MR. WILFORD AT NEWTOWN.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 802, 27 April 1910, Page 6

MR. WILFORD AT NEWTOWN.

Mr. Wflford addressed a well-attended ind sympathetic meeting in the Nowtown Library Hall last night. Mr. C. P. Worth presided. The candidate repeated his reply to criticisms on harbour board matters, as already reported in The Dominion,, laying stress upon a signed statement, from the secretary of.the Harbonr Board, and; claiming to have demolished the- argnmen,t8 i of hi opponent. Passing on- to deal with the 'Evans :'. Bay reclaxaaiion scheme and the. maoh-disCTSsed

betterment clause, he said that when he spoke in. the House, asking members to support the betterment clause, and telling them that otherwise the reclamation scheme would have to be abandoned, he did not really care about either the betterment clause or the reclamation. Mr. • Wilford also reiterated his opinion that fit would be desirable to place the lire uuder the udministratiou of a firo board, because the Government and the insurance companies would then contribute- to the cost and there' would be 'a i substantial annual saving to the ratepayers. .The candidate also alluded to the revenues from corporation lands, all of which lie maintained should be kept as the property of the citizens, and lie made a reference to the Hutt Road in terms of .his previous speeches. In closing his address soon after 9 o'clock, he explained that he had to attend committee meetings for completing arrangements for to-day/s polling campaign. He commented 'uprin the difficulty of getting people to exercise the franchise, anil iurged all to take an interest in.'civic! affairs. , , . . .'■':, -'-/ A vote, of thanks and confidence, of which Mr. E. J. Carey, president of the Trades and Labour Council, was the' seconder, was carried unanimously.

; NOTES AND COMMENTS.' ■/There "is", no more important position for the citizens to fill," said Mr. Herdman',: M:P., : in..introducing.Mr. Crawford last night, "than that of Mayor. It, therefore, behoves the people to think well..on the subject; The man who is appointed Mayor is really made a trustee of the whole of the property under the Jurisdiction of the municipality. He must fill tho position faithfully and with credit to himself and the city. Now, I, have followed.Mr.,Crawford's addresses very closely and all must agree that there ;haS/,been,.nothingvof,avfriv«lous character ' n -:Jh? m .-L.Nobody._can..s_uggest ■ that he has delivered addresses of an irresponsible nature; they have all been earnest and solid and full of common sense. I for .one, am going to give my wholehearted • support to Mr. Crawford's candidature, and it is my hope that everybody who wishes the city to be well represented :. will. :vote,.for. ',Mr. . Crawford who, there can Be no'doubt,' is well able to fulfil,the. 'duties''.'of,'the office." (lond applause.). ">,. .■ •. -■■. ...

On the occasion of his last meeting ©f the campaign last night, Mr. C. J. Crawlord took the opportunity to defend hk advocacy of wood-blocking, which, he said, had, lite his views on some other subjects, been grossly misrepresented. It had been stated, he continued, that if his scheme were adopted, the resnlt would be that the suburbs would starve. But, as a matter of fact, that was just what his proposal would prevent. • In previous years a fairly large amount had been taken out of the rates for ■ wood-blocking. The result had been 'that all works in the ontlying districts, suoh as street improvements, lighting, etc., had been absolutely starved, as there were not sufficient funds to.do them. What he wished to see was a real permanent, system of street formation which;would obviate the dust nuisance and the. need for so much ■cleaning. ' The reason why he had not been able to give full particulars of his scheme was that he could not possibly do so until he got into office and was able to secure the advice of the officers of the corporation. Supposing, he said, that <£10,000 was borrowed for the purpose. As wood-blocking lasted 15 years and the currency' of ■ the loan were made for the same period it would mean.that the cost of the. loan would be £900 per annum over : the term; For. that Bum a considerable strip, of wood-blocking could be done and the cost would be cheap compared with what had now to be expended on repairs and in keeping'down the dust. Mr. Crawford's'remarks on. the subject were punctuated with'applause. '..' .".

If' necessary, the corporation cars will be diverted from Lambton Quay to Jeryois Quay after 7, p.m. to-night. Regular throngh services .will be resumed as early as possible. .••■.'..■■

Mr; William Hobbs, a candidate for Eastbourne, at his meeting last evening, said that the freights and harbour dues were unsatisfactory; Harbour dues should bo done away with within,the harbour, except on heavy cargo. . ■ .

. .'"■■■/ 'MIRAMAR. : Mr.. Frederick Townsend addressed a well-attended meeting at Hope.- Elall, Miramar, last evening, Mr. Paterson ocoupying the chair. The candidate spoke vigorously on the subject of tramways, which, he said, had been making a heavy losssinoe their inception. He'stated that as far as.he could see nothing had been done by the old members of the council to check-that loss, which had amounted to about JS2ooo;last year. His idea was to cut down the present service. There were at present M trams, running .into Miramar daily, which was far too many, and some arrangement'could , be made with the city, he felt certain,.to give the boiough a reduced service in tho quiet hours of the day. He had no intention of . making the residents i pay more in fares than at present—that was a point he wished to emphasise. In view ol the sickness ur the borough, he favoured going right ahead with the water and dramage scheme. He.would not .'entertain for' a moment the proposal to - amalgamate with the city;, as he dii.'.not think they would enjoy the, same privileges as they did at present. The candidate also touched on matters affecting, street lighting,, tree-plan ting; and . a ■ volunteer fire brigade.for the district. On. the motion of: Mr; Tait, the candidate jvas accorded a hearty vote of thanks and,confidence. Mr. Townsend also spoke.'at Fabian's Tea Booms last,,evening;... covering the same ground in hisiremarksas at Mira-. mari. A' vote' of-thanks and confidence, moved by Mr; , "Paterson, "iiwas 'carried with acclamation.' : /'[''-"

MR. HOBBS AT EASTBOURNE. \. ■__■ , ■ . Mr. ffm. Hobbs, a candidate for the Mayoralty of Eastbourne, addressed, a meeting at MaguireV>HalLilast. evening. In the course of. his ..remarks ne re _ ferred to the ferry service, which is a burning"question "on the .other aide of the harbour. 'T think," said the candidate, "that, the only way to bring about an improved service, under present circumstances, is to confer with the. Harbour Board, and assist the Ferry Company by granting certain requirements necessary for effectively carrying on" their'work. If we want late night boats, we should be prepared,; asamunicipality,, to .make up any deficiency to coyer- actual running expenses.'j'Jf- we rancour' Own boats during the winter,-we-would, have to be prepared to run at a loss, and including the summer v trade" the .1 venture would probably • not pay for about two years. The Harbour Board should.be met, and in' the interests of the people living at the Bays, should erect a suitable landingplace for steamers opposite Brandon Street, near'the Post Office, where up-to-' date waiting-rooms and ticket offices could be built... Passengers should pay their fares only at that Vpndi-both outward bound and inward, and the number of passengers registered automatically by turnstiles, as in Circular.; Quay, Sydney. This would save endless work, and obviate the necessity' of captains collecting fares. The wharf at,Bona Bay was added to slightly, which is an improvement, but it is not satisfactory * yet in rough weather. If spring piles were put in then in the very worst weather met with her© the steamers would still work the wharf. This would enable the 8 a.m. boat to call first at Day's Bay and leave from Eoua Bay at 8,15, end yet arrive in town about the same time as at present. "A proper understanding .should bo made with the company to guarantee that the tw, best boats in the' servicj only would taken the runnine, and adhere strictly to the timetable, which, would be slightly altered to suit on ,bolidays, but not quito suspended as at present. If we move on these lines and have the sole use of the Duchess and Cobar, the service and traffic would improve considerably. We could do with two or three night boats a weefc daring winter, and four or fivo during iix S&t of the year.. .A boat from , town at 1.15 on Wednesdays and one from the Bay, say, Lls on Thursdays, would 'bo convenient for those who wished to spend the half-holiday on either side of the water, whereas at present the holiday is often wasted. The Wednesday boat leaves town at 2.30, and the Bay at 4.15, m,uch too late to be of much use.

"The other alternative is to have a municipal service, or a service controlled by the Harbour Board, bat in either case

it would be two or three years before it would pay interest on the outlay. The ideal thing would be two double-ended steamers with capacity for carrying 1000 passengers each iu comfort, doing the trio in about twenty-five minutes. There should bo the strictest rules regarding the sobriety of the' crews. Any officer .found slightly under the influence ot liquor should bo warned at once by the management This harbour is not too rough for double-ended boats similar to ■ those of the Manly service, Sydney. I feel confident that we can bring about a marked improvement if these suggestions are carried into effect. I will, if I have tho opportunity, go about it in a quiet way, and I believe we will get what we ask for. I am truly sincere in this business, and if we offer encouragement to the Ferry Company X am confident they mil meet us fairly.. They have had many difficulties and disappointments to contend with. This is a question we cannot afford to shelve any longer." The candidate then criticised Mr. Shortf s proposal to bring water through a tunnel from Gollan's Valley as being top expensive, and at the same time said that an artesian supply was "out of court." He, thought that the borough could be supplied by conserving, flie waters of Rona , Creek and. other streams in _ the district by means of three reservoirs placed one above the other. A. sewerage system would kill the place at present, and the time for one was yet far off. Ratepayers must look to surface drainage and the present system,for some time. .■■■.. If returned he pledged himself to, bring about a'decrease in the rates.