MARTON NOTES.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume L, Issue 12735, 27 April 1911, Page 6

MARTON NOTES.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) !

The annual meeting of Householders to elect a District High School Committee was held in the school last Monday. There was a good attendance for such a function, the Rev. Griffin occupying the chair.

On the motion of Mr. J. J. McDonald the report and the Balance Sheet for the year as read was adopted. Mr. Purnell, member of the Education Board, gave a short resume of what he had done in connection with tho proposed new~.sehool. First of all he wished to correct an erroneous idea that existed in some minds regarding the side school at the junction. He producer! strong evidence to show that rather than being a disadvantage to the present school it would be a means of raising the status of the present institution, thus increasing its staff by two assistants and another pupil teacher.

It seemed that the side school had been under discussion for some months and it was evident that the speaker had gone into the matter thoroughly, and had not advanced the report to the Board without being first satisfied that it was for the good of both the present school and the whole community. Having qtiite reconciled the meeting to the establishment of the side school Mr. Purnell dashed their hopes completely to the ground regarding the new school for the town. He said he felt' surethat it would be some years before we would get our new building, not beoruise the Education Board did not think it necessary, but it was a question rather of ways arid means. He {••howed that the Board had but a small grant for rebuilding purposes and Patea school had the first claim, so that although wo had the ground available we had still a long wait before us. Mr. Purnell had twice on the Minister for Education and though favourably received Mr. Fowlds had not committed himself to any promise. Mr. J. J. McDonald, in" thanking Ttfr. Purnell, for his address and explanation said that he thought that there were many in Marton who were not satisfied with this waiting policy. He felt sure that if a sum of money y.'as collected the Minister would not fail to augment it sufficiently to give the- work a start. He said he believed that the Government helps those who help themselves, and would therefore move that iv subscription be started to raise funds for a new school.

Mr. Puriiel!. in responding, said he felt sure that Mr. McDonald's suggestion was a good one and wished it the success it deserved.

The following new committes was elected: —• J. ,\ McDonald (chairman;, B Lloyd (Treasurer), A. Way- (Secretary), W H. Gomez, H. B. *Kil?onr, H. H. Richardson, H. Sutcliffe, G. Cummins, and Dr. Warren.

A sub-committee consisting of tho Chairman. Treasurer, Secretary and H. H. Richardson was set up to work with the Bbard in connection with the new (school.

RUGBY UNION

The annual meeting of the above wah held last Monday evening. Present.— Messrs. J. E. Walker (Chairman), C. Hinkley. W. Hosking, G.~ Hathaway, F Bailey (Bulls)" J. H. Brooks (Ohingaiti\ C. E. Gibbons and E. G. Hum. phrey (Marton), A. D. N. Frain (Ruo--bv Union Delegate^ :md H. H. Hunt In opening the meeting the Chairman said that a particular effort must be mado for a separate union. At the present time we had nothing to gain by being a sub-union except that our application entitled us to meet other subunions. Our players received little encouragement to aim at representative honours for merit was no qualification. He therefore favoured cooperation with {he other mb-unions-of Awarua and Ruapehu with the aim of forming a separate union to extend from Greatford to Ohakmie. The matter should be dealt with as proposed at the end of last season and he thought an influential demitation should ba sent to llie N.Z.R U.

The Report and Balance Sheet were then received.

The Report .showed.a fairly success* ful season for .football last year. Rata, hst year's junior champions had won rhe .senior competition after keen contests. Marton was the junior, Bulls the 3rd class, ami Marton District High School the Primary School's competitions. •

The Representative Team had played three home matches against Manawatu, \\ airarapa and Awarua and had won sill of them. It was. to be regretted that no match bad been played against' the mother union, Wanganui, for it vroukl_ lnck-.rd have been full of interest. The representative matches were Played at Bulls, Marton, and Hunterville respectively to gjv6 the whole of tho district the full benefit of firstclass matches. The success of the teams shor.ld be-a good help towards the Chairman's scheme of co-operation. The Balance Sheet showed a small credit and it and the Report were adopted.

The following officers were elected •— Patron, Mr. E. Newman; President, Air. J. L. Walker; Vice-Presidents, i\rc^ rs V T^; n- Kilgour; S. E. Lewis;, C. H Hmkley; W. Hosking; R. Hammond rF. Hockley. Management Committee:— Messrs. J. Brooks, C. Gibbons, F. Bailey, E. Lloyd, G. H. Hathaway, and iwo nominees from Hunterville. Secretary H. H. Hunt, Treasurer, Mr It,. E. Humphrey. Selection Committee .-—Messrs G. Hathaway, C. Gibbons, and V. F. Martin. Fixture Committee :—Mr. a. Train and the Secretr.rv.

Two players Ingpen and C. Cutts were reinstated as juniors.

BOROUGH COUNCIL

The usual monthly meeting of the Borouuh Council was held last Monday. Present.—Mr. R. E. Beckett (the mayor), Councillors Sntcliffe, Hilton, Read, Wilde, and Lyon. The following correspondence was dealt with :— ' From Mr. C. R. Potts re purchase f»f land for erection of reservoirs and filters at Tutaenui. Council offered _{NJO for one acre. From Mr. Moss re Charitable Aid allowance Letter forwarded to Rangitikei County Council as applicant now resided in the county. From Mr. La ing Mca on acknowledging receipt of letter announcing letting of tender to Scott Bros. Received. From manager Wil'iim's Amusement Co. ro supply of picture films. Received. From Standard Insurance Co. soliciting part of Boroutih Accident Insurances. Letter received. From J H. Yeiex re assembly room license. License granted subject to sanitary and fire escape conditions b:>intr complied with. From Secretary Marton Fire Brigade enclosing Balance Sheet and apnlvi"2:' lor usual subsidy. Amount of subsidy 1 assed for payment From Secretary Football Club applying for eastern portion of the Park as alloted in past years. Granted on same terms as hist year. From A J J! Sicely, Secretary Beautifying .Society, askins that more seats for the Park be supplied, and those alleady there be fitted with backs. Referred to incoming council. RESOLUTIONS. The action of the Work's Committee in reletting 50 chains of trench work 1

on Station Road at 8s 5d a yard was approved. . , ..

On recommendation of tlie gas manager, one dozen prepay meters &> b© procured. That the Mayor and Councillor Sutcliffe be authorised to sign and seal the sewerage contract let to Messrs Scott Bros, of Dunedin. The accounts passed during the month, on general account amounting to £464 IDs lOd and £1105 11s 7d on Wateiwork Loan Account be approved, also j accounts and salaries amounting to £18i 11s 3d on general account and £184 18s 8d on Loan account be passed for payment. GAS WORKING ACCOUNT (MONTH OF APRIL.) I RECEIPTS. , Consumers a £188 9s 4<? * ittings £ 16 4s 5d Sales coke, tar, etc., .. £17 19s lOd Refunds street lighting .. £ 17 0s Ocl Town' Hall Charters, etc., .. £ 60s Od Total .. ..' £245- 13s 7d EXPENDITURE. Working (wages etc.,) .. £112 12s 8d Purchase of fittings .. £41 2s Id1 Extensions and services .. £ 55 14s 5d Interest in sinking funds on loans ........ £38 10s Od Total £24719s 2d Tho Borough Foreman reported for the month of April. * Besides the usual maintenance work, the Park has been completed and all the paths have received one coating of tar and sand. The water tables in Signal, Oxford, Maunder, Blackwell, and Morris Streets have been cleaned out. uring the -month 2 gas connections have been laid and the gas main to the station has been laid for forty (bains. I would:suggest that the council order another doz^n prepayment meters as there are none in stock. The following report was submitted by His Worship the Mayor (Mr R. E. Beckett) at th? Borough Council last evening: " This has been a very important 12 months, in the annals of the town. After mature consideration the Council decided to put before the ratepayers a scheme for providing a new v.'ater supply for the town, and also a scheme to provide, .'proper.sanitation, believing that it was impossible for the town to further delay these necessary improvements. The old water supply, although it has served our purpose for several years, was too small, and the necessity for a greater pressure was keenly felt. The necessaty plans were provided by Mr Laing-Meason, the poll was carried, and the various contracts have' now »een let to reliable" contractors. Good progress has been made by Mr McGuffiii, the contractor for th? dam situated m the Upper Tutaenui. The lard 3-as been paid for, arid claims adjusted. The pipe line and reticulation ivf.itis have been let to the Wanganui Spiral Pipe Co., who will shortly commence work. After some little delay, owing to the rise in earthenware pipas, the contract for the sanitation scheme has been let to Messrs Scott Bros., of Dnnediri, «h|) will start operations very shortly. It is gratifying to think that the bank overdraft, which, when the Council took office was £1,558 13s 4:1, now stands at, or, rather, was. on the 31st March. 10J.1, £1393 Is 7d.'«lt is, however, fair to state that the Council holds some £300 of contractors' deposits, but as there are practically no liabilities: it, cannot but ha deemed exceedingly satisfactory, considering the very large amount of work done during our term of office. During the p-s*, 12 months no less a sum than £650 has been spent in acquiring the necessary land and building a n up-to-date five statiou. with new bell, etc. This, with a subsidy to the Brigade and chemicnls for the engine, eh?., lms brought t!i3 expenditure on that item up to £783 6s 2d. For.'unalelv very little of this amount is an annually' recurring liability. " -

The f.'as Works have bean entirely reorganised and for the first time since their inception show a credit balance, as a relief to rates, to the amount of £242.5s 6d. This would have been .C2CM! more had it "not been necessary to lay down a fresh line of pipes to the station, in order to' liaht the Station Road and give the Railway Department a better supply of gas, which in the winter months was sadly needed. An arrangement lias-been made-with the Department to take gas for a certain 'terms at a satisfactory rate. The expenditure also carried with it a footpath from the borough boundary to the station the* County Council forming, metalling, tarring same, and thi Borough Council undertaking the lighting, an arrangement which, I think, will be approved by the ratepayers. Footpaths have also been formed, metalled, and tarred from Wellington Road to the Station. Road,. thus giving r. contimto'js path from the centre of the town to the railway, a boon which will be much appreciated on winter liights. A properly-formed and g avelled footpath has also been put down m Lower High Street. Beaven Street--^or lather that portion of it that joins Wellington Road —has been foimed and metalled, and Hereford Street, a new one, has been formed, etc., by private enterprise. The- N erecting of the names? of all the streets on convenient lampposts is a small matter which has, I tiiink, given general satisfaction. The paths in the Park have been tarred and sanded, and, thanks to the Beautif}'ing Sot-iety, who have been looking after the gardens, and to the fact that tho Council painted the Band Stand, Pavilion, gates, aiifl rails last year, the whole now presents a very pleasing appearance, and appears to be a popular lesort. The Borough Council Chambers have been painted and papered throughout. Altogether, I am sure that the Council, in retirng from office after two years' work, ' can conscientiously sr>y tha + they are leaving all •borough enterprises in a very much more satisfactory condition than they found them on assuming office. A considerable expenditure will be necessary at the (:«a,s Works during the next 12 months, but it will, I think, be possible to keep same within the year's profits without encroaching on the rates. The Council are particularly fortunate in having such capable officers as Mr Knigge and Mr Wilson to look after their interests.