Telephones in Rural Districts. [JULy, 



Chaff-Cutting Machines {^Accidents) Act, 1897. — This Act 

 requires that so far as is reasonably practicable and consistent 

 with the due and efficient working of the machine, the feeding 

 mouth or box of every chaff-cutting machine worked by motive 

 power other than manual labour shall be so constructed or fitted 

 with such apparatus or contrivance as to prevent the hand or 

 arm of the person feeding the machine from being drawn 

 between the rollers to the knives, and that the fly-wheel and 

 knives shall be kept sufficiently and securely fenced at all times 

 during working. 



A penalty of £ 5 may be imposed for non-compliance with 

 these Acts, and provision is made for enabling constables to 

 enter premises for the purpose of seeing whether the Acts are 

 complied with. 



In response to the recent circular letter* which was addressed 



by the Board to the principal Fruit and Horticultural Associations 



and Societies as to the provision of telephonic 

 Telephones m . . 1 •, • . • . u 



Rural Districts, communication in rural districts, a number 



of replies andapplications have been received 

 which have been submitted for the consideration of the Post- 

 master-General. Enquiry is being made in connection with each 

 application, and in a few of the cases the applicants' wishes can 

 probably be met without difficulty by the Post Office or by the 

 National Telephone Company. As communication with large 

 centres of population throughout the country is required, arrange- 

 ments for communication with the nearest market towns only 

 will not, as a rule, meet the purpose, and, unfortunately, in a large 

 number of cases the cost of providing circuits between the 

 villages and the nearest Trunk Exchanges may prove to be 

 prohibitive. 



The Board desire, however, to draw the special attention 

 of Horticultural Societies and fruit growers generally to the 

 fact that owing to the facilities introduced in the Budget, on 

 the suggestion of the Postmaster-General, guarantors of tele- 

 phone extensions will, in future, only be called upon to bear 

 one-third of any deficiency that may arise under the guarantee, 

 instead of bearing the whole deficiency as was formerly the case, 



* See Journal, February, 1906, p. 693. 



