OTAGO EXPANSION LEAGUE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3829, 2 August 1927, Page 10

OTAGO EXPANSION LEAGUE.

MONTHLY MEETING OF COMMITTEE. The monthly meeting of the executive committee of the Otago Expansion League was held on Tuesday evening, Mr S. B. Macdonald presiding. The members present were Messrs E. Tamblyn, L. D. Ritchie, C, H. Hayward, H. M. Mackay, 11. McD. Smith, J. Inglis Wright, and G J. Erring-ton. Amongst the requests submitted to the committee was a proposal from the Lake County Council regarding the winter service and mail delivery in the Lake County district, especially Queenstown. The correspondence submitted showed that, while the summer daily mail service is adequate, the winter service of three days a week is insufficient. The plan proposed is that the ordinary service via Waimea and Kingston should be supplemented by a service on the Central Otago line. This would necessitate the alteration of the time-table by making the express train run on different days of the week, and, while such a change might be beneficial to Queenstown, the effect upon the traffic needs of the Central and Upper Clutha would require careful study before so drastic a reform was urged. Further inquiries will be made in responsible quarters to ascertain if such a change would be considered, provided no benefit or privilege enjoyed by the other sections of the community were jeopardised. The report of the proceedings of the meetings held at St. Leonards in connection with the stat ion'site there and its effect upon the progress of the duplication of the Port Chalmers line was discussed. As the league was the* prime mover in securing- the commencement of this work it was pointed out that it could not stand idly by while a minor and local matter threatened to lay up indefinitely a greatly-needed railway improvement. The department would be urged, in the in•terests of the majority, to prosecute the plan proposed by its engineer, and, having completed the line between the port and the city, arrange such other stopping places as time and traffic might ultimately warrant.

The resuscitation of the boys and girls' agricultural competition, which for some years past has been carried on by the league and the Department of Agriculture, has been under consideration for some time, and thanks to the enlightened and advanced policy of the Minister of Agriculture, it is probable that the' near future will see not only a recommencement of these interesting competitions, but their development into a really useful and educational institution—the Boys and Girls’ Agricultural Club. The new movement will be broader based and of greater potentiality, all institutions having an active interest in the advancement of rural education being represented. An interim •committee is at work on the details, and the secretary (Mr W. B. Steel) was appointed to represent the league. The executive extended its sincere good wishes to the ■ tew departure and instructed its

representative to accept whatever duties the committee deputed to him as the league’s share of the combined effort. That fascinating subject, the search for hidden minerals, came up in connection with correspondence from Mr John Mosley, following the appearance of a letter in the press. That the mineral resources of the province are but imperfectly known is the general belief in Otago, and Mr Mosley, whose skill as a diviner gives him claim to more than average knowledge, is convinced that these deposits can bo secured to the good of the country. The executive resolved that before going further into the question it would invite Mr Moslev to meet it and submit his suggested method of prospecting and ascertaining the nature and limits of the various suspected areas, when a definite policy of exploitation could be formed. That great interest centres round the question of telephone charges and toll rates is evident from the replies received to the league inquiries. The subject is not, however, sufficiently discussed to justify a campaign for redress or equalisation, and further communications from the various sources of information \vill be awaited with interest. That aerial mail services are successful in other countries is shown by correspondence received in answer to inquiries, and that there is a feeling that such a method will be adopted later in New Zealand is also very evident. The feeling, however, generally expressed is that the time is not yet opportune for pressing for such a radical change in our transport methods, and that the exercise of patience will be rewarded by allowing the rapid march of invention to minimise some of the admitted defects of present-day aviation before urging upon the Postal Department the necessity of adopting this latest and swiftest method of mail distribution.

The afforestation problem in connection with the recurrence of annual unemployment, which was advocated bv the league at the recent conference of South Island leagues, was brought forward in connection with the present state of matters regarding the lack of useful remunerative work, and the secretary was instructed to write to the authorities making suggestions for a permanent benefit to be secured by the city and province from the utilisation of idle labour in a great national service.