NOTES AND COMMENTS

Patea Mail, Volume XLVI, 29 August 1923, Page 2

NOTES AND COMMENTS

(By 0.5.) I hope to sec the Town Hall well crowded to-morrow night, when an op< portunity is being afforded the people of the town and district of showing their appreciation of the splendid public work carried out by Mr Strouts during his nine years’ residence in the town. The committee in charge of the arrangements for the social are doing their best to make it a success, though k they are hampered to some exteut byw the short notice given them. The first part of the programme will consist of a few concert items, after which a presentation will be made to Me Strouts by his Worship the Mayor, on behalf of the citizens of Patea and district. One or two other speakers will also be L afforded the opportunity of biddinAHj farewell to Mr Strouts, the speech Jr being limited to two minutes for speaker. After the speeches, including Mr Strouts’ reply, the evening will be devoted to dancing in the hall and cards in the Council Chamber, Thero should be no waiting, as the concert programme will start at 8 p.m. punctu- s ally, and the presentation will take place between the items. There will be no dancing until the presentation has been made, which is a good thing, as it will enable those who do not wish to dance to attend the presentation and return home early after it has been, •made.

Mr Strouts will 'be greatly missed, both in Patea and the surrounding district, for he has given of his best to every public movement that has come along. When war broke out, as he could not go to the front he did the next best thing by acting asi honorary secretary to the Patriotic League, whose chief work at first lay in supplying comofrts for the men in the trenches, and afterwards in finding funds for the relief of wounded and disabled men. Mr Strouts also showed a very fine Imperialistic spirit in connection with the Navy League, rendering this institution all the service in his power, recognising that it is the Navy on which the safety and security of the Empire chiefly depends. In sport of every kind Mr Strouts was to "'M the fore, holding office on practically " every sports body. Perhaps his finest work in this connection was the organising of the Sports Grounds Committee, which has resulted in Patea having one of the best sports grounds in the Dominion, and that is saying a great deal. It would take columns to record the work that Mr Strouts has carried out for the benefit of amateur sport in the district, his services being always freely and ungrudgingly given. He has set the rising generation a splendid example of true citizenship that they would do well to follow. May he and his prosper greatly in their new home. » * • » A proposal has been mooted to send a combined Australian and New Zealand football team Home next year, but I do not think it is likely to materialise. New Zealand of itself can send Home a team probably better than anything Britain can produce, therefore why include Australian players and rob Now Zealand players of the trip? A much better idea would be for New Zealand ' and Australia to each send a team home, and a combined New Zealand and'Australian team play a combined English, Welsh, Irish and Scottish team. This match should be well worth seeing, though some will argue that' New Zealand could play the combined British team herself, which is probably quite true.