MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17116, 11 April 1921, Page 10

MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS.

LABOUR CAMPAIGN OPENED. On Saturday evening, in Victoria square, the Labour Party opened its campaign in connexion with the coming municipal elections, addresses being given by the Rev. J. K. Archer, and Councillors H. T. Armstrong, ¥. Cooke, 11. Hunter,' and D. G. Sullivan, M.P. There was a fairly large attendance, Cr. H.'T. Armstrong presiding. Tho first speaker was the Rev. J. K. Archer, who.said that some people believed that the Labour Party was "out to make trouble." On the contrary, it was out to stop and remove the causes of the present unrest. The Labour Party in New Zealand were constitutionalists, and believed in constitutional methods. Labour wanted society reorganised, on the principle of mutual aid, instead of selfishness, as at present—striving for better conditions for the workers was only an incidental aim of Labour. It had been said that the Labour candidates were bound to a little clique—that was nonsense. The only pledge they made was to bo loyal to the Labour Party and its platform. The speaker criticised the Citizens' Association, alleging that it represented only a minority of the citizens. The Labour. Party "stood not in the interests of one '.section of, the people, but for' the welfare of the whole of the citizens. Cr. P. Cooke, whose address was punctuated with interjections from some of his hearers about his former business as a tailor, said that 'some of those opposing Labour knew nothing about business. They had administered the affairs of the city since it was a city, and had spent the ratepayers' money to the extent of some hundred thousand pounds a year. There had .bee-u a need for metel in the city for years past, so the "business men 1 ' on the Council bought a quarry 60 or 70 miles from the city. Last year they had spent .some £30,000 of the ratepayers' money for metal for the streets. Nothing had beeii done to improve the city roads in a- comprehensive way. The work was done piecemeal, and tho streets were "all" higgeldy-piggeldy." The speaker, dealt with the sutrgesled municipalisation of the city's milk supply, stating that the system in Wellington was an excellent.one. If Christchurch followed the same procedure they could sell milk cheaper and purer than they could to-day. What applied to milk also applied to bread. Bread could be sold a penny a four-pound loaf cheaper, than, it was under the present system. Not a penny was needed from the citkens—it was merely a matter of backing tho enterprise. The,"business men" on the Council had; to increase the rates, and had also piled up an overdraft of £IOO.OOO. He submitted that thoy had not . handled .the city's business efficiently; He asked his hearers to vote these .men out of office and let Labour make the city a better -place to lire in. Cr. H. Hunter said he had been a member of the City Council since 1911, and had learnt a. great deal about •■'ho management of'the-city's affairs. The speaker referred to the part he had taken in connexion with the electrical supply system of the city, claiming that the scheme would have- been a miich better one for the city if Labour had been in office, instead of the "business men" who ruled the Council; Ho had worked hard'to have .the middlemen cnt out, but tho' Council had rejected his proposal. The speaker criticised the Council for permitting eleotricccu r rent to be used for lighting, ''ragshops" at night while not permitting a housewife to use an electric iron except between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. He urged them to. give Labour a chance to show what it could do by returning ii Labour majority "on the Council. .. Cr. H. T. Armstrong challenged any man to say. that he had been disloyal. Ho had only been disloyal to the gang of plutocrat j who controlled the country —rhe had always.beenloyal to the interests of the masses of the people. The speaker claimed to have had'a business training and to know about finance. economicSj and municipal business as any member of the' Citizens' Association." Labour had not been able to do much on the City Council because it had always been prevented through being in a minority. The speaker referred to. the coal shortage two winters ago, claiming that the failure t,i> obtain coal and make the enterprise, a success was due to the "business men'-' on the Council. The municipal coal depot had been voted out by the members of the Citizens' Association bctcauso it struck at the monopoly in which some of them were interested. Referring to the shortage of houses the spea'ker said that one of the.arguments put forward was that there was a shortage of labour. There had been enough labour, however, to cut 119,000,000 feet of timber, which had been exported from the country. The Citizens' Association had run the city to a dead-end. They had rated the city till they could rate it no.more—then they ran up an overdraft of £IOO,OOO. The only hope for the people lay in the Labour' Party. Cr. D. G. Sullivan, M.P., said it was "darned rot" to say that because the members of" the Citizens' Association had had some business training thev were more capable of running the Citv Council than the Labour candidates. The chairman of the Finance Committee of the Council repeatedly told the Council that the citv finances were drifting into a bad; condition, yet the Citizens; Association members could not brino-• forward any proposal to remedy this state of affairs. The speaker urged the establishment of a Metropolitan Board (if Works comprising' the various local bodies 5n the city. The Citizens' Association had done nothinc to- bring about an amalgamation of-these bodies. The Labour Party had nlwavs made this a plank in its platform; 'He urged his hearers; not to be misled bv the Citizens' Association.- but to send a Labour inajoritv to the Couh-, oil on April, ,27th, and thus secure the genuine advancement of.the city. At the conclusion o* the addresses several questions were answered by the candidates. -,'.,, ■ Cr. C. P. Agar, a member of the Citizens' Association ticket, asked : a number nf questions, and subsequently rddresscd the gathering, stating that the previous speakers had made a number of statements which he intended to deal with during his electir> T > campaign. The meetinq was a good-humoured one, md (>. Actar w(>s occorded a fairly attentive Iwing. bein<r accorded a >-ormd of nrvplnuse for his "gameness" in tnkino-the platform. NEW BRIGHTON MAYORALTY. A larrre and influential deputation, representing all shades of opinion in New Brighton, waited uwn Mr J. Gamble, on Saturday evening, and urged him to accept nomination for the Mayoralty. Mr.C H. Opie, as spokes- i man of the deputation, said they were ! anxious and desirous of having ti:e best j man to represent them in the borough's i chief office of honour. Mew Brighton j was no longer a township', and a Mayor ! wa'i needed of ability, experience, and \ broad outlook; in short, a man of wis- i dom, in whom the residents could have j confidence. The financial situation was an anxious one, and the borough needed a man who could present its case | ably. He thought Mr Gamble was the man for the position. Mr R. Brown-1 ing said the members cf the deputation I felt that with tho. rapid growth of New I Brighton, it was highly desirable and i important that the Chief Magistrate | ■■should" be a person who could represent I tho borough on all occasions in such a i maimer as at least to comrxiro most '

favourably with the Mayors of the] cities, and chairmen of the leading, educational and local bodies. Themembers of this deputation were unanimously of opinion that Mr Gamble was a most suitable and desirable gentleman. Messrs W. H. Bellamy, R. T. Lees, and others spoke on similar lines. In reply, Mr Gamble said he felt sure ho .did not deserve even a tithe of the smse that had been extended to him. It really had been his intention to retire from public life. , Subsequently, 3lr Gamble announced that he would comuly with the wisii of the. deputation, and a meeting ot his friends and supporters will be Held in the Pier Hall, New Brighton, tonight, at 7.30. Ladies are especially invited. ' Mr C. VT. Hervev was nominated on Saturday by Messrs C. R. Clark and A. "W Jamieson for a- seat on the City Council. Mr Hervev will stand as an Independent.