MAYORAL CAMPAIGN

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 798, 22 April 1910, Page 8

MAYORAL CAMPAIGN

SPEECHES BY ;CANDIDATES.

iIHTERESTING POINTS' OF POLICY*

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

The staffing of the polling booths in . Connection with the : coming- Mayoral election was mentioned by Councillor Cannichael at,last night's meeting of the. City Council. ' ..Councillor, Car"taichael ' urged . that . the.-,, : Mayor should;. instruct . the . returning officer not to engage, men as poll clerks who were at present in employment, And ..who; would have to get leave of absence to do : the woijk on election.day He considered that the returning officer should engage only men who were out. sf employment, and in urgent: need'of ft ..'.day's .work. -The Mayor (Dr. Newman) ..'. said; : that the return- ■ ing ■ ; officer ~ was . not ■ under . ■ his 'control; he was,; a ; statutory, officer. However, he understood that the" re- ■ turning officer, at' the request- of, a Jumber of councillors,-had decided to ismploy only persons who were in need of employment. '' "I have, that pri.vately," he added, "arid I have no au;thority to interfere." ..'".'■

.'_ In coriimencing his address, last evening; MrJ. Crawford said he noticed from the evening paper that his opponent was again ■ misrepresenting his statements. Ihe.bulk. of tho . attributed to him by Mr. , Wilford in the evening paper he could absolutely • contradict. He asked the citizens to, regard,his remarks only as they .were published in the:reports-of his own addresses.

■Despite his apprenticeship as chairman of the Harbour Board, Mr. Wilford's ideas of the •geography of Wellington (Sty are somewhat hazy. At Roseneath last night he was asked : : whether he was in favour, of extending , Ihe electric light round Point Jerning- ";■. ham, just immediately below the schoolhouse'in which he was speaking. 'In reply, he isaid the matter would want some going into.. He • supposed it meant taking the' electric light' right . round to Karaka Bay. At this memters of the audience appeared surprised and incredulous, Karaka Bay ■being in. a different district, in- an adjoining ' borough; and far beyond the jcity /"Karaka Bay has eleotric light:already," interjected a nonplussed . resident. "Oh—ah—yes," replied the candidate, "so it has—of assort. I :w*s,thinking of Little Karaka Bayrwhat we used to call Little Karaka. Bay." Those present were not much fcnlightened by this explanation, none ■ of them having apparently, ever heard of such a place as Little Karaka Bay. i [Eventually, it .appeared thaf.Mr.- Wil- . lord was quitewlllmg to haveithe light extended from, the Oriental Bay tram ' terminus-to Kilbirnie. He often mo l ■ :!tored round -there''-.'of an.evcning, and she, .thought a light' would contribute '.greatly to the .safety of pedestrians.

'"I find.iha-t on every, occasion that any opponent lias dealt with :my -remarks he has absolutely, misrepresented them." —Mr. Crawford'at the Druids' ■Hail:-:, ■. . ;.••.■;:: '■!■,■ :, ■ :

j,Crawford explained last night ihat.he did not wish, as had been represented, to: pull up and uriHo .everything that had been done at Oriental Bay. "Let the esplanade be'provided," le. declared, "but let it.be provided in such a way that there will still be room £ot tie children of this district to go and play"there." (Applause;) ■ '■.■'.'

..' ic i. call myself a eocial reformer," (Baid Mr. .Wilford at Roseneath last ■night to a questioner. "I. am not a Socialist." '■"■■ ■'. ' •■. . ' -

"I have been 1 right through' the mill bf ■ New Zealand /life," ■ Mr; Crawford claimed last evening. "If you elect me Mayor," he added/"I will devote ithe whole of my time to the city. (Applause.) _ I have made' some money— nothing like so much as I am reputed to'have made. I consider that I have a duty to perform to you, that I am foing to perform that duty, and that will make, you .an excellent. Mayor, bo that at the end of .my term I shall obtain the unanimous confidence of .the people of this city." (Applause.)

; Mr. Crawford replied again last evening to the , insinuation' that it'would be • to his advantage to be elected Mayor of ..Wellington because of hie connection irith a quarry at Miramar. The' candidate explained his position in. this.:mat-ter-as in; a previous address, andstated ' that as soon as ;the present contest ■ gan he hed'giyen absolute instructions :■ that;not one single-yard of mefej from the quarries should find its way directly or- indirectly iq the city .corporation's "use. _If it was necessary to'.close .the :. quarries,■ he ; would/close them 1 abso- ; lutelyj and, if he was elected no single ■'■: soul should ever be able to throw any mud at'.him : by: saying that there, was ■ any itrading between , him and the city corporation . time. "Are. you going . to; allow. this; sort of calumny •against public.men to go forii?" asked Mr- Crawford, .''or aro yon going to use the heavy; hand of public opinion and throw' down, into' ignominy . those who make these calumnies?" (Hear, tear.) : ~ . : . ; ■;■'.

'At his meeting last night Mr. Wilford referred to the matter of Mr. Crawford's quarry. He said he saw that Mr. Crawford had stated that he had been "stabbed in the back" over this matter.. Mr. Wilford remarked that he had never "stabbed anybody in the back"- in the whole of his political career. At his meeting he had'criticised Mr. Crawford's proposal for tarring and metalling the streets. ■ Someone had intorjected: "What about . Crawford's quarry?" That was the whole of what happened. He hadmado no insinuation whatever. . . ■

'1 am absolutely against the city celling onei inch of its land anywhere, or parting with one inch of the city reserves anywhere."—Mr. Crawford, at the Druids' Hall.

"Would you allow the Boring Association to hold their tournaments in the Town Hall?" was a question put to ■ Mr.'>' Crawford last evening. "Certainly," was.the prompt reply. "I am absolutely in favour of the encourageiment of any manly sport. If boxing or any othersport is carried, on in an un-, jnanly manner, I certainly shall not be in favour of allowing it the use of. the Town Hall/ but I have no reason to think that boxing in Wellington, conjnected as it is with names held "in high respect in this city, will at any , time be improperly conducted." ;

One of the principal incidents at Mr. iWilford's meeting last evoning was his elaborate explanation of how the tail did not wag the dog in the matter of the Miramar betterment clause. In the light of what .transpired at the time electors may find this ingenious explanation somewhat puzzling. . ■

Mr. C. I. Dasont is.declared ejected (unopposed) for the Mayoralty .of Karori. ' ...