WAR MEMORIAL.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 31384, 13 February 1923, Page 5

WAR MEMORIAL.

ITS FUTURE UPKEEP.

TEMPORARY CONTROL BY COUNCIL.

Tli© lion, secretary of the War Memorial Fund advised the Borough Council that at a, meeting of the cornmittee held on they 9th of December- last, at which the Mayor was present, a resolution was carried that the Borough Council be asked to take charge of the balance of the money in hand, £lll 9s sd. That the name of W . E. Harris be added to the list on the Memorial, and tliat the letter “s” in the name ©f “Griffiths” he leaded. The Mayor said it wais for the Cc-BSSfeciH t© -say whether it was pre-

pai-ed to undertake the maintenance of the memorial. What the reference to himself in the letter as being present: at the meeting had to do with the Council, he did not know, except tliat the writer might be trying to make out that because he was present, at the meeting in question, h© had agreed to the proposal, but t2ie Mayor explained that the re-

quest had to first com© before the Council. Nearly two months had elapsed between the time the resolution was passed and tJie receiving of the letter by the Council. He thought the upkeep of the Memorial would be. about €lO a year. Cr. Morris isiaid it was not a question of what tiie Council got out of the money. He thought it, the duty of the Council, seeing the memorial was erected in tiie square, to keep it in order. Tli© Mayor said that was open to question. The memorial was a clis-. trict memorial. If the Council were gding ito take over the Memorial, they were taking the responsibility of maintaining a. district affair. Cr. Morris did not think the actual cost of maintenance would be very much. The Mayor: Oh, no, its about £lO a year. Cr. Tinney endorsed the remarks of the Mayor, and he had intended himself speaking in a similar strain.

The memorial must be under the control of a permanent body, and it seemed to him the only people to do it were the Borongli and County. If th© Borough took over the control, the county council could contribute so much towards the upkeep. Cr. Tinney complained of the unoared for state the rockery had been allowed to get into, which he thought was disgraceful. Oats and dorks had been allowed to flourish, and visitors to the town had pissed uncomplimentary remarks concerning the neglected appearance of the rockery. If the 1%) rough ''too k overt it lie control it would avoid this sort of thing in future.

In reply to Cr- Ross the Mayor presumed tliat according to the-

terms of the letter, the "War Memorial committee handed over -the money for the. Council to use or the interest on it for the main ten a nee of the rockery or the memorial. The money would apparently have to be placed in .a. trust account. In the R.G Savings Bank, it would earn £4 10s interest for the first year. Some of the capital would have to he expended each year for maintenance, as the interest wouM not be sufficient. Against th© €lll. which had been handed over, was an account to be paid for weeding the rockery recently. which the .Mayor said had hardly been clime bv tiie. Memorial Committee itself. Consequent on the neglected state of the rockery, he had spoken to one or fw»> members of the committee, .and" th© services of a gardener had been obtained. The -Mayor moved that the Council is willing to undertake the responsibility for tin l time being for tire ma.iiitcyna.ric.e- of the War Memorial and accepts t.lie balance of the money from the committee, th© Town Clerk to make enquiries as to the best means of investing the money. This was seconded bv Cr. Morris and carriod miaiiiniousi'y.