A QUESTION FOR CANDIDATES.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1215, 25 August 1911, Page 4

A QUESTION FOR CANDIDATES.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT BILL. With emphasis yesterday the. Counties' Conference affirmed tlio necessity (or a .comprehensive L'ocal Government Bill. This question had been cropping up at frequent intervals throughout the conference. Yesterday n remit was reached the order paper dealing with tlio matter. This v'as the opportunity some of the members of the conference had been locking for. . , The remit was moved by the Kiwitea County delegate (Mr. F. F. Hocklcy). Its terms wero as follows:— ' That stops bo taken to obtain a pleclpo from every candidate, for. Parliamentary honours that they will do all in thnir power to bring pressure to bear upon whatever Government happens to be in power, to introduce during the -first session of the new Parliament -a comprehensive Local Government Bill, and that the county councils take steps to get the necessary pledges from the counties in their respective- districts. It was absolutelv necessary, said Mr. Hockloy, in view oi the long delay in the passing of a Local Government Bill, that candidates for Parliament should bo impressed with tlio earnestness of tlio coiijir tics regarding this matter. Aotwithstand))!" the delay, no satisfactory roa« «on had been submitted why tlio measure, which the Government had bo long been promising, had not been given tlio coun'r'he chairman (Mr. Jnll) preferred that Iho conference lay down that it was desirable" that the Government should pass a. measure. Ho didn't think it desirable to ask the "poor, strung hug,.candidates" for Parliament to pledge themselves in Iho direction indicated. (kaugUMr.'Hockley would not agreeto this. C-andidates should be asked for Uieir I ' ! A ig qMestioner:. "Who would ask them "The Counties' Conferenco." Printed forms, he said; could bo dl Mr n G P "A. Marchant (P.itea) heartily supported the remit. Tlio public would then know the great outcry thero was for The chairman pointed out that if they were lo do any good they must indicate unanimously some of the lines upon whioh the new Bill should hi framed. Thcv should ngrce, for instance, that there should bo amalgamation of comities, or, on the other hand, a greater division of them. In other directions, alw, ocrecnipat was desired, where, amongst they disagreed. Ho did not like thcEC "general", resolutions, which, enabled people to raise their yo.ee wiUiout being pinned down to particulars. In other respects ho supported the remit. The remit was carried without altoiation. '