Municipality of Balcutha.

Clutha Leader, Volume II, Issue 54, 22 July 1875, Page 6

Municipality of Balcutha.

THE NOMINATIONS. The nominations for the, Offices 6f Mayor, Councillors', and Andippvs &£ the Municipality took place at- ioo?i,iiL St. Johns . Halj, on : §aturdayi His Worship the Majdriaoted as Retonring Officer, and there was a attendance «1 electors.

The Returning Officer : read the advertisement calling the meeting, and explained the nature of the proceedings. The Town Clerk read a letter from Mr Crambrid, * resigning his appointment as valuator to the Municipality. The' nominations were then proceeded witb. For the office of MAYOR there* were two candidates r^ Robert Cramond, 'proposed by A. M*Neil and seconded by P. Mason: and * ' Alexander Stewart, proposed by R. M'Owen and seconded by John Dunne. Upon a show of hands being taken there were for Stewart, 11; and Cramond, 8. Mr Cramond demanded a poll, which the Returning Officer intimated would take place on Wednesday, 21st July. For -the offices of Councillors there were for — SOUTH WARD. Wm. Tosh, proposed by B: Ryrie, seconded by John how. John Dunne, proposed by R. Grigor, seconded by A. Stewart Show of hands : Dunne, 10$ Tosh, 7. | NORTHWARD. R. Cramond, proposed by A. Mason, seconded by Joseph Robertson. R, Grigor, proposed by A. Bain, seconded by Wm. Ay son. Show of hands : Cramond, 7 : Giigor, 13. EAST WARD. A. C. Campbell, proposed by R. Richards, seconded by D. M<Farlane. Wm, Hope, proposed by P. Mason, seconded by R. Cramond. Show of hands : Campbell, 7; Hope, 5. AUDITORS. There was only one nomination : — A. Bain, proposed by R. Grigor, seconded by A. Stewart, j Mr Bain was declared elected.

The Returning Officer said that all the business was now concluded. It was customary for the candidates to address the electors, and they would 13 ">w have an opportunity of doing so. Mr A. Btewart said he appeared •before them as a candidate tor the office of Mayor, and had been led to believe he would have had a walk-over. The office, he said, was a very important ene, and was yearly becoming more so. He had an ambition to fill it for one year, and if elected would do his best tp promote the best interests of the town. The present year would |be a reij important one for the Municipality, as they would haio a railway opened to it from the metropolis. It would prove a turning point in their history, and, like matrimony, it would be for better or for worse \ he trusted it would be for the better. He thanked, those who had asked him to come forward for the office of Mayor ; he had long been" a citizen of Balclutha, and had not been obtrusive in. his disposition ; he never attempted to force his services upon any one, and if elected, one year of the honorable ocffie would suffice him. He was then placed in a false position, as he had not anticipated any opposition j but now an apparition had sprung up at the last hour. (Mr A. C. Campbell : Do you call that an apparition 9 Laughter). Mr Stewart : And now his chances of election were not so good as they were. He had only been one year a Councillor, and had not had a chance to distinguish himself; indeed he found the Councillors were so energetic in their actions that they had almost extinguished him. (Laughter.) There were, he said, perhaps better men than him who might have come forward-— one, not his present opponent, who was in every respect except one much better, but in that one respect he was criminally dilatory (laughter), being still a bachelor; and had he come forward, he might have been elected without opposition. If, as he said, he were now elected, and another eligible candidate were to come forward next year, he would not contest the election. In reply to a question, Mr Stewart said he thought the Town Council had taken tho very best action they could have taken by fencing in the 80 acre paddock, as he believed they would now get it handed over to the Municipality by the Government. Mr Cramond being called for, said that, considering the time of the electors would "be considerably taken up by the other candidates, he had decided to reserve his remarks till the evening, when he would be glad to see them all and explain to them his views. Mr Campbell: Don't yon think it impertinent on your part to allow yourself tb be "nominated.both for the office of Mayor and Councillor ? Mr Cramond : ; No. The Town Council,, by appointing one day for both nominations, left no other coursa.open Several parties urged SBhI to addre^ the meeting, hut hs^^BH9 he had ''decided -upon theKefIBRHHI intended to .pursue, and vonld adhere to it. .:;.-•; : ".d; *•;-.„■: y'vy. Mr John Thinne i -wns glad ho had such a highly respectable opponent as

Mr Tosh, and although' he wouldwioptH all. proper L sto T secure election ?he I wopliddb riSthitf;* iMt what V/as fair and •] straightfprw^'di ? It -#as a^lfeasure to;l him. !to contest' '.tb^ 'eJle^bnrHn*& r -Mr'. Tofehj, bat ab the ; same ;time T he; -would defeitbim if possible* jThe matter Vas entirely in^the the hands of tihe : electors, and if' they; thought ihim-r.the best-man then' they wonld vote for - him £ but if they considered Mr -Tosh-was* the preferable of the two, thet( they would elect him. If he wai elected, he. Would do 1 what he could ifco put what had been called a crooked Council straight. ("Laughter). It was crooked when ■he first entered it : they could not collect rates, and had no bye-laws- It was not perfect yet, but the Council had done what they could for the whole, of the town, and had shown no partiality. He claimed .that . he had carried out all his promises to the electors when • last he appeared before them, at least so far as it was possible for them to be accomplished, and if again electfd he would be glad to do his best for them. He had only to say with reference to MrCramond's meeting that evening, that .if he should make incorrect statements he would get muddy water over his earn. Mr Win. Tosh said it was customary for candidates to address the electors at the nomination; but he would simply say that if elected he would do the best he could for the township, and would see that no money was 'Spent foolishly. He would endeavor to get a the little matters connected with the township put to rights. He heartily reciprocated the good feeling expressed by Mr Dunne, and, like him, would simply advise the electors to vote for the best man.

Mr A. Kilgour asked whether the candidate would be in favor of levying a special rate for the formation of the footpaths ?

Mr Tosh thought the present taxes would be sufficient for all purposes, provided the money was spent to the best advantage. . The Returning Officer said there was a regulation for making special rate for footpaths, and that more had been done in: the way of footpaths in Balclutha without a rate than in any other town in Otago. In reply to Mr A. M'Neil, Mr Tosh said the straying of cattle was a great nuisance in the township, and he would be in favor of having them all impounded, except in cases where a cow might have merely broke out for a few minutes. Before fencing in any reserves, he would take care to find out that they had been handed over to the township, or at least have a promise from the Government thatj-^iey would be hand d over. .

Mr Stewart asked Mr Cramond his opinion as to removing < obstructions upon streets.

Mr Cramond said he would be in favor of having them all removed. He had been written to by the Council twice regarding opening up a street opposite his property ; but he wished the Council to adopt a certain necessary step before giving compliance. Mr Bain : How would you act if in tho Council^ and you met with a man who defied the Council ? . "".

Mr Cramond : I would act according to law.

Mr A. C. Campbell said if he got into the Council he would do his utmost for the good of the township. He believed Councillors required •. spurring' up. Not one of the candidates had said a single thing regarding the drainage of the town. This was a sore' point with him, and he thought if there was any money to be spent it should be spent in drainage instead of fencing. He would try to get - something done to improve the streets. He had been seven years in the town, and never saw the streets in such a mess as they ware at present. The whole of Clyde-street required drainage, and LIOO would go a long way to effect this. If drainage works were not undertaken, the* health of tbe community would suffer. As to the fencing of the 80' acre daddock, he thought no sane man could approve of it ; but he believed the town would yet get the ground. He believed tbe Councillors individually would acknowledge that they had made a mistake in fencing in the section. Mr Powell asked the candidate whether he if elected would see; that the Hasborough road contract was. carried out according to specifications. Mr Campbell replied that he would. In reply to another question, .he said he believed they could not get a better man but ofa thousand than Mr Finn as a dayman, and he only wished the Council had performed^ their duty as well as he had done. He thought, however, that a separate ranger should be appointed, and that gravel should be procured by tender 5 also, that all works possible should be let. A vote of" thanks to the Returning Officer concluded the, proceedings.