MORE WRANGLING.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1100, 12 April 1911, Page 8

MORE WRANGLING.

POINTS OF ORDER AT HOS- ; ' PITAL BOARD. ; ■ "SPECIAL" AND "CENERAL." i the lighting question post-' ; ; : ■ poned. i At the meeting of the Hospital Board ■ yesterday signs of trouble appeared I when the chairman stated that the ! meeting was a special one. Tho rrieet- | ing had been called in terms, of a r.oso- ' lution passed at a previous meeting, i that tenders for drapery and clothing ■ should be considered that day. Ho ;■ took it that no'other business could be ' brought up. I .. Committea Favours Electricity. \ The. order-paper bore tho following ■ motions, of which notice had been given ! by. Mr. A. H. Hindmarsh:—(a) "That ', the Lighting Committee bo discharged; ! (b)that the hospital be lighted, by j means of electricity, and that tho work : to effect it be put in hand at once.". ! Attached to the order-paper was a • brief report from th'o Lignting Commib- ; tee, recommending.: "That all the in-, : stitutiona of the board bo lighted by electricity." ,; Mr. Trevor said that, apart from the business mentioned by, the chairman, i. there was the question'of "general" on i ' the order-paper.' He assumed that this would make it 'possible to admit other -. business. ■ • - ■ -'•■ ■ i : The chairman , ;said ho had consulted ' several authorities. He understood ; that the board, by agreement, was governed in its.procedure by the standing orders of the City Council. Mr. Trevor: "There are none." The'chairman said he was aware that the City Council standing orders wero ■ at present in the hands of the printer. it had been the custom of the board to observe tho rules of pro- ; cedure observed by .the City Council. ■ Under these rules, he took it that, at a : special meeting, only specified business : cbuld be discussed. I .■.'■: . Technicalities. ! '. Mr. A. H. Hindmarsh. demurred. i '"When the board last met ho'had, he . .said, protested that it was assembled ' In special meeting. lit face of this Mr. i liirli, supported" by a majority, claim- ; ed tnat tile word ''general" on the i order-paper made the meeting general. ! On this occasion the members of tho ■ board hart been notified of the busi- ; ness to come before them. Thebusi- ;. ness included two motions (printed I, above). "1 ask you, sir," said Mr. Hind- ' marsh, "not to dwell too much on J technicalities." At the previous meetI ing, he added, the. board had received j no notification 'as to the additional i business, which, nevertheless, was adi mitted. Mr. Hindmarsh asked that tho ! ruling given, and approved at the prei vious meeting should be sustained. In > tho City Council no trouble, occurred. ': Things went ou frohi year io year and ' there was no unseemly wrangling. (Mem- ; bers: Oh!) • ' /■ . . I Mr. Fitzgerald. supported the . posi- ; tion taken by Mr.., Hindmarsh. Tho ' course taken at the last meeting should ; be considered .equally fair on the • pre- : ■ sent'.-occasion. ;■;••..■}.'•■' \ ..: : Mr: M'Laren urged that the business in dispute should bo taken, Ho respected the ruling of the chair and admitted its force, but it appeared to the speaker that in what had been adi vanced by Mr. Hindmarsh there was a : certain amount of reason. The busi- \ ness set down on tho order-paper had i -been communicated to members, and ;' it was within their knowledge that it' ■ was to bo dealt with at that meeting. ■ City Council Procedure. ■ Mr. Smith said' ho was conversant ■ with the procedure of the City Council.

■ In that body extra business was ha- ; bitually dealt with at special meetings. Tho matters dealt with in the report ; of the board's Lighting Cbmmitteo were ! urgent and should command immediate attention. i After some further discussion, tho i chairman said that if ho had been pro-. : sent at tlio meeting when a resolution was passed providing for this special meeting, it (tho resolution) would have- ' been drafted in more explicit terms. ' Eventually it was agreed to post- ; pone a decision as to tho admissibility of general business until the special business of the meeting had been trans- ! acted. ' • The special business having been dis- : posed of, Mr. M'Laren moved that the _ remaining business (matters in reference * to lighting) should bo taken. : Mr. Van Staveven moved an arnend- ; ment which was ruled out as a direct : negative. ■ ■ ; A Protest.

At this stage the chairman read a letter from Mr. B. R. Gardener (a member) protesting against the motions submitted by Mr. Hindmarsh being jdealt with at a special meeting. Mem-' 'bers should be required to givo at least seven days' notice of any such motion. Other considerations urged by Mr. Gardener wore that until a motion of the . board accepting a .tender of the Gas Company had been rescinded, the motions tabled by Mr. Hindmarsh could not be considered, and the Lighting Committee should be allowed to complete its investigations. .

Mr. Van Staveren aslced the chairman to rule. It. was not tho function af private members to dictate as -to ivhat should be done. "Held Up to Scorn." Mr. Hindmarsh : "I would again ask you (the chairman) to take a majority vote, at any rate, on this matter." At tho previous mtc-ting the speaker had been held up to. scorn bepause lie protested against tho course then followed, and "sat upon" by Mr. Kirk and others. (A member:. "Impossible!") "Now," concluded Mr. Hindmarsh, "they adopt my arguments a week later." Mr. Van Staveren: "This is extraneous matter." The chairman: "It is all right, it is ill right." Mr. Kirk stated that when tho board test met ho was not sure if the meeting were special or general in nature. Appealed tu, ho had ruled'that a rontino matter of small importanco could bo considered. , To bring forward a question of great importance at a special meeting was another matter altogether. Tho speaker had framed bis resolution last week (providing for tho present meeting) in studiously guarded terms. The motion stated that the meeting should be a special ono for the consideration of stated business. Mr. Kirk said he was not responsible for the inclusion of the word "general" in the order-paper. Tho chairman's temporary ruling was perfectly in accord with tho terms of the resolution. Members of tho City Council knew perfectly well —— . A Point of Order. Mr. Trevor rose te a poirt of order. They were not members of the City Council, but members of this board. They were amenable, not to the council, but to the ratepayers. Mr. M'Laren rose to a point of order. He wanted to know what the point of order was. • Tho chairman: "Take things coolly, and we shall get along very well." Mr. Kirk, resuming, 'said that members of the City Council and of other local bodies knew perfectly well that when a special meeting was held an objection by a single member sufficed to exclude additional business. In any case, in pursuance of the resolution of the board, no business, except that specified, could bo dealt with. Mr. Hindmarsh declared that the rule observed br the City Council was that.

a special meeting dealt primarily with thojnisiness that led to its being called, and afterwards with any other business indicated. Mr. Fletcher would tell members that the same course was followed by the Harbour Board. "This Wrangling." Mr. Robertson said ho was glad they had a chairman who was not going to permit any more of "this wrangling" that they had had in the past, Rather than bo bothered with this bullying and wrangling that had taken'.place at the last lew meetings, he would leave the board.. He was very glad that tho chairman had taken his post, and was going to do his duty. The altercations mentioned had taken all the pleasure out'of coining to the board, so far as tho speaker was concerned. There was no pleasure in being harangued by people as members had been at the last few meetings. Mr. Van Stavoren: "I move that this board do now adjourn.'.'. Has It Boen Rescinded? Mr. Baldwin supported tho view that tho lighting question could not bo considered at that meeting, or in any case until the motion accepting the tender of the Gas Company had been rescinded. Mr. Fitzgerald: "It has been rescinded." Mr. Baldwin: "I will, ask the chairman if it has been rescinded." The chairman: "I cannot answer your question." ■ Mr. M'Ewan:. "You arc perfectly right." "Mr. Hindmarsh: "Why didn't you hold that opinion at last meeting?' Mr. M'Ewan: "Will Mr. Hindmarsh kindly confine his attention to his own personal affairs while I have my little 'say? Mr. Hindmarsh occupies too mucli of tho time of this board in dealing with paltry matters. I don't wish to deal with paltry matters. There is no question, sir, that you are right in your ruling." (Hear, hear.) After elaborating tin's contention, Mr. M'Ewan said ho thought the Board should exercise its powers (conferred by Section 37 of the Act) and riiake rules for the regulation of its own procedure. Mr. Fletcher said he had received a. notice dated April 5 to attend this meeting. The notice contained a notification as to business. The third item was "General." He assumed that this notice was official, and that the business specified should be gone on with. Mr. Fitzgerald, speaking of the lighting question," said the- board was losing about £7 a week which it need not lost;. This, he could prove. It was almost proved by a paper, which he now proposed to lay on the table, containing questions he had put to Mr. Fox (housesteward at the hospital) on the previous evening and the answers thereto. Tha Board Adjourns. The motion to adjourn was carried by ton votes to seven. "The meeting is closed," said the chairman, but Mr. Hindmarsh unearthed a new point. "No time was mentioned)" ho declared loudly. "I move that we adjourn until to-morrow." Members failed to respond to this call, and dispersed without giving it their attention. •'