OTOROHANGA NEWS.

Waipa Post, Volume XXIV, Issue 1401, 8 September 1923, Page 4

OTOROHANGA NEWS.

ITEMS OF INTEREST. (Own Representative.) With regard to the Te Kuiti hospital rate Mr Phillips has said that the inclusion of Otorohanga township in the rating area was a distinct breach of agreement between the representatives of the local bodies prior to the passing of the Bill. Just so, but county ratepayers are wondering by what logical argument should Otorohanga town have been exempt. They think it would have been more consistent to have excluded Te-Rau-a-Moa riding. A well known and respected Maori resident, Togo Tamaki, or as he was called Togo Thompson, died at a private hospital in Te Kuiti on Wednesday last. Deceased had been ill for some time from an internal complaint but being naturally reluctant to seek a doctor's advice and attention did not seek medical advice until lately. He went to Auckland and was sent back to Te Kuiti for treatment, and though he appeared to get so much better and was prepared to return home on Wednesday, he succumbed. There has been a tangi going on for the past few days, and the funeral will take place next week. Deceased was respected by both Pakeha and Maori. The following are the names of those who received a cash bonus from the District Supply Store during August: Messrs Richmond, Hoddle, Bagnail, Tomlins, Dowd, Barker, Barrett, Searancke, Ormsby, Arnold, Brown, Signal, Funnell, Aves, Rintoul, Aldridge and Mrs McCready. Consolidated Schools.

The consolidation of schools in any district is a scheme worthy of support, but the question is whether it is a proposal of practical attainment in the Otorohanga district. The question of permanently good roads for the transit of pupils is one that must be taken into account, and then there is the all important matter of parental sentiment and domestic convenience as far as the outlying schools are concerned —for, of course, there will be no time for the youngsters of a, family to be of use on the farm either morning or evening. Perhaps this latter fact would be all for the better as far as the children are concerned, for it is said many are overworked on their parents' farms. However, it is a matter for parents themselves, and as to the cost of transit of pupils that is a matter for the Education Department to consider. At any rate the consolidation of our schools is an admirable proposition providing it is practicable. It is to be hoped, however, that the proposal will not tend to defer the immediate building of a school on the newly acquired site in Otorohanga, for the present building is quite out of date and disgracefully overcrowded and inconvenient as far as accommodation is concerned. Daffodil Day. The annual Daffodil Day under the auspices of the Presbyterian Ladies' Guild was held in the Church Hall and was well patronised. The receipts amounted to over £2O. Hydro-Electricity. The supporters of Te Kuiti and its Electric Power Board scheme have dtcided to canvass the Otorohanga district for signatures to a petition asking Government to constitute Otorohanga and district an electric power board area. As is well known a petition has been signed and forwarded to the Government praying that Otorohanga and immediate district (the outside area) be not severed from the operating of Te Awamutu Board's scheme, and further that there is a special district committee of ratepayers sitting to decided upon which scheme to adopt. Now the issue of the petition in question may be taken as a direct insult to Otorohanga ratepayers and may be put on a par witih the action of Te Kuiti and its supporters in saddling Otorohanga with a hospital subsidy.