THE MAYORALTY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 796, 20 April 1910, Page 6

THE MAYORALTY.

• NOTES AND COMMENTS. ■ The need for an art gallery in Wellington found a champion latt night in Mr. C. J. Crawford. Mr. Crawford had an explanation to make, for, he said, he hod been misrepresented. He had not advocated the building of an extravagant art gallery, but he had pointed out on previous occasions that the present art gallery,, so called, was a reproach to the capital city. It was a poor affair, he said, and apparently the authorities could not keep the pictures'. (LaughteT.) What he had urged was that something should be done to form the nucleus of an art gallery by obtaining assistance from wealthy citizens.. He believed that the Art Society was willing to give its section in Whitmore Street—a valuable piece of land—and this would add considerably to the fvrnd. At eome later date, then, he had no doubt that it would be found possible to build an art gallery worthy of the city. It should, of course, he situated in a densely populated part of the oity, where it could be of advantage to the greatest number.

At bis meeting last night, Mr. Wilford repeated his attempt to make The Dominion responsible for the opinions of certain public men, merely upon' the ground that those opinions were reported in the paper. He said: "In The Dominion to-day there is a leading article of considerable length, showing what an absolutely incapable chairman I was of the Harbour Board. Now, I keep a scrap-book, and on January 28, 1910, I find that The Dominion published the following excerpt on myself from the Harbour Board." Mr. Wilford then read, not only the report referred to, but also a leaflet in which he had quoted it. The leaflet concluded with the words:

"I ask you all to explain this change of attitude." He then went on to say: "Ton will now be able to assess at their proper value the leading articles that are being written and that will, bo writtenup to the polling day in the present contest." Mr. Wilford's election trick apparently succeeded with a considerable portion of his audience, for his reading of the leaflet was followed by applause and laughter.

Experts in the* matter of the care of recreation grounds have occasionally urged that grounds are improved for cricket by being used for football and similar sports in the winter. Mr. Crawford referred to this matter in the course of his speech last evening, when expressing his ideas in connection with city reserves. He mentioned that in Dunedin grounds were used both in summer and winter, and during the recent tour of the' Australian cricketers the opinion had been expressed that the Carisbrook ground presented the best wicket on. which the visitors had' played in New Zealand.

Mr. Wilford's apparent embarrassment in connection with Harbour Board matters seems likely to lead him into awkward situations. At his meeting on Monday evening, in addition to his reference .to The Dokutcon's attitude, he laid stress upon the fact that tho Harbour Board had elected him to a second term of office as chairman, presumably intending to convey the impression that this indicated somo special recognition of his services. Tet he should have known that this has been the customary course for a great many year's past. Indeed, during the 30 years' existence of the board (since 1880) this course has only been departed from on four occasions. Since 1893 it has been the invariable rule to re-elect chairmen for at least two years when their services were available. Here is" the' list;—lß93 and 189VMr. J- Jack; 1895 and 1896, Mr. T. J. W. Gale; 1897 and 1898, Mr. F. H. Eraser; 1899. and 1900, Mr. J. Hutcheson; 1900, 1901, and 1902, Mr. H. Beauchamp; 1903, Mr. N; Eeid (who apparently was not a member of. the board in the succeeding year); 1904 and 1905, Mr. W. Cable; 1906 and 1907, Mr. T. K. Macdonald; 1908 and 1909, Mr. T. M. Wilford; 1910, Mr. R. Flebeher. In the .circumstances, Mr._ Wilford's re-election was merely following the customary procedure, and his, referenco to it is not likely to be in his favour. ■ ' i

An eoho of the .'Tost Leader" incidents was heard at Mr. Wilford's Mayoral election meeting last night. "Do you want an art gallery?" asked the candidate rhetorically, "Can't keep the pictures in it," answered a hoarse voice at the back of the hall, and Mr. Wilford remarked that there 'was something in' that.

-\ The Wellington dock is a belated affair, .said Mr. C. J. Crawford, in addressing the electors last night. Mr. , Crawford asked where the business was to come from for the local dock, seeing that both Auckland and Dunedin possessed large docks. Moreover, the patent slip in Wellington was very convenient' for small steamers. It had been argued that no port could bo a : great port without a dook, bnt he considered that a dock in Wellington was an extravagance. If the Harbour Board decided to go in for an extravagance, it should put its finances in order. Had it done ,so? (Voices: "No.") The hoard had increased the port charges to the extent of .£33,000, to come out of the dues. The shipping companies were ■ not going to pay that out of their dividends; they would pass it on to the citizens. Mr. Wilford had been a member of the Harbour Board all the time, and he now endeavoured to excuse himself by saying that he" was not chairman at the time the board committed itself in regard to the dock.""He (Mr. Crawford) was not discussing the dock difficulties of the Harbour Board—those were not matters 1 for a public meeting—but he was dealing only with the policy of the board in regard to its important works. Mr. Wilford had been a member of the board,\ and he had no right to excuse himself at all. (Voices: "No.") There was no evidence that he had protested in any way. (A voice: "He fought hard for it") "In those days," concluded Mr. Crawford, "it was considered that large expenditure brought votes, but the wage-earners' bread is not buttered by disaster; it is buttered by prosperity. We do not want any white elephants in this city." (Applause.)

Having just concluded a business arrangement that will necessitate his ab ? sonce from Eastbourne for the greater part of the year, Mr. John Barr, the present Mayor of Eastbourne, regrets that he will be unable to again accept nomination for the mayoralty of the borough. MR. WILFORD AT TE ARO. Continuing his Mayoral campaign, Mr. T. M. Wilford, M.P., spoke at the Druids' Hall, TaranaM Street, last night. There was a good attendance. Mr. Coogan presided. The candidate, in the course of his remarks, alluded to his opponent's strictures on the Hutt Road and railway improvement works. Mr. Crawford had said that the road should have been on the harbour side and the railway on the land side, instead of the reverse, but that was absurd, because the result would have been to deprive all the properties along tho route of the road frontages to which they were entitled. Another of his opponent's planks was the creation of a boat harbour at Island Bay. (Laughter.) He never hoard of such a scheme. Fancy connecting the little island out there with the mainland, so that the boats could get there. (More langhter.) Mr. Crawford had also spoken of tho necessity for good tar and first-class metal for the streets. But where was he going to get the first-class metal? It was a most difficult question. Where was it to come from? A voice: Ho has a quarrj at Miramar. Mr. Wilford: Well, I don't know anything about that. Tou may have all sorts of suggestions. I was just wondering. The candidate also stated_ his differences from Mr. Crawford's views on the subject of wood-blocking, municipalisation of gas, creation ef a firo board, and other points, and said that the idea of placing Oriental Bay in tho state it was m before the esplanade was made was not worthy of consideration.- Mr. Wilford also expressed himself is favour of

an appeal board for corporation employees, and suggested that a joint superannuation scheme should be established by the City Council and the Harbour Board. He believed it was no disadvantage to the city to have a member of Parliament as Mayor, because Bills affecting civic affairs were being put through every session. A vote of thanks and confidence was carried unanimously.

MR. CRAWFORD'S CANDIDATURE. Mr. C. J. Crawford, candidate for the City Mayoralty, had a successful meeting at the Willis Street Schoolroom last evening. Mr. Charles Onyon was in the chair. In the course of his opening remarks, Mr. Crawford pointed out that since he knew Wellington as a lad, the place had grown rapidly, but while bearing the brunt of the development of the Miramar listate, he had kept in close touch with municipal politics. It had been said that his whole interest was in ,Miramar, but that was not so, and as a matter of fact his headquarters during the past few years had been in the city proper. For many years his work had been such as to fit him for the Mayoral chair. , fie had travelled widely, and had kept his eyes open. (Applause.) Turning to the importance of harbour development, Mr. Crawford urged thai Wellington was, entirely dependent, as tar as the progress of the city was concerned, upon its harbour, which was one of. the finest in the world. (Applause.) He could remember the time when the harbour was surrounded by magnificent beaches, and although it was not his intention to "rip things up,' he was emphatically of opinion that places like the Oriental Bay foreshore, could be vastly improved. He considered that there should be an esplanade at Oriental Bay, but the children's playground should be the first consideration. He had always held it to bo a matter of the first importance that the children should have spacious playgrounds. (Applause.) The foreshore at Oriental Bay should be properly cleaned up, and it would then become a very attractive and suitable place for the youngsters. (Applause.) . Replying to the • remarks of his opponent in the contest, Mr. Crawford said that he had been declared an advocate of an extensive scheme of tree-planting, involving a- large sum of money. He considered that a certain amount might be put aside each year for the purposed of free-planting. He objected to anything spasmodic, however, and held the opinion that amateurs overcome by occasional bursts of enthusiasm should not he entrusted with the work.- A few trees should be planted from time te time by experienced men. Having outlined his policy as to the wood-blocking of tho city streets, ex-\ plained at previous meetings, Mr. Crawford went on to say that he' was abso-\ lutely against any increase in the rates. In regard to the Electric Lighting Department, he suggested that it might be possible for the city, with the assistance and co-operation of the Government, to secure water power, and, by this means, to save the large sum spent annually on coal used for generating electrical energy. . ■ ,'. Mr. Crawford was accorded a hearty vote of thanks and confidence, ■on the motion of Mr. W. J. Scott.