OPINIONS OP CANDIDATES

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11481, 14 January 1903, Page 5

OPINIONS OP CANDIDATES

The following is a continuation of the views of candidates for seats on the Tramways Boird: — MR G. PAYLING. Mr George Payling, who is a candidate for the City, Sydenham and St. Albans, t;aid that he was in favour of municipal control under certain conditions, for the following reasons—ln the pa.st the tramways of Christchurch had been run by a ccmpany, and this had resulted detrimentally to tho interests of the ratepayers in sei eral ways'. One of these was the great difficulty in getting the centres of tht stieets kept in proper repair. This was a very important matter. Then, again, if the tramways were under municipal control the faies could be regulated so as to mei/t the requirements of the ratepayers, and not as at. present, when a holiday occurred, to have them doubled. This was oiti> of the important matters which would have to be looked into by the Board, because he held that it was very necessary, with regard to fares, that the general public should be dealt with liberally. He regarded the trams as much a part of the necessary provisions for the comfort and convenience of the ratepayers as good streets, and therefore it was the duty of the municipality to see that cheap and effective transit*by the trams was made available. This, in his opinion, was one of the strongest reasons for municipal control. As regarded construction, if a favourable tender were sent in to the Board for the construction of the tramways, with a condition of reversion to the Council, say, in ten years, he saw no reason why the Board should decline it, as he had yet to learn that the ratepayers had fully and finally made up their minds on the important questions bearing upon the raising of the money for the construction of the lines. This "meant a considerable amount of interest on a largo sum of money 'which would have to be borrowed. Seeing that the working classes during the past few yeans, owing to the prosperity of the colony, have built largely, it was a question "with him if they would 'be prepared to authorise the Board to borrow so large an amount. It must not be forgotten, also, that there were other large and important woiks, such as high pressure water supply, electric lighting, drainage, etc.. which would entail a considerable amount of borrowing and consequent taxation. These works were an absolute necessity, and in addition there was also the question of electric power being utilised from our rivers, which was still under consideration, and as to the cost of which we were still in the dark. In his opinion should an offer be made, such as the one r.;ade by Mr Hansen, the wisest course the Board could adopt would be to accept it, taking care, of course, that the interests of the "people were carefully safeguarded in the direction of cheap fares, and also that the centres of the streets were kept in proper repair. All these matters, together with many other details, would have to be veiy carefully safeguarded by the Board in the interests of the ratepayers generally. It had been pointed out that in large cities in th* Old World, wherever electric tram services had been taken over by municipalities, they had been made to pay. It was, however, a very doubtful question, in his mind, whether all the charges for running and maintenance were charged to the proper accounts. In hw opinion a great deal of the expenses had to be paid out of rates which did not appear in the working charges. Comparison had been made with regard to the city _ of Glasgow and other large cities in America, but he failed to see that the comparisons were analagous, as they were dealing with thousands of residents, "where we were dealing with hundreds. Should the ratepayers decide not to vote the money required to build the lire, then he considered the Board must proceed to make the best terms with some company or gvndicata of repute, w£eguardinjr tuo interest* oi tha ratepayers with resw** to th» number of trams to be run daily, lines to be laid, fares to be charged, and mmtf other important questions. He thought It neoessary that the ratepayers should be made aware that the four members to be elected to represent Christchurch, Sydenham and St. Albans combined, and that anyone whose name was on the* roll could vote for four candidates out of the number standing. He mentioned this because he found that an impression prevailed that the ratepayers could only vote for one carrdidate. As this was an important mutter he desired to call attention to it. Mr George Soott, who is at present at Paterson's Creek, has sent the following telegraphic reply to a requisition asking him to stand for (the Tramway Board as a candidate for the Heathcote district: —'To Mr Malcolm and the gentlemen signing the requisition,—Halving ltad over £100,000 worth of Government contracts, and within th© last few years inspected electric trains in almost every part of the world, I think I con be of service on the Board, and, therefore, accede, to your request." It may be added that Mr McHaifio was- requisitioned to offer himself for the same district., but has decided to stand aside in favour "of Mr Scott. Mr T. H. Davey, M.H.R., will be nominated to-day as a candidate for the sub-district of Christchurch, Albans and Sydenham. Nominations for seats on the Christchurch Tramway* district close with the returning officer (Mr J. Whitelaw) at four o'clock this afternoon. Tho total number of persons qualified to vote for members of the Ghristchurch Tramway Board is 12,878. Th© details are: — Christchurch, Sydenham, and St. Albans sub-district, 7332; Woolstan, Sumner, and Heathcote sub-district, 1817; Linwood subdistrict, 1499; Riccarton, Spreydon, and Halswell sub-district, 1361; New Brighton and Avon sub-district, 869. At four o'clock yesterday afternoon the Returning Officer (Mr J. Whitelaw) had received the nominations of twenty candidates for the Tramway Board-