THE DRIFT IN CITY GOVERNMENT.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1318, 22 December 1911, Page 4

THE DRIFT IN CITY GOVERNMENT.

It is most unfortunate that by its discreditable behaviour concerning the demand of the tramwavmen for the removal of Inspector Fuller the City Council made it nccessarv for Mr. Stuart Biciiaedson to receive a deputation of tramwaymon bent upon forcing him to retract certain portions of his confidential reportin our opinion, a perfectly proper report to make—to the ' Tramways Committee. It is quite impossible tor anybody to represent the action ol the tramwaymen in the first instance as anything but a deliberate piece of intimidation. Thev wanted to get rid of an Insncctor whose fault appears to be zeal in his inspecting, and whose competent is insisted upon very strongly by tho Engineer. They knew that the Council consists largely of politicians ready to do almost anything that may catch them votes some day'. They accordingly commanded the Council to remove the Inspector, and the Council, to its discredit, obeyed the command. Now, what would have been the position had Mu. Bichardsox, standing unon his responsibility to nobody but the Council, refused to receive tho men who had successfully intimidated "the City lathers" ! What would have happened'! Is it not natural (, 0 conclude that'the men would have promptly passed a resolution demanding Mr, Richardson's removal'; And has the Council done anything to suggest that in that case Messrs' \Yili'oi;d, Fletcher, Fitzgerald, M Lares, Hindjiarsh, and Barher Mould have sacrificed Mr. liicii.utnsox as they, sacrificed Inspector Feller? AW know at all events that the public will think that this would have, happened; aud the public will have no difficulty in seeing what will result from the domination of the city by employees able to coerce the Council. It is quite time fo speak plainly on the mailer. The city has for so long been the hunting 'ground of small politicians and would-be poli-

licians MiiiL the citv's am in danger of being sacrificed aI. any lime, while discipline, has already been replaced by something very like anarchy' in tin; largest; of the city's enterprises. We have seen that, instead of standing bv a competent and honest, officer like Mi:. li.HatAuoSON a majority in the Council left, turn unsupported. The Mayor and Uiu Councillors who voted with him gave no sign that, they had ever heard of such a duly as loyalty to executive heads; the Council as a whole does not appear to understand how an executive officer's confidential reports should be treated. How can the city expect tho executive officers to work with sureness and confidence when they have no guarantee that they will not he embarrassed or betrayed by a majority of tho Council! The miserable condition of affairs that has been revealed is the outcome, as we have said, of the increasing appeal that membership of thc i Council makes to men who have their eye chiefly upon their own political interests. The present Mayor cannot claim to have lifted a finger to check this bad drift in our municipal life. There are drastic remedies that can be applied, but the best remedy—tho remedy that will prevent "bossism" and politics from dominating the city's governmentis tho awakening of public opinion. Now that the weight of Wardism has been prised off tho country's back, we shall all have morn time to attend to tho government of the city. There is ample room for a cleaning up here, and cleaning unjs a work that I.- plainly very much to the taste of the public nowadays.