"FELT PRETTY SORE"

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 969, 9 November 1910, Page 6

"FELT PRETTY SORE"

, g RESTBICTIONS ON TENDERING. The question of appointing a new president camo up before the Wellington Provincial Industrial Association last ' evening.. Mr. E. Bull, the present presi- : dent, stated that ns he would be absent : from Wellington during several of tho. ' busy weeks preceding the New Zealand Industrial Exhibition (to be opened hero on May 24) it was only right that the association should appoint someono to the position who had more time, and would be in a position to do the work '. required of the president at such a time. Mr, L. R. Partridge said it had been mooted that someone should be appointed to, the position who had had previous experience in tho management of exhibi- 1 tions, and the name of Mr. Thomas Bal- c linger had cropped up. He would like to j propose that gentleman as the new presi- f dent. '

Mr. Ballinger said that in speaking about the exhibition one.of his sons had suggested that if he was' appointed president or chairman the firm would be debarred from . tendering for any work in that connection. In the recent discussion about tenders before the City Council one paper had talked of "swindles" or "pickings," which ho thought was pretty rough, and when.it was pointed out that any company with more than 20 shareholders could tender, a newspaper had pointed out that the list of shareholders could be "faked." It was a subject he felt pretty sore about, and if it was going to affect his firm in the manner indicated he could not accept the office. He had resigned from the Technical Board for tho very same reason. He was of the opinion that a man who was a member of a body had just as much right to tender as anyone else, more so in fact. It was a matter tho association should have taken up.. He had spoken of it at one meeting' after the members of the press had left, but the association had not moved in the matter. The chairman: It simply means barring the cream of the commercial community from tendering. Several members said that tho rule need not apply in the case of the association. Ultimately it was decided to drop the matter for a month to allow Mr. Ballinger time for the consideration of his position.