The Waipa Pos. PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1913. MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS.

Waipa Post, Volume IV, Issue 189, 18 February 1913, Page 2

The Waipa Pos. PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1913. MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS.

TOWN HALL.

THE decision of the Board on Thursday to obtain an estimate for the extension of the auditorium to the back of the present stage, and the erection at the rear thereof of an up-to-date stage will be heartily endorsed by all interested in the progress of Te Awamutu. The need for extension has been evident for some time past while the deplorable appearance and hopeless condition of the stage has brought the blush of shame to the cheek of many a Te Awamutu resident who has been under the painful necessity of exhibiting it to visitors from smaller but more progressive towns. The astonishment invariably displayed by the managers of travelling companies visiting Te Awamutu at the fact that there is a hall in New Zealand without that most necessary adjunct to a theatrical performance, namely, the provision of footlights, should alone be sufficient evidence of Te Awamiitu’s fossilization, and the dangerous expedient of balancing large kerosene lamps on the edge of the stage should certainly not be encouraged. The suggestion that it would be better to leave the hall in its present condition until the town is in. a position to erect a brick or concrete structure has much to recommend it, but it is apparent that in providing a water supply and lighting scheme Te Awamutu has undertaken very costly though necessary public works, and therefore it would be better to carry out at once alterations and improvements to the present structure which bye-the-bye is still in an excellent state of preservation, than to await the time, necessarily far distant,when a new hall can be erected. So far as the town hall emergency exits are concerned we sincerely hope the Board intend to treat this as a matter of urgency, lhe fact that the exits are not sufficient has been evident to almost everyone in the town for some time past, but added to this the Board has now a report from a qualified architect stating that the exits are inadequate. Delay in l'ectifying this serious deficiency would, in the case of accident, lay a charge at the door of the Board which could not but be a matter of lifelong regret to all its members. The fact that alterations are contemplated is no excuse for delay, and we hope the Board will realize its bounden duty to immediately safeguard, by the provision of proper emergency exits, the lives of those who make use of this public building.

FIRE BRIGADE. WE feel sure that the members of the Te Awamutu Volunteer Fire Brigade must be well pleased at the generous treatment they have received at the hands of the Town Board. The promise of a grant of £75 a site for a station, provided the public is willing to contribute £125 places the Brigade in a position of some strength, and the great value of a properly organised body of fire fighters to the business men of the town should ensure a ready response to the appeal for subscriptions. The Board’s promised assistance is equal to a £ for £ subsidy on the amount to be raised by subscriptions and the very evident sympathy of its members should act as a great stimulus to ( those responsible for the Brigade’s initiation. The inauguration of a high pressure water supply will we hope find Te Awamutu with a well organised Fire Brigade, thus enabling immediate advantage to be taken of this invaluable means of checking the spread of conflagration.

TOWN BEAUTIFYING. THE notice given by a member of the Board of his intention to move at the next general meeting that a scheme of tree-planting throughout the town be drawn up, calls attention to an aspect of our civic life which has hitherto been most conscientiously neglected. In matters of this sort the public always look for a lead from the “City Fathers,” and we are glad to see that one individual

at least is sensible of his responsibilities in this matter. In these days when appearance is such an important matter, many towns expend large sums in the endeavour to make their precincts attractive, and we feel sure that all will admit that there is ample scope in Te Awamutu for work of this sort. Love of the beautiful is considered one of the highest attributes of the human race, and every effort should be made to develop and encourage it in the minds of all. Beyond beauty of site Te Awamutu has little to boast of in this way, but there is no reason why a small expenditure now should not ensure a few years hence an appearance of which its residents will be proud.