TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2693, 24 December 1909, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

The .people of-’ Hastings are likely to ; •: follow Gisborne in Inadequate Fire the scramble for muniPlrote|ctibn. cipal loans. o*Tist now they are discovering the need for a high pressure water supply. Inspector Hugo, in a report issued to the Hastings Fire Board the other day, referring to a surprise call given in August last, said : “The call was given at 8.8 p.m., and, although the engine was ready to work some ten minutes later, it was 8.29.10 p.m., or 21 minutes 10 seconds from the time the call was given before the first water was available. This occurred right in the heart of the town, and a« far as regards the call, under, what must be considered favorable circumstances, I consider it my duty, in view, of this, to strongly emphasise the danger of a disastrous conflagration taking place under tlie prevailing conditions, in the event of a late call, and this risk is always becoming greater, owing to the increase in the number of building s of larger cubical -capacity than those formerly built.” Obviously the business jieople of Hastings cannot afford to allow such a state of - things to continue. In twenty minutes on a windy day a fire could get such a hold as to destroy half the townf

Gisborne folks were well satisfied to

find that a sum of £BO,OOO Napier to had been placed on the Gisborne. Public Works Statement for our railway, but the fact lias not' given corresponding joy to our neighbors in the South. The “Hawke’s Bay Herald” expresses their views thus:—“The main point as far ns we are concerned i s that Mr. McKenzie has decided to begin the East Coast main line—but from the north end. This means that Auckland with its superior organisation has scored over Napier and Wellington, and has secured'the first cut at the East Coast trade. . . . We do not for a moment deny the claims of the Poverty Bay district. That country is probably as much in want of development as any part of the Dominion. But we do claim that the Napicr-Wairoa-Gisborne extension is just as important. And it i R to be. noted that the Minister, although he speaks of the needs of the East Coast, never onec mentions Napier in connection with it. It would appear, in fact, that his ideas of such a line were confined to joining Gisborne to the Auckland system. . . It is something at all events to know what we have to fight, and now that Mr. McKenzie has thrown off the mask wo may perhaps secure some cooperation with. the Gisborne and Wellington members that will induce the Government to nay 'more attention to a claim that is beyond all question as pressing as it is just.” Unfortunately for this standpoint, Gisborneites do not seem inclined to do any fighting for the Napier connection. They have but one eye in the matter of railways, and that optic is fixed on the Motu. As a matter of fact they fear the competition of Napier firms too much to agitate for construction southwards. We consider this standpoint narrow, parochial, and based on false conclusions, but-there it is.

The statement of the Premier that at the proper time he will Betting on vote against either the Horse Races, bookmaker or the totalisator being allowed at race meetings, will have come as a shock to the racing fraternity. Sir Joseph Ward’s former pronouncement on the matter was to the effect that he would favor the matter being submitted to the people for referendum, but his latest stand is much more drastic. After all, it is by no means extraordinary that the Premier should discover that gambling at race meetings has become so prevalent a vice in New Zealand that stern provisions are necessary to check it. No one who looks facts square in the face can fail to recognise that a long way more time and money is spent over thi s sport than is good for a young nation. Under existing circumstances the State, which should set an example to the weaker section of the people, is really the most hardened offender. Not only does it legalise racecourse betting, but by taking a share of the totalisator receipts, it actually encourages the perpetuation of wholesale gambling. We well know that betting cannot be eradicated by Act of Parliament, but that is no reason for elevating it to the rank of a national virtue. The totalisator was established in order to ensure fair treatment for those who bet at race meetings, but while achieving thi s end it has also brought grave attendant evils. By State recognition gambling has been made “respectable,” and tbe popularity of the “tote” has enabled racing clubs that could never exist otherwise to be established and to prosper in every little township in the Dominion. Sir Joseph lias of late made so many heroic resolutions that have failed when the time came for action, that we are beginning to receive hi s announcements with some diffidence, but it can probably be taken for granted that next session’ will find the position both of the totalisator and the bookmaker challenged in Parliament.