A DEADLOCK.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 780, 1 April 1910, Page 2

A DEADLOCK.

THE, EKETAHtJNA MAYOR AND Hiai' '■ COIJNCILLOES, '•-"."' (By Telegraph-Special OorreflnoniJenUEketahuna, March ifl. . Municipal affairs in Eketahuna hav« reached an acute stage, and future d&ii velopments are awaited with' Interest*! Trouble • has arisen over the persistency i of tho Mayor, Mr. E. Page, in moving*, at each meeting of the Council, after being defeated, 'notice of motion t»v rescind a resolution passed by the council' recommending payment'of a bonus of .£49 to the Electrical Engineer. ' • Since the last ordinary'meeting a sew tion of the council, with a view; to ascertaining whether the Mayor is in order, invoked the assistance'of Mr. T. P. Martin, secretary of the Municipal Associa^ 1 tion, and an authority on municipal law,, and at. last, night's, meeting the following.telegram was read:— •• ■..-.'-' "Under the circumstances of the" casoj my opinion is,that it is not permissiblo! to continue repeating tho motion with intent to defeat the council's resolution, which may now, be acted, upon, if bonus is legal as not being for work covered by. salary." •■•'.-,'. The Mayor objected strongly to any communication received by a section of the council being placed on the table, and said he would oppose the council obtaining legal opinion, as he contended his ruling. was-correct.. A.motion/.how-. ever, was carried that-the council apply.to Mr. Martin for ah opinion :in tha terms of the letter previously sent-by. a; section of the council. At a later, period the Mayor proceeded to move his motion in reference to the •rescission of the bonus resolution. ?When asked by a councillor to state what were the grounds of his perpetual notices of motion, the Mayor' stated that under tile, standing orders any motion could be brought forward time and again without limit, and in his opinion the same' applied to notices of motion. The ruling was not accepted, and four councillor's .left their seats. ':' Tho Mayor protested' strongly against the action of councillors in leaving their seats without his sanction, and went as far as to say that members stood a •chance of losing their seats by treating the chair with such contempt. ' The councillors, however, left the room, and the Mayor said he would carry oa the business with the remaining councillor. Eeverting to the bonus question, the Mayor, after .asking the clerk to taka note that the councillors had left th« table despite his > protests, and without his sanction, read the following' communication received from the Controller and Auditor-General :—..'' "In acknowledging receipt of your letter, I beg to state in reply thereto that there is no authority in-law for payment of a bonus to a salaried officer of a local body." After transacting the remainder of the, business, tho Mayor asserted that if the councillors did.not attend meetings when notified, he would carry on the bnsinesa of the council himsolf. He gave formal notice of another notice of motion dealing' with the bonus. In the meantime everything is at sixeg and sevens,, and'it is rumoured that tha majority of the council intend applying: to the Supreme Court for a mandamus compelling, the Mayor to allow the resolution to become operative.