STILL WORK TO DO

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 22 December 1942, Page 4

STILL WORK TO DO

NECESSITY I OR A PROGRESS LEAGUE MARLBOROUGH M.P. ON NELSON CONFERENCE After many months of recess the Marlborough Progress League held a meeting for the purpose of securing an opinion particularly from the various bodies which it represents, as to whether or not it should be revived to participate in the advancement of the schemes discussed at the recent Nelson conference (reports the “Express”). Alter a full discussion during which all present were unanimous in the view that there was now important work for the League to handle, especially as it possessed all the necessary machinery to fully represent the district in | the formulation of such proposals as 1 advanced at the Nelson conference, and should therefore take its part in those projects, the following motion by Mr H. J. Stace was adopted: That all Marlborough local bodies be circularised setting out the aims of the movement, and asking for financial and other support. Seconding the motion, Mr H. J. S Mitchell, speaking as the Borough Council’s representative. .;aid he was sure that when the local ooaies knew of the projects that were in hand they would be interested. Keen support for the continued existence of the League was offe-cd by Mr E. P. Meachen, M.P.. who said that there was every justification for it to carry on. There were quite a number of projects that *outd be gone into within Marlborough itself. As far as the Nelson conference was concerned he could not see any great benefits to come to Marlborough; the Cobb scheme for instance would go on anyhow, and Marlborough would be able to participate in its benefit if it wanted to. The only . thing that he had seen for Marl-

borough, in fact, was an affoiesUn lion scheme. He did not wish to be parochial, and it was all right to help other people get benefits, but he would prefer the co-operation and assistance he had had in the past from the Marlborough League in obtaining things for Marlborough rather than to see money spent in battling for things in other districts. Post-war expenditure must in any case be spread, he continued- They had important things to do here. For instance there was very much more to be done in the Marlborough Sounds. Their own raihvay was not completed yet, and it had to have satisfactory time-table. There was plenty of work lor the League her**. "Some mention has been made of rehabilitation,” he continued. “I would be disappointed to think that members of this League were going to speak of all jobs as being satisfactory lor rehabilitation- I want the soldiers coming back to this country to be on something better than the pick and shovel, and there* is nothing else than that in all the schemes tha» have been mentioned. “Therefore I don’t think that all these things should be specified as for rehabilitation, because we should have something better in view* for these men who are away fighting than for them to come back and have to go out into the backblocks.” The League, he added, would have an unpaid organiser in himself, and he was prepared to fight for the progress and development of the district at all times.