CITY ELECTIONS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1110, 25 April 1911, Page 9

CITY ELECTIONS.

THE HUSTINGS. CANDIDATES AND POLICIES. '~. A JOINT MEETINC. .Last'evening addresses were given in the Concert Hoom of the. Town' Hall by Messrs. 11. Fletcher.(candidate for tho City Council and tho /Wellington Har- . hour Board), Mr. J. E. Fitzgerald (can- - didate for City Council and Harbour Board), and Mr. Y\'. Hildreth (candidate' for tho Harbour' Board). About 150 people were present. , Mr. J...1\ Luke, M.P., presided, and in. his introductory remarks regretted the introduction of the '.'ticket""system' into Wellington' public elections. Mr.'Fletcher's •Remarks.■;.- _ Mr. Fletcher (chairman of the Wellington Harliour Board) lriade'reference .' to nis previous return to th(>-board : at -■;•' ;tiie l '-hcad of tho pol L/"and hisi'election. as chairman."' (A .voice-:" "You • will bo , chairman.-again.") Ho had ;taken' a firm stand-on-the-dock'-'question with regard, to, the contractors ;' and. when : the contract had to be'-'feliuquished he opposed.-; any suggestion - of. £40,000 compensation being paid:- (Applause.) At the time he took clficc as chairman, the board had a deficit : and a falling ' revenue, .' They, therefore, had to face ••: increased port charges, for if;they had: not done so-they would-have ; had a deficit of ..' £2000 ;'- ; at '-.- :iho end of tho year.-: (Applause.) - Their ■ .position -.. was better ;iiow-.than ever before; (Applause.) ;< Ho-had been responsible for the. system of at the wharves 7 and he spoke of its benefits to the pub,he and-the shipping companies. Out <;l the..£6ooo surplus .a; reserve, fund was being created; to meet possible contin-: '■ gencies. .in. the future, and.to obviate . the .necessity at •'any.,t'ime of again in- ; . creasing the port dues. - (Applause.) He hoped if returned to be able to reduce again 'the 'charges: imposed 'fourteen V Months.ago. (Applause.) He contended that' the administration of the ■board during the year-had been.economical i and,prudent. (Loud applause.)'-' Speaking of City Council matters he '-..•said that the proposals regarding a : city ' milk - supply had been under: discussion \ by the;.-council for four years,..and all that' was. now required was a suitable site.; In.; this connection hepraised the work of. Councillor Shirteliffe> chairman of the sub-committee, and of Dr. Ereng--ley, Health Officer. -He contended, our; tramway system was equal, to-any in v tbc'-Dominion, but; thought 'something, might, be done for '-'the.'running. .. (Applause.) He favoured charging the sectional lisers of late trains to the sub-' ~ nrbs'. ;.;ful! fares'; in tho' interests - = of -those \ suburban residents ' j who'sometimes ' were . crowded ' out.' '; He was .in favour of the Saturday halfholiday—(applause)—and 'would , allow companies to" charge: for. admission to ; the Town-.Hall for -'Sunday,, night' con-.,.certs-^say;ls;; and 6d.—a small proportion of the net' profits to go to. some' charitable institution; (Applause.) :■-.•■ Replying to questions/he declared in ; favour of municipal markets.- .--..,• •A vote of thanks and confidence was . passed to Mr. Fletcher. ■

;.-■••. Mr. j. E. Fitzgerald; c : • Mr.. J. E. Fitzgerald, a 'candidate for both the City Council and the' Harbour Board, addressed the audience; For the past'four'-years-'he had\sat : on various local bodies, and he said his career during that time was one of which.hoiwas" proud';'' Tho city should seek to render their'electh'c ;iight' i a T sacceMiTil ; c'6'ihpet'i-'' tor with the gas. He advocated, the abolition : of: electric .light '.meters and' the institutioir'/of "the same system' as with- the "water'supply;' only I 'the-'charge should be based . on'*'tho annual'. rental' value of 'the'-property.-'-(Applause;) In*, regard tea municipal milk -supply and ■ municipal markets, he-inferred that" the labour representatives, on the council had not done their utmost in securingthese things.; He - favoured the purchase of the -Kclburno tramway.. , and supported., "advertising '. on city. . '.trams. A vote'of thanks and confidence was 'accorded the-candidate.-'. ■■''..•.-.-■'■" 'Mr. W. Hildreth. Mr. W. H'ldreth,'a'member of the old Harbour Board and a 'candidate in the coming Harbour'■! Board elections, said he 'had; been in business in Wellington for thirty-three years, and his daily avocation kept him', in, close .touch with' the ' harbour ..and the Harbour Board. He had.been a member of the board for ten'months. He was proud,, in regard.to the dock'rriatter, that he had been one of those who had stopped this, disastrous, proposal; It had • been forced-on-the" board for. public reasons, and they had had a' very. lucky escape. They had to .remember in. the .matter of dock charges that Napier, Wangamii, and Nelson were - each, hoping in the Future to cater for oversea trade. Ho was attached to -no ticket, 1 and : was quite uninfluenced in his', service. A -vote of thanks- arid confidence, moved by Mr. Fletcher, was accorded Air. Hildreth. '■->-' -

' 'An Explanation.' '/"'■ Mr. Fletehe'r.desired,'to isav that ho bad had no knowledge that his name had been placed on the ticket of the utizens' League. ; ; - ; ■'-M.R..E. CAUICHAN. : CITY: TRAMWAYS ORITICISED. Mr; E. -Gallichan addressed : about n, n 2. hundred municipal electors in':the i lfB T I J., T<;a Rooms last/evening 1 ./ Mr. b.'Hill presided. ;.'.. ,',- ■; Mr. 'Galliehan saij'he. was. not opposed, to municipal markets,'but before supporting their establishment ho would have to be satisfied that the markets ivould pay .their way. and not ■be a dram on revenue: Something . more than,the establishment 'of municipal milk depots was required. To obviate the danger of a contaminated supply further legislation would be necessary. This_being attended to, the candidate was in hearty accord, with the scheme to establish a depot. The present, system of cleaning Wellington.streets was unsatisfactory. -The work - should bo carried out'during the night.and corncan red^by,seven o'clock in.ihe .'mornThe speaker did not. advocate an immediate reduction of "rates but following ; mi' the revaluation of 'leases •which would-fall due"in .1912 and 1913 the increased, revenue'.' from these sources should be- applied to a reduction in rates. Meantime, after the ponding valuation was.completed,, there should be an avoidance of the mistake made in 1906. when the last valuation was made. The rates struck.after the lflOS valuation produced a sum of £14,000 more per year than was collected previously.

In the course of a -lono-fcliy criticism of, the City Electric Lighting Department. Mr. Gallichan remarked that, it .would be better to be Just to streets that.still required lighting before beinp; generous to the hospital. The Mayor had said there was no prospect of consumers getting n reduction. Against this stato of affairs the speaker entered his protest. Mr. Gallichan dealt at considerable length with the administration of the city tramways. The problem that existed, lie stated, inter alia, rested on the shockingly bad management of the tramways. If this were remedied the men's 'demands could be easily settled. Mr. Gallichan said, ho would admit that Wellington had the best tramway service in jNow Zealand, and that the financial'position could riot be termed unsound. He realisc-d that, for much of the muddling that occurred, the tram-

way officers were not responsible, as they wero merely carrying out instructions given them. Improvements that might bo niado would result in a saving of about £40,000 per annum. At presohi t;irs commonly stood lor unnecessarily long periods at terminal points. They often left tlie railway stations before train passengers could hoard them, and it was equally common to seo cars running through tho streets with very few passengers aboard. Tho men held that these defects could bo remedied. They had shown how £7500 :.per annum could bo saved. Also. they had shown how, by rearrangement of tho service, and without interfering with tho convenience ot tho people-, anothei £20,000 could be saved every year. The men further staled that if tho connection from Willis. Stree.t to ilia Post Office were completed, many cars that now run to the Government Station need run oiily to the Post Oliice. In this way an additional saving of £10,000 per annum could bo effected. The men's ideas should at least be i given sympatheticconsideration. They did not ask for an increase in wages unless their suggestions anent. improvements were proven sound when tested in actual working,

;' In its Electrical Engineer, (Mr. -S. Richardson), said Mr. GaHichan, the city had one of the'most competent men that it could get He was, howover, overworked, and had to attend to trifling details which should be relegated to subordinates. Mr. Richardson should- be left free to attend to the mechanical side. Many good men, said Mr. GaHichan, had been forced out of the service, although' the}' had received testimonials of the highest order from Mr. Bichardson and from successive Mayors. This should not be- If returned, the,. speaker . pledged himself that the abuse should cease, and that the men would be given a'fair chance of promotion when opportunity offered. ■ At the conclusion of his address-Mr;' GaHichan was unanimously accorded a' vote of thanks and confidence, proposed' by Miss Twomey, Mr. G. Winder seconding. DR. CAMERON, MILK AND OTHEIt MATTERS. . Speaking, to a. . large meeting' at Bengo's Corner, Brooklyn, last night. Dr. Cameron stated' that on March 9 we were told that ."our trams wore being run on business lines, and on, April : 20.w0 found the.sub-committee recommending getting another expert from abroad." In his opinion we did ' hot want one, and we had had enough of the Jast one, who was supposed to haive laid out our tram lines. The local ex.perts, if given a free hand, could, do all tnat was required. The Council inter-: fered too much'with' its experts',- and-: frequently refused, to accept their recommendations. He. had reckoned up the cost of a' municipal milk supply recommended by some dreamers, and' found; that it would cost the city some £69,250, per year, and yet it was stated •that it would not increase the cost of milk: It was a matter the council should be very careful about. The Government should provide a cool storage van on its milk trains, and bring the' supply, quickly' to town. • Milk cans should also 'be sterilised before being s £ ntl back to the farmers. Inspectors should take samples of milk frequently,and see that it was fit for consumption. Ho advocated > public golf'course for combating consumption,, and so thati cases could be treated without sending them away and putting them.to.expense, ■which they could ill afford.-,On a public -course, like the Braid Hill, course, 1 golf ? was a. poor man's game which-' anyoneshould be. able, to aiford for there, the .large sum of 2d. ..was charged .for .about-' two hours.'.play. .If the public took the: matter up, as ho felt sure they'would, it' could be. done without.any "expense, to' %i ratepayers. TheyJhad^sc* ibed -to-" wards .a, crematorium,-arid'.ho was. sure they would contribute' towards a scheme to keep.pepple r a)ive and.get the delicate • 'out on to the Jiills arid tawnibelt. He .would.bo'willing. to assist., He said themetal being put on tho roads was still not good enough, and money'was being wasted.by putting on,bad metal which powdered down to dust'and .was washed aivay when tho first storm came. ..Votesof thanks and confidence and cheers were given to Dr. Cameron. -

MR. J. CASTLE AT NEWTOWN.' Mr. J. Castle, a candidate for a-seat on the City Council,' and unattached to any "ticket," addressed a fairly largo meeting at tho Newtown Public Library last' night. .He was,, lie said, in favour, of tho extension of the drainage system to tho suburbs and the outlying portions of .the city as soon as possible. As far as tho water supply: lvas concerned, Jie thought that it must go hand in hand •with drainage.' Something should be done in tho city to cope with causes of such maladies as consumption. Blind streets and narrow lanes were a'menace to tho health of the community, • ah;l 'what a number of them there were iii Wellington! He did not advocate the expenditure of a large.'sum of borrowed money for this work, but some of the norst streets should be picked out and opened, as soon as possible. Continuing,' the.candidate said: "It is highly necessary that the development of new suburbs should bo helped; as much as possible, by the extension of tramways provided there is a reasonable expectation that the lines will pay. It is too expensive for many citizens' to Jive close to. town on account of high rents and for other reasons, and,.consequently, a rapid and cheap transport service is an important.factor in the: development of our .-suburbs and to the people living :n ■them..."'Tho shortening of tho-Karori route, by'taking the lino through Sydney Street, and the Charlotte Street ex tension should receive yarly consideration, and also the joining up of the, Wallace Street line with the" Newtown route, and the Constable Street lino with Kilbirnie and 'Eyall Bay servico. The latter extensions would be a great convenience to people Jiving on tho southern sidoof the. Basin Reserve. As to; Hataitai Tunnel I recognise that a read traffic tunnel to connect .Hataitai and' Kilbirnie the city isidaily becoming more urgent, and I am in favour of this work being commenced Ks sron as; finances permit, and a proper, scheme is brought forward^" Mr. J. Crowes was in the chair, and at the conclusion of the address a vote of thanks; and confidence was unanimously carried. MR. PfIORAN'S CANDIDATURE. _Mr. S. J. Moran addressed a meeting of. electors last evening at TVadostown. There was a- good attendance. Mr. Geo. Nash presided. The candidate traversed the" ground covered in .his previous speeches and,-at the conclusion of his address, answered various questions. Mr. Moran. was accorded a unanimous vote of thanks and confidence. MR. L. M'KENZIE. Mr. Len. M'Kenzio addressed a wellattended meeting a't the Tiffin, Manners Street. Ho condemned the proposal to import an expert on tram traffic, and considered tho service should bo placed under the control of a board away from the Town Hall. He considered that tho Tramway Committee could not do justice to the work and the recommendations of 'the engineer should bo carried out> instead of being pigeon-holed. Under our present sys° torn how could wo ever expect to get a service suitablo to the dwellers on tho outskirts? We should give more consideration to tho recreation grounds, and he favoured ear-marking certain portions for future use. Much could be done by tho council in inducing f/esh industrial life, and lie advocated municipal control of tho Fire Brigade. Mr. M'Kenz'ic's speech went for economy and close attention to the duties of a councillor.