DAMAGE £237,000

Taranaki Daily News, 10 July 1929, Page 11

DAMAGE £237,000

PRIVATE PROPERTY LOSSES >. HOUSE RECONSTRUCTION SOUGHT. MAKING READY FOR REFUGEES. “CENTRAL COMMITTEE UNWIELDY” e 3 By Telegraph.—Press Association, f Nelson, Last Night. The Commissioner of Crown Lands. . Mr A. F. Waters, has just returned from ) a visit to the earthquake areas made t for the purpose of estimating the dam- . ago done. At a meeting of the execur tivo of the relief committee to-day Mr. t Waters announced that the damage to private property in the afflicted 'areas . was £237,000. ~ Sometimes he thought it was more : and sometimes less. The estimate, he 2 explained, was only an approximate’ one l and was made to enable the central coms inittee to apportion the money amongst ! the districts affected. > It was resolved to forward the information to the central committee. The . investigation had been made at the ins stigation of Sir Joseph Ward. A meeting of the executive of the emergency relief committee was held to-day. The Mayor, Mr. W. J. Moffat, said he had been informed that a number of women who had gone back to Murchison were returning to Nelson as their homes were not habitable. He suggested the Government be informed that conditions in Murchison were such that the committee felt it i necessary to take in hand the restoration of houses, and he asked for credit to allow the work to go ahead. Mr. Moffat proposed that representatives of the committee, accompanied by practical builders, visit Murchison tomorrow to see for themselves the conditions of the houses. Three weeks had passed and not an effort had been made by the Government to restore the houses. Cr. S. Gibbs said he was against any women going back to Murchison at present. ONLY FEW HOUSES MOVED. I The Mayor said Cr. Stringer had just returned from Murchison and said that only a few houses had been shifted from their piles. He was of opinion that a gang of men could soon straighten things. The Mayor considered the central committee was too unwieldy and the Government should be notified that the Nelson committee proposed to take the work of restoration in hand. All that was w .'Sited was a gang of handy men. In answer to Cr. Gibbs, Mr. O’Donnell, Public Works Department, said the department’s general instructions were to restore main roads and access roads. The Mayor said he did not want to make any reflection on the Government ; it had done splendidly, but it seemed the central committee was too unwieldy. It appeared as if the central committee was going to propound a policy and if this was so that was where difficulty would arise. Cr. Gibbs moved: “That a telegram be sent to the Prime Minister as chairman of the Central Relief Committee asking authority for the Public Works Department to restore Murchison township. This is a matter of urgency to restore confidence and allow refugees, who aro anxious and willing, to return to their homes to look after their stock. Kindly advise us if yon will instruct the Public Workg Department to undertake restoration forthwith or alternatively if you will instruct the committee to undertake the work and will authorise the necessary expenditure provisionally to £2OOO. An immediate reply is necessary in order to place it before a meeting of the general committee to-night.” Mr. Waters said he took it that the proper function of the central committee was to allocate money among the different areas affected. The Mayor said the committee had been waiting for a report from the central committee for some time. The vital thing was to get the people back to Murchison. lie could obtain four practical men to organise a scheme to provide work to-morrow.