THE OAMARU MAIL WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 1920. THE HYDRO-ELECTRICITY SCHEME.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XLIV, Issue 14043, 28 April 1920, Page 4

THE OAMARU MAIL WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 1920. THE HYDRO-ELECTRICITY SCHEME.

It is scarcely necessary for us to say that we are iii entire sympathy with tiic resolution come to by last night's meeting, to consider, whether or not North Otago should join in the hydroelectricity scheme formulated by the Otago Expansion League. The nfeeting, indeed, adopted the course- that we suggested it should pursue. It refused to either endorse or reject the schetae, and so preserved., jt for further. 6alni consideration.' Tliat there was no real antagonism to.the adoption of a united Otago" scheme was .made abundantly clear by voice and Vote, The absolute need for a hydro-electlTcity scheme was definitely affirmed, and the meeting proclaimed readiness to enter into the project provided that Dunedin and its contiguous divisions now excluded agreed to come into the proposed power district, and so gave to the enterprise the prestige and'assurance of success that it would have with the' whole weight of the support of a, truly united Otago, It- no doubt came as a matter of surprise to those present to l-eai;n from Mr A. S. Adams that the city' and some of the southern centres had beet/ excluded by the and that their exclusiou was h.pt due to their own refusal to participate. The reason was that as the city had ten years ago accepted a burden of, responsibility in connection,/with a scheme of its own • it should nbt be asked to accept a'share of the burdeii of a scheme designed to benefit the rest of. Otago. For the same reason' Oamaru ought to have beoTt also excluded, and it was not so excluded. Mr Adams completely set'at noiight the ! re«son' for omitting. Dunedin and the j other ureas when he. admitted that the t city scheme had been a great success und said' that no rate .had been necessary in the case of the city scheme and no ra to would be neeessaiy under the proposal than being 'considered/ If, then,- no rate is involved in the Otago j Expansion League's - scheme, wherein lies the burden that it would be. improper to seek: to- cast ' upon the city by-its-inclusion in a Scheme conceived for the benefit of the rest of Otago? Mr two.statements seem to us to be mutually destructive. _ If there is wo burden of the matter no wrong could be done by teijuirr ing Dunedin to join in ah all Otago ■scheme.; Jf a-prospective. burden,, does exist.ltne carrying of the .scheme may be jeopardised' by ratepayers; constituting less than one-half the population, being; scared into voting against it, while confidence would- be inspired by a knowledge that whatever the burden might be it would be lightened by being spread" over many- shoulders, rand the- scKeine would' be 'readily endorsed..

By feseludittg the city the League has exposed itbelf to one or other of two i m it either _ iavoted Duni e3*n Or feared' to trust-it. -Mr Adams ; provided oji« reason why Dunedni shoiild be included' when he said that it had: about- reached: the limits, of itA Waipori • scheme. and must ultimately cume into an Otago scheme. Sir Creole Fenwick. -furnished , another reason: for including Dunedni when he urged" that Oamaru f6r the sake -oi helping Waitaki County should indorse., the scheme and not turn it dowiK_ That appeal, if it has any force to tiff; case ot Oamaru. as we it has. can with-much greater force he applied wEich is the ; commercial centre ot not one county, but of many counties. - The prosperity of generally- is of vital importance to Dnnodiji. which stands to gam enoi'-. monslv br die increased productive capacity that a command ; ot electric, power would g" e to the country-, /•: and especially , to . ventral Otago. ' With Mr Adams we hen 1 1j] T a Tee "that 'the people have no»\ to choose between,a policy oi progrts'fe aim a policv of drift . ■.The City of Dunedin has to face one or .the othoi ot the alternatives. IS it wants progics* let it come into this bi>r hydro-eier-tricitv scheme and carry Oamartt- ana all the reSt of the province with it. It it is not prepared to do so. then it enn count on the rejection, of the enterprise and face a period of dntt--ii. taU'..that-, will fall more heavily upon the? metropolis than upon any othet pat t oi the - province-' We cU-nitot w.tntiut an "-expression ot admiration ot the ir.mlc-. ness of our fi oiii. l")uitcdiit .ind ait avowal of confidence in their bona fides. They were open and candict, ana. in return they received perfect . cam dour, from the meeting. That ranch V can be viewed as a gain and-a step toward's ti cleJir - Vv t 1 hope will result-in the ot a, project that- / caiw.pt,- i'ai I prove -or mutual advantage to all parts ot Otago. v-

To-day's newspapers contain long rer ports of correspondence which, has passed between the railway men s authorities and Mr >Massey. /lhe Prime 'Minister, in.;reply to a message from the representatives of the locomotive men- that they had unanimously decided to eaase -*ork ;yesterday, made an appeal to the men which published in another column and; in which he said he trusted that wiser- counsels would prevail; that while the Princewas with us th&re would he peace; that a strike would; be a disgrace to the whole Dominion, and ;more especially to those who become responsible for it- that the fair fame of Ivew Zealand is at stake; that the railway men have up to the present a well-earned reputation ' for loyalty, and that it would be a matter for extreme repjret if that reputation were -tarnished .by the action of any-section, of: the l'aalivay employees. This wa.\ supplemented later by a statement by Mr Massey that the men had refused to state their grievances to him, which elicited a Contradiction from the men's representatives Words are not going to settle this revolt.- It is useless to appeal to the men to consider their obligations wTiem their action is consequent on-the failure of the Government to respect their.' obligations to , the men. It the Prime, Minister, had agreed to refer the dispute to the Board as provided bv law he would have done his part to avert any trouble that might nave ensued: but .he obstinately refused to do this and trifled with the situation till the trouble for which everybody but he himself was prepared was precipitated. If Mr Massey had grasped his responsibilities he would have realised that the avoidance of this trouble was in his hands and not m those of a section of the State employees. It is to Mr Massev that the public, have a right to look for the preservation ot the honor and dignity <!f Zealand, not only because the Prince is with us but because honor and dignity are a priceless national asset.. . At the Court this morning, before Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M., .H • James, a laborer, of Herbert- (Mr I'W Onglev). was charged with assaulting Mrs Rose Linda McDonald. oi Herbert (Mr P. C. Iljort-ing), oil the 4th . February, and also with usin" olycene language. Mrs McDonald was charged-with assaulting Hector .lames, the eiglit-year-old boy of the defendant in the first case. James admitted striking Mrs McDonald with a lily stalk when lie saw her heating his boy, and to using nil indecent expression only. Medical and other evidence having been .taken, the Magistrate said that there was evidently been a good deal of high feeling, and the statements on both sides must be viewed as exaggerated. He must find James guilty of an assault which was 'more than trifling in the light ol the medical evidence.' _ His attitude. was regrettable, as he did- not seem to realise that his action was not justifiable. He fined him for assault 40s, cost of service 10s, witnesses' expenses 275, solicitor's fee 21s. and for ohsctme language 40s, Court costs vs. solicitor's fee Mis. For assaulting Hector James.. Mrs McDonald was'fined 10s. solicitor's fee 21s. .

The following is the motion passed by the Wellington branch- of t-lie New Zealand Railway Officers Institute last night:-—"We are astonished to learn that Mr Massey has failed to' grasp the fact that Judge Stringer's findings with reference to the claims placed before .the Wages Board on behalf of railway officers are totally inadequate to meet the reasonable demands made, and we consider -that" any- hew proposals based on those findings can only tend to- prolong and intensify the trouble. We deplore the fact that- the Government failed to deal with the claims in a. practical and sympathetic manner, We have no .confidence in, and absolutely refuse to recognise,.-the Commission now proposed ,hy Mr Massey, and which we firmly believe is merely a. fuiv ther attempt to side-track the whole business. This meeting-'considers the Minister's reply tantamount to a termination of amicable negotiations, and requests the Executive to obtain a legal opinion as to the application of the Labor Disputes Investigation Act, wiHf a view to liaviiig tlife" present dispute heard before a. tribunal appointed un- ! der that Act." Sir Francis Bell, who is the. senior representative o£ the Government- in Wellington a,t the present, time,' mode a, brief statement to .a reporter this afternoon. "The Government," he said, "is-aware of the position, and will take such steps at are necessary in the public interest." He added that ,the Prihie.Minister had communicated with the Railway Society and suggested that thev should reconsider their- decision,as it would be a disg/ace to' New Zealand, if the railways were held up at the present time while the Prince was our guest. The. planting of pines as a means of killing gorse was mentioned by Councillor Harris at a local bodies' meeting at Ashburton on Saturday. The Ashhurton County Engineer (Mi- A. Morrison) confirmed this view, and referred to a plantation where gradually the gorse was being, killed by the pines.

There were many conjectures o« to the .identity of one flag flown" in Wellington on. St. Gieorge's Day. /This was the League of Nations' flag. wlii"b was fl own' from the staff of Te Aro House. It consists of a horizontal bar of blue between'two bars of white, with a Vshaped piece cut from the outer edge. A progressive euchre" social and dance will be held in the Defence Hall, Duntrooii. on Friday, 30th April, comment cinw at 8 p.m. We draw our readers' attention to the advertisement appearing in this issue by Pyne,. Gould, Guinness, invitina: entries for their horse -sfi.lt>' to be held at the Studholme Yards oir Thursday. ■May -6th.

All .persons having claims against or owing to the estate of the late Jamra Stewart. are- requested to furnish nnrticiilars to Mr P. O. "Hjorring, solicitor. . .. ■ „ Entries are .now being .received for the monthly horse sale- to he held on • stables. The Following members of the Onmarjt Miniature Rifle Club have been chosen to shoot in a. match against the Enfield Kifle Club,] on May the 4th:— Messrs St.eenson, Smith, Kennedy, :Ongley. Mosley, Orboll, Doran, Kopi nert, Newson, iWhvte, Millen, Me.--Narry, Creagli, Mauley and Hopwtiod. Any member livable to attend please notify the .secretary at bnce; • A motor 'bus will leave the Monument at 6.15 p.m. on May 4th. Use "NASJOL" and yon won't keep a bad cold or sores throat above a day or - two. Acts like a charm, y Qet n bottle TO-DAY.

(.kit Willowbridge . correspondent writes? —The annual mooting oi houtseholcfers was held m ■, Monday evening. Mi' /\V. Duncan -. was in the'ehair, ••and.-there.••w.as.-ii ,ta«r -nt-, tendance of. householders. The balance sheet as read. The chairman reported .that Mr Falknei and ' himself were sent as a deputation to Christchurch and : were, .successful m getting the board to buy Mr ,J. Spence's house and ground tor a school site. 14 was 'expected to slnit. the ■.school in the winter holidays. . The 'fallowing-. Were•• elected a- committee:— MesSrs l-l. .-.W. Duncan, 0. Falkner. \v. Richmond, and V. liollomhv. At a meeting ot the new eonimifctee'MivCi Duncali was chosen/ chairman tj.nii Mr C. Falkner secretary. Attention is drawn to a social 111 anl. 1 ot. tile Pnpakaio Public labrarv. advertised 111 -this issued; The Committee intend holiding these socials monthlv throughout the wmwr . months, and this is the first -ol the series, when they hope for » good gathering. 11s bv attending these iiiiictions residents are not- .'■merelv emovina; a pleasant welling- but. also': supporting an institution whieli is being run lor their own benefit. I<'or the benefit o! new settlers in this district- we 'might- mention that lor the nominal sum ol 2s (xl per veur srtbsefibers are provided with ,two books once a lortmght. whieli is/ to sav i lie least, cheap reading. " .Mr .lob 11 Mainland, ol Victoria, is spending a vow days with his sisters, the' Misses Mainland. There were (10 applicants for.exanlinatioiL l)v members of "the l;aiul Board ,a,t Oauiaru. ilie last were put through to-day,, and the-ballot' will be held on Friday at 2 ;ih. Dnnedin.. They; are said to be a- very good class of applicant. Mr.. George Livingstone - 111 his 17 years' experience of ballots, says , lie has never seen a better lot. The erea-t majority have seen from two to five years' service at the front, " every one, has, a. reasonable amount- of cash as well as good hacking, and all are practical farmers. Mr Craig's dancing class and assembly is to be held in the Druids' Hall to-morro\y evening. Classes from 7 to 8 and asi&inbly from 8 p.in. Ail affiliation order was made thismorning by- Mr ,T. R.. Lsart-holoigew, S.M., against John Patrick O'Comior, in respect of his illegitimate child. He was ordered fo pay 10s a week. £0 -lQs for past maintenance, and £2 2s costs x The Waitnki Acclimatisation Society advertise that , the shooting season, which commences on Saturday, Ist May,., provides for the shooting of grey dnclcj Pukcko and -black" swans ; .only«_ and the daily bag-is limited to 25 head, it is illegal to shoot Paradise ducks. The sale by. Messrs Bruce 'Christie and Company of Mr Thomas Jenkins' stocliand implements on the farm near "Weston to-morrow, particulars of which, are.advertised, should be a welcome opportunity, as there is a long list of useful animals and sundries. ■The sale of -Mr - Patrick Kelly's valuable furniture by Mr Walter Sunipter to-morrow. should attract a large number of 'eager bidders, as a brief glance at the list of -articles in an advertisement- will show an wide range of exceptional finality of furnishings. The citizens of Oamaru are invited to Attend a meeting 011 Monday next, 1 at 8 p.m., in AVear Street Hall, when Mr H. A.. Parkinson, M.A., will deliver a-n address on the question • of '■' Educational Reform."