NOTES AND COMMENTS

Waipa Post, Volume XIII, Issue 895, 24 January 1920, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS

THE LIBERAL PARTY. THE choice of the remnants of the Liberal faction in choosing for their leader the Hon. Mr W. D. S. MacDonald was not unexpected. The rumour had firm hold of the Dominion days before the farewell luncheon to the “ fallen idol,” Sir Joseph Ward, took place. In Mr MacDonald the “ little band of brothers ” will find a man staunch and true, of sterling worth, and clear mind; one in whose hands the policy of the Liberals will be safe. The mistakes of the past can be forgotten in the new era, and with the best men in each party we can hope for good things during the next few years. Sir Joseph Ward is to be congratulated on the sporting way in which he accepted his unexpected defeat; he is further to be congratulated that, realising his defeat, he did not accept the seat so generously offered by one of his fellows.

SUPPLIES OF ROAD METAL. THE conference of the local bodies of the Te Awamutu district, held yesterday on the question of metal supplies, is the outcome of many months of silent suffering by the bodies which require the metal for their immediate needs. It has been the rule for months now for complaints to be laid on the table at Council meetings. Recently the Waipa County Council was confronted with a peculiar situation regarding Auckland supplies. However, the knowledge that Mount Kakepuku may supply a long-felt want has led the councillors and officials who attended the conference to base high hopes on the prospect of an ultimate local supply. It would certainly be efficacious were a light railway to be built to convey the metal to the standard track, thus parking supplies at one point, to the satisfaction of the Railway Department. So far as the present system is concerned, it is to be hoped that the conference with the Prime Minister will not be abortive, but will ensure a fair and adequate supply for each county, borough, and road board concerned.

NURSES’ CONDITIONS. NOT yet possessing a hospital—not even a cottage hospital—it may be said that we in Te Awamutu should not concern ourselves with the con-; ditions of members of the nursing profession. The fact remains, however, that the dissatisfaction is so great that in a few years there may be, instead of a surplus, a further shortage of hospitals. The recent Auckland Hospital inquiry—or, at least, the consideration of nurses’ grievances by the Auckland Hospital Board—is the crater of a volcano that has been steaming and rumbling for years. In a recent leader we dealt fully with the question of nurses’ salaries. Since then we have received two letters —one from a sub-matron of a large hospital, thanking us for the article, and one from a Board member, condemning it. There evidently is no laissez faire policy on the side of the hospital boards. The Auckland Herald of Thursday last published an article on private hospitals, asserting that nurses in those institutions were happy and contented. So be it; but the Herald can, we hope, remember that all persons cannot afford the luxury of a private hospital. And public hospitals, paid for by the people, should be controlled for the people, and the people’s servants uniformly well treated.

LIGHT RAILWAYS. THE subject of light railways will be further discussed at Pirongia on 3rd February next, when Captain H. D. Dansey, M.C., will be in attendance. The information given by the captain to residents of this district has been valuable. He has explained with the greatest clarity the method of construction of the railways, and has estimated to the nearest £ the amount of money required. He has'been frankly enthusiastic over the project, and has predicted that the work done would take about two years. There is no doubt the construction of a light line fronf Pirongia to Te Awamutu would benefit the surrounding country, were there no possible chance of the standard gauge. However, another question has cropped up—that of the erection of light railways from Hamilton to Kawhia and Raglan. With this end in view, Hamilton men of affairs have talked over the matter with Te Awamutu and Pirongia men. No doubt the existence of such lines of communication would be useful, even excellent; but there can be no doubt of the magnitude of the cost. The Oparau Road —even if the line, for argument’s sake, does not go near Te Rau-a-Moa, on the surveyed route—is not particularly adapted to carry a light line. It is far too narrow; it is really difficult, in places, for two motors to pass, and too circuitous and risky. By all means the line to Te Awamutu from Pirongia is worthy of consideration; but the premature linking of the coastal towns by a hazardous route is a proposal that the Pirongia Railway League should discuss deeply before action is taken.