CONTRACT CANCELLED.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1049, 11 February 1911, Page 5

CONTRACT CANCELLED.

■HOT WORDS ATA COUNCIL MEETINt j , —— ■ .. ";■ : . ■...'.•'.'-■■i MAYOR CRITICISED. | •'fTALKINQiOTHE-jQALLERY.'j 5 (By Teleerapn.-Siiecial CorreaDondenU' ~Z 1 ,v;v ,„•„ ■"-.;• Auckland, Februarylo. :'';' ;| • There was- a lively'interlude at tha : ,:; "City Council meeting lastevening, whet:'; y.' a letter was received from ihe New*-' '• Zealand Insurance Company, cancelling •- its contract with the council on account:;of tho Mayor (Mr. Bagnall) being director. ...;.. --. .\ /: •Mr. P. J. Nerheny held that this was- /y an insult to the ratepayers. He re-' ' gretted that the Mayor should have?" so far forgotten what was. due to his ; - position as Mayor as to.,allow-the'"'•'•'. council's policy to bo cancelka rather" '- than give up for a time thoposition.' V;; of a director, of the comnany, or, in: "-".- the alternative, resign the"position ofi : i Mayor. .. .. ■••..-. ... ■■■-■■:' \:-<A Mr. Eutrican: I.rise to a point' of.'-';.'? order. . Mr. Nerheny's remarks are a; v' gross reflection upon, the Mayor.'. (Hear,' ■- hoar.) Ido not think it should bb al-'Vi 'loiVed. . _: ■..:■"... .'•.'.:-•;:-,' Mr. Nerheny: I would like-to know, & where the point Of order: comes in? ... r : Entncan: It is a reflection' upoa -' the chair.- • ■.:.-■,.-.. - ■:;'.'% : . Mr. Nerheny: If tho chair;aliowsK' : something to bo done;to bring''about l ' ;i such a reflection" every councillor-has a.J-: right to say what ho-thinks.- The >1 accident insurance poliev of tho-Drain-: w? ace Board was, he said, also heldbyf.-'-tho -New. Zealand Insurance Company," and that; would also have .to bo can-:; celled.' ' >. •-.: "; -;- .'.,- ■„.'-.•■•■ .-. \ : ;'-:: : i .Tho Mayor: That is not correct. 'Tha '*'■ .Drainage Act has not been altered in - *' : any way. ■■;.; .' . ." • . "-.- .--.':,; •; Mr. Nerheny said the Mavor'.: had"' ;; " committed ;ono of tho -most deplorable-:-' v acts as a public man that wero on" .' record in Auckland. ;Ho was clinging. to a position liko a' mustard, plaster; 'i to a -man's hack; and this was not in, ': accord with-the: dignity of "tho Mayoral. :': office. Talk; about Tammanyism /in-' '-''. America, this was just as bad.'. If the..: '" working classes or the Trades'-'and' ; ; : 'r Labour Council had wished; to'.;evade" •---•I an Act they:would have ; been held up toj .-M ridicule, but a body of 'business i men I; 'j banded to'getker'for a different purpose : "=i could apparently/drive a coach ■ and''-'•" '1 four through, tho law .with' •impunity.'' r "i He moved, as ah; amendment,: "That : r-' ! this council protests against:tho action /?':; of ■ the New: Zealand ;■ Insurance ■ Com-': -• - pany m cancelling a,contract with the': council, in order-that.' L. o.k Bagnall? -. rf can jOvadotho- law •;' that 1 brevehts i.a'ivS-' director of a company holding the po"si-, J 'rr tion of Mayor .so long as business-con-:?* tracts exist'between'.the council 'ahdVi tho.company.". ■;- ■_--■■■■ ;, !--»"-.-^'-'-'''•-..':•?;••'-'&; : vThe Mayor ruled the amendment out —?S of order, saying: that it required-a'no-'-■ :<: tico L of: motion. Tho - Mayor i: said, the':; ! --•};; citizens of Aucklandknew himtob WeHS to ; make it-necessary to'reply to: ariv' t % of .tho statements made that night, and' -fi he would not reply to. them. , He'%as'\V quite winingito sit there and hear what ,:V took place.-;VThe company's'• 'previous'."- '■'•'■'. reasonable proposal - had"- not ':■•: tertained, ; and consequently ' it/, had •:;: 2 taken' the, present reasonable ■'•;■ He did not think the:.citizens, would:' look upon tho-matter-in. the way that V:" some, councillors looked .'at • it. ; '-' ; ',v-.:

Thero was,a lot more talk; and then Mr. Entrican .said'that .during all ilia; years he had been oh the council'ho had • never had to listen to such language as ho had hacL-to listen.;to, that night, and, ho hoped ho would never again bear such reflections upon the chief magistrato of tho city The Insurance Company had simply dons • what tho Parker-Lamb Company had done- It had cut out'its business in. order that it could retain tho services of the Mayor as a director. "If you want to get to.the .bottom of it," ha continued. "I will tell jou what it is A seb is being made to try to get the Mayor out of the chair, and to got another gentleman into tho chair, aud so give him a certain amount of preeminence at the election " j Mr Knight: That is absolutclv untrue so far as lam concerned. I -want names: Mr. JSntrican: I am not going to give auv names at all, but I know perfectly well nhat lam talkma; about If the i Mayor resigned to-night the council would appoint his successor fiom the council, but it would bo necessary to, hold an election for a councillor to fill tho" vacancy. ', Mr. Knight- No ono wants that Mr Entrican. No matter whether vou want it or not you are doing jourj best to bring it about All this talk •ibout Tammanyism and everything else is simplv buncomb—talking to the gallery and pieparlng for tho ne\t election. On the mot'on that the letter bo re-, coived being put it was carried by eight votes to seven. ,