INGLEWOOD’S PROGRESS.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 September 1924, Page 6

INGLEWOOD’S PROGRESS.

TOWN IN SOUND POSITION. MODERN DEVELOPMENTS. A BRIGHT FUTURE. In the general march of progress which is now now-ceable u> a marked degree in the. majority of Taranaki towns, Inglewood /is well tv> the fore, and two Important events in the history of the town, namely the opening of the new library buildings and th< connecting up with the New Plymouth hydro-eleotnc scheme, were celebrated at a function given by the IngleWood Borough -Council on Monday night, a short account of the proceedings having appeared y esterday morning. The general tone of the speeches indicated that the progressive town of Inglewood h on a very soufid footing, and ’those at the head of municipal affairs arc? to be congratulated on their able management and progressiveness. Following the Loyal toast. Mr. J. 55 7 . 55 z infield proposed the toast of the Parliament of New Zealand. The opinion that the Parliament of New Zealand compared favourably with other Parliaments in the Empire, was expressed by Mr. R. Masters, MR., in reply. This was true so far as the rank and file were concerned. sVhat. Mr, 55 7 inifield had said regarding the duties of a member being arduous was correct, but it was a surprising thing, added Mr. Masters, that members were always anxious t-» return co Parliament. FUTURE FOR INGLESVOOD. The sound financial position of the borough of Inglewood was spoken very highly of by Mr. Masters. He understood the borough was now working on a substantial! credit balaruce—a very commendable position. The fact that the library reserve block on which the present building stood had been secured by the City Fathers of the past, spoke very highly of the foresight exhibited by those worthy gentleman, continued Mr, Masters, and he expressed the opinion that i while the council Was composed of such men as the Mayor vMr.. J. R. Sutherland) the future of the town was in capable hands. The aj’ineil were as sisted in turn by having in their employ another very capable man in the person o’ Mr. E. Olsen (town clerk). The settlers of the district had -Icon passing through trying times, continued the speaker, but they were now making up their deficiencies and he predicted a ! bright futura for Inglewood. Congratulations to the builder (Mr. F. 11. Cooper) on the e-xeefllent manner in which the election of the library building had been carried out concluded Air. Masters’ re.narks. IF OIL IS STRUCK.

In proposing the toast o-f the Inglewood Boroigh Council. Mr. F. E. sV’lson, Mayor of New Plymouth, said he had been more or less conineeted with the town for a great number of years, and he had watched it gradually grow into a borough which now had every convenience. 11 had even more conveniences than 'New Plymouth, which at present had no Town Hall and Inglewood had.

I Mr. sVilson said he wa-: greatly impressed with the oil prospeete at Tarata and he had every confidence in the reports submitted by Dr. Clapp, who- had proved to be an authority on oil. If oil was struck no on© had any idea what it would wan to the future of Inglewood. Mr. 'Wilson went so far as to suggest that success in the oil industry would so develop the tow’ne of Inglewood and New Plymouth that the two boroughs would ultimately merge and the New’ Plymouth tramways would be extended accordingly. WORK OF PAST COUNCILLORS. “It is twenty-one years since we were created a lx>rough. and during that time there luus certainly been some splendid men in charge of affairs,” said ’Mr. J. R. Sutherland( Mayor of Inglewood). It was due to the untiring efforts and good management of those men that Inglewood was one of the soundest boroughs in New Zealand.” High praise for the work and co-operation of h : i fellow councillors was expressed by Mr. Sutherland. They Lad proved themselves to have the interest of the town at heart, and had given every possible assistance in its development. Until recently the council were domi ciled in nothing else but a 'hovel, continued the Mayor. Before he came into office the question of erecting a ne*v building was considered, but the matter had to be deferred until finances wou.d permit the substantial building being elected. The present fine building would enable the work of the council to b-? carried out expeditiously, and it refketed much credit on tu? manner in which the architect and builder had carried out their duties.

HISTORY OF THE LIBRARY. “The first library was established in 1875, and my father was instrumental in furthering the prospect,” said Mr. H. Trimble, in -proposing the toast of the Ingle'wood Library. At the time £42 was raised among the then few residents of the town for the purchase of books, the amount being further added to by a subsidy of £2O granted by the Provincial Ocuneil. The library was housed in the old Government store, which stood on the site new occupied by the ne'w building, and instead of being designated as a “public library” the library went under tli? name of the “Inglewood Institute,” a survival of an old English custom. TJie. institution was for Adults only, and when established contained 165 i books. These initial volumes were purIchased at New Plymouth, while at a later date others 'were obtained from England and Melbourne. Mr. Trimble first came in contact with the library in 1892, when he. was elected a member of the management committee. Shortly afterwards rhe institution was changed to that of i- public library.

A difficulty was met with in 1896, continued Mr. Trimble, when the Town Board proposed erecting new bui'ldings. It was then discovered that no proper title to the land had been secured, -but negotiations followed, and the \vhole block to the railway line Leeame a Horary reserve. i Sin l ce that date -the library had progressed, and Mr. Trimbio hoped that its growth would continue in the future. A VALUABLE SITE. When the reserve was secured as a freehold endowment, it was not considered to be of any great value, said

Mr. Sutherlind (chairman of the library committee. The property at the present time however, was one of the most valuable in the town, and th-, rents derived from several shops situated on the block were a continual source of income. There were 7000 to 8000 books in the library at present, and the number of subscribers stood at 200. He was sorry to note that tha young people of the town were not Lrgely represented in tlat number, and he considered it was a lack of interest in the library on their part. As against this, however, tbe children’s library, which had been included some years ago, now had a membership of 200, and every member appeared to be taking a very lively interest in that department of the institution. FINANCES RIGHT. The preseat building had cost between £4OOO and £5OOO, about double the money required to erect a fimilar building some years ago, but the town had made such progress that the council hid found it neeesary to enlarge their pr o - accord.ngly, added Mr. Sutherland. Owing to the excellent financial position of the council, the. extra, expense involved 'in the erec,ion of the building would not necessitate a special rate being levied. Interest amounting tu eight per cent, was biing paid, including two per cent; sinking fund. ELECTRIC POWER SUPPLY

Satisfaction concerning the supply of electric power which was now being obtained from the Ne.v Plymouth hydro-electric scheme, was expressed by Councillor G. Young -in proposing the toast of the Ne'w Plymouth Borough Council. Very careful deliberations had •been made by the Inglewood Council before any move was made to derive their electrical power from New Plymouth, and now that they were linked •up he was of the opinon ‘hat it was a move which would never be regretted. The Inglewood generating plant had seen its best days, and, considering the cheap rate which New Plymouth charged for the current, Mr. Young considered Inglewood had the best of the bargain.

At last the long promised current had been turned on, said Mr. Wilson in reply, and many 'thanks were due to th' patience and consideration displayed I • the residents of the Inglewood district during the delay. Mr. Wilson hoped that Inglewood would never have cause to regret the step they hud ’taken in joining up with New Plymouth. He had little doubt as to the reliability of the current, for it had failed only once during the twenty years wh'iieh had elapsed since New Plymouth first installed electric light and power.