Funnell, recitation ; coon songs, junior Bible classes; children’s play, “Tho Arm Chair” ; solos, Aliss Afvrtlo Guy, “The Almond Tree” and “Bless This House” ; solo, Mr Shelton, “Fishermen of England” ; elocutionary item, Aliss J. Maunder; solos, Aliss A. Fiest. “On, Away. Awake, Beloved.” “Give Thanks and Sing,” “The Festal Hymn of Judith” ; tap dance, Aliss CLara Rodgers; elocutionary item, Aliss J. Maunder y solos, Airs P. Doull. “The Willow,” “A Heart That Is Free,” “A, Birthday” ; play, members of tho Y.AV.B.C., “Afichael.” Before pronouncing the Benediction, Air Allen thanked those who had contributed to the programme, which had been thoroughly enjoyable. He also thanked tho Press for assistance in the jubilee celebrations. FEILDING MART. At the Feilding auction mart yesterday prices for poultry and. pigs were as follow : —Poultry : Purebred cockerels, 15s; other cockerels, Is to 2s lOd ; hens, Is 4d to 2s 7d; ducks. Is lOd to 2s 7d. Pigs: Baconers, £2 ss; porkers, £1 4s to £1 17s 6d ; stores, 17s to £1 2s; weaners, 7s Cd. to 12s 6d; slips, 9s 6d to 17s Cd.