MAYORALTY OF CROMWELL

Cromwell Argus, Volume III, Issue 141, 23 July 1872, Page 5

MAYORALTY OF CROMWELL

The nomination of candidates took place at the Council Chamber at noon on Wednesday, the 18th inst. The Mayor, James Taylor, Esq., presided ; and a'ter stating the purpose of the meeting, called upun the Town Clerk to open and read the nomination papers. The nominations were as follow : Mr JAMtis Taylor, proposed by Mr Duncan MncKelLir, and seconded by Mr Owen Pierce. Mr Mcchasl proposed by Mr Win. Grant, and seconded by Mr J. M. Brown. The Presiding Officer then declared all further proceedings adjourned until Monday, the '22 nd of July current. Mr Taylor having vacated the chair, Mr E. Murrell was unanimously chosen to preside while the candidates addressed the meeting. Mr FttAgß said he wished to mention one or two matters which had cropped up siuue he J ;st addressed the ratepayers. The financial statement subm'tted by him to the ratepayers on uhe 11th inst., was an abstract of the accounts from 30th June 1871 to 30th June 1572, a? shown by the Corporation cash-book. On the Ist of August proximo, the I'orpo'ation would have a clear balance of about £IOO to their credit. He anticipated that the incoming Council won id have altogether about £7OO to work with during their term of office. 1 n reference to the question of water supply, he had found, on examining the matter minutely, that instead of £.'JSo.—the sum mentioned in the Public Works Committee's report,—the water-works proposed to be carried out by the Council would cost nearly £6OO. I Looking at the question in that Jijht, he thought it woidd only be doing justice to the ratepayers to obtaia a report from a competent person as to whether a supply could be had from the other side of the CUitha at a reasonable coot. If elected as Mayor, he wouhl be in favour of taking steps to obtain a competent opmion on the matter. At the same time, he would endeavour to utilise the existing water scheme as far as possible until a belter one could be carried out. He had not come forward to contest this e'eetmn as the nominee of any party, but as an independent candidate ; and he asked the ratepayers to weigh the merits of the two candidates on purely public grounds. !f his fe'low-citizens voted in accordance with their own convictions he would be quite satisfied.—ln answer to Mr Marsh, the candidate said he was a ratepayer in Kawarau Ward by virtue of rate 3 paid. He declined to say whether his qualification was leasehold or freehold. In reply to a charge of roll-stuffing made by the same gentleman, the candidate said that if he had nofc'been entitled to a vote in Kawarau Ward, Mr Marsh should have objected at the Revision Court to the retention of his name on the assessment roll. Various other questions were put and answered before the candidate sat down. Mr Taylor was much astonished that Mr Fraer should at the last moment turn round and oppose the present plan oc Water .Supply because he thonght the DVewood Creek project would be the popular one. A great deal of expense had been incurred in connection with the present race ; but he was sorry to see Mr Fraer turn round and tell the ratepayers that the waterworks would cost so much as he had stated. He (Mr Taylor) admitted the reservoir would cost more than £SO, the amount at first estimated by the Public Works Committee ; but it would not be such a very expensive affair as Mr

Fraer would like the ratepayers to believe. As to the estimated cost of the iron pipes, there could ho no mistake about the correctness of the estimate given. There were twelve tons (1512 c ft.) ordered, and the cost in Dunedin would be £lO per ton. He (Mr Taylor) knew as well as anyone that 16ft. of pressure was not sufficient ; and his intention was ultimately to get the benefit of the pressure which could be obtained t by bringing water from the east side of the ! f Clutha. He rid'culed the idea of using two-inch t pipes for supplying the town, and thought four- ] inch pipes would be quite small enough. The i course pursued by Mr Fraer in turning round at ( the last moment against the Corporation Water- A works Scheme should suffice to convince the < ratepayers of his unfitness for the office of Mayor. \ The attempt made by Mr Fraer to stuff the , Citizens' Roll was also deserving of reprobation, j He hoped Mr Fraer's estimate of revenue would , prove correct; but failed to see how the receipts . could amount to anything like £7OO. The candidate was interrogated on various ■ subjects by Messrs Smitham, Marsh, Colc'ough, . Hayes, Barnes, and other ratepayers; after which, Mr Fraer rose to explain that what he said relative to the water-supply was that be would be in favour of getting the opinion of a competent person on the matter. Mr Taylok seid be wou'd leave the ratepayers to decide for themselves as to which candidate they would support : he would not try to in. fluence them on his own behalf. The customary vote of thanks to the Chairman, moved by Mr MacKellar and seconded by Mr Fraer, brought the proceedings to a close. The Mayoral contest yesterday created the ! usual amount of bustle and excitement among the townspeople. There was some very hard canvassing on both sides, and the general opinion before the declaration of the poll seemed to be that the candidates would stand pretty nearly on an equal footing as regarded vbe number of votes polled. Hardly any one, we believe, expected j that the successful candidate would score eleven above bis opponent. The main street was pa- j raded throughout the day by two rival bellmen, rigged out in grotesque semi-military costumes, and those gentlemen sounded the praises of their j respective heroes in stentorian tones, and with untiriug energy, for about six hours. For thi< j cause we rejo'ce that the Mayoral election occurs | but once a year. At about twenty minutes past four, The Returning Officer (Councillor James Dawkins) appeared iu front of the Town Hall, ami announced the result of the election to be as follows : Micha.ec- Fraer .. ... 42 James Taylor 31 He therefore declared Mr Michael Fraer duly elected Mayor of Cromwell for the ensuing year. Mr Fraer, who was loudly cheered on ascending the rostrum, said he lacked words to e::press his gratitude to the ratepayers for placing him at the head of the poll. He warmly thanked those gent'emen who had so ably supported his candidature; and who had exerted themselves lo saccensfu'ly, in spite of strenuous opposition, to secure h ; s return. He trusted that at the chiso of h's te-'m of office, the ratepayers would be enab'ed to acknowledge that he had fulfilled the duties of Mayor with credit to himself and with beneiit to the town. (Cheers.) MrTiYfiOß, whose appearance was the signal for an outburst of applause, said that in coining before the ratepayers as a defeated candidate, j he did so in the knowledge that the mark he had made in Cromwell during his tenure of office I was an indelible one, and would never be effaced, j ' In the line of policy he had pursued, It's vjcki-l ' rious opponent, while a member of the Council, I 1 had always supported him; and he sincerely trusted th.it that policy would be carried out. lie took bis own defeat upon this occasion with the greatest of pleasure. His only motive in seeking the office ot Mayor was to promote the welfare of Cromwell,—(cheers). —and he hoped Mr Fraer would work as fervently for the good ' of the town as he had done. (Applause.) On the motion of Mr Fraer, a vote of thanks was accorded to the Returning Officer for the efficient mauve in which the election bad been c inducted throughout;. , Through the courtesy of the Uel-u' ning Officer. ( we are enab'ed to give the numbers of voles p died in each Ward Cor both candidates. In aH, seventy-"oiir votes were recorded, of wb'cli number, one was informal. The votes were dic vided as follows : I Bridge Ward - J £ ra f ] ~ (Taylor ... 0 j Kawarau Ward - L K , ra f S i ( lay lor ... '22 i Total 73 I Mr Mac Nab acted as poll-clerk in Bridge Ward, and Mr Smythies in Kawarau Ward, r Mr Fraer's scrutineers were Mr G. Jenour in 1 Bridge Ward, and Mr J. E. Beattie in Kawarau 3 Ward ; while Messrs It. Brown and R. Donegau 3 a 'ted in the same capacity for Mr Taylor in I Bridge and Kawarau Wards respectively.