ELECTION SPEECHES.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1417, 18 April 1912, Page 6

ELECTION SPEECHES.

MR.yjOHN SMITH AT BROOKLYN. FIGURES. Mr. .'John- Smith (Acting-Mayor), who is a candidate for.tho Mayoralty, opened his campaign at Fullford's Hall, Brooklyn, last evening. The choir was occupied by Mr. George Frost. In opening his address Mr. Smith mentioned .that he had served the city for 27 years, and, during that time, had been connected with all the works (save tho water supply) which had marked tho progress of the city. Passing to finance, Mr Smith stated that the city had a good deal of .reclaimed land which was now Bringing in a fair revenue, but which in the near future would bring in a much larger amount/ and he hoped that tho effect of this would be to reduce the rates. Even now .the city was not so heavily rated as some other parts of the world, and personally ha would always lie in favour of reducing rates if it "could be done without impairing the efficiency ol services; With regard to tramways, the 'citizens were being given a very good service in tho city and suburbs, but the return was not large in proportion to the capital expended; As a matter of fact, they did not look for big returns, but merely aimed flt_providing the Lest service possible. ' The council had spent a lot of money on reclaimed grounds. In this mattei they had experienced, a difficulty in Wellington which was not experienced in othel cities such'as Christchurch, where thej had a big park of flat land. Here they ihad had to cut away.hills at immense ■expense to m«ko grounds. At present the council had under consideration the question of making a now. recreation pround at the ■ bottom of the foot-hills at Brooklyn—a. site : that . would' probably mako the best ground in Wellington, apart from those, on the. flat. They also contemplated tho . erection in those grounds of a fresh .water swimming bath. That work would be proceeded with immediately. There was, tco, the matter of a better approach by road to Brooklyn. Hie present, road was. a good one, but it had a very narrow approach (from .Wordsworth Street), and 'there was a Fteep pinch just above the narrow part. It was thought possible that another Toad could be mado with a gradient no »teoper (Han the tramway track. City Improvements. Occasionally, the city had been commended by authorities in other places on the amount of wocd-Mocking which had been accomplished. This blocking had, on the average, a life of about 30 years, mid the cost of up-keep was nothing like that of macadam, however well the latter Was laid down. lieviTting to, recreation grounds, tho ipeaker ' referred to the big ■ block 'of land which the city had acquired at Ivall Bay, and incidentally stated that he favoured the linking up of Newtown with Ivilbirnie by tramway. That was a work which should ' be faced as early as possible. Tho proposed line along Hawker Street to Roseneath was also favoured by the candidate, who stated that it would pass through.n. rapidly-growing district, and would complete tho circlo Tound the city. Touching 011 technical education,' the speaker said that it had been stated 1 that the council had not done much in that direction.. Woll, ho thought that the council had effected a good deal. Ithad provided -the land 011 which the present buildings wero erected, and had provided a certain amount of the income. Fiflures for the Year. Approaching the affairs of tho city during tho past year from a financial aspect, Mr. 'Smith stated that tho total receipts on the general account amounted to .£20!),085 os. Bd., tho principal items being: Rates, .£lsl,B'Jl lis. 7d.j rent, .£'28,1)03 os. Id.: and water by meter, .£11,308 lis. The expenditure totalled j2o7,G9fi 9s. 4d„ the leading items being as follows:—City sen-ices (streets, drainage, lighting), .£83,905 lis.; waterworks (including interest and sinking fund), .CSS,3BO.'Is. lid.; interest and' sinking l'und, .£so,nil 3s. 4d. It would therefore be seen that on the annuallv recurring items the receipts exceeded t)ie expenditure by X'l3Bß lis. 4d. Tho speaker then proceeded to deal with transactions of a special nature, many of which were nonrecurring, and capital expenditure. The principal items were: Purchase of latid at Lynll Bay, £14,005 18s. lOd. (less Government contribution, .i'lll2 2-.); infectious diseases hospital (balance), .£2487 195.; Willis Street widening, .E5538 19s. This statement showed an excess of expenditure of .£11,743 Cs. (id., but they hud udded to the assets of the city. The bank balance 011 revenue accounts showed a not debit, of ,£4OOB Bs. Bd., and having regard to the exceptional expenditure mentioned above, that.must be considered a satisfactory result.

The rates lovie<l for the year amounted to .£133,037 fis. 4d., and thero were arrears from the previous year of ,£S9GG Bs. Shi. That mado a total of .£159,003 15.5. Id. to bo collected. .During tho period of 71 months there had been collccted iiljl,jjU IU. 7d„ leaving: a balance of .£7109 it. (id. to be dealt with. That was subject Ui reduction by certain amounts to be vrittoii oil, It ]ia4 ten Mcwidip^'i

difficult to. collect during tho past 1 couple of months owins (o tho tightness of money. The total rent rolS™ l , during llio year amounted tn jt-S.iaO Ss. lid., and of this tho council had collected• <£28,003 os. Id., leaving ,£747 os. lOd. outstanding <ui starch 31. At the close of tho previous financial year tho Accident Eiunl was in credit to tho extent of Is. (id. Since then thero had been.lidded to tho fiiml from tramways,flighting. ami general account.-; cDntribiifron for the year of ,£3131 i the year claims amounting • lo AJII ,Is. had been paid, and llie nosi- • n°'i™rH" r H' 31 , !' as H,nt " U! fllml ""S in credit lo tho extent of JillOH! 7s. f Vdplauso.) 11 The City's Indebtedness. This city's loan debt nt March 31 last year stood at £2,18!),050. .Dunn? the tffir i t l ®i" r the. loan required for tho Hadostmvn train«"ay, and a portion ot tho loan lor A\amm main duplication " lul tl,B (le ! lt: " on " stood at The Sinking funds against the city's debt amounted .to JC2.10.180 15s. Investments wero made during Mho redr on jffn-Rn, Roo, i"tV to the extent of Aiu.ibt). Interest amounting to. nn investments.became duo during tho 'vear and had been received in full. Tho aver! ngc earnings for the year worked out at J-i Js. .M. per cent. (Applause). Acting-Mayor's Position. When Mr. M'ilford left ho knew that tho speaker would be acting in his nlnee tint 1? ()Ir - ffi W 'won fatiS t at ho was pertectly able to carry on ■cL H-'ff 71 0f Hlt ' fill< i!tv J d I)cel1 standing for Wl 3 " y th , fcrft lvoui ' l probably not Jl ' t en ' «n election, but as he had decided not to stand the speaker had put ™ his claims, and ho believed that torifv Tt C !l rr i V i oUt 'i hlties -'"tisfactoiilj It had been stated that the citv —one to°tli<> lU \i t0 pa ' v , h ™ honorariums ?r Mayor and another to the Acting-Maym- Nothing of tho sort ra tw°i i ne 'i wanted to make it clear that he had never oven thought of for money. It had also bren mentioned that ho was not a sufficiently strong man this hi n actlon J of councillors. 'J'o this he would say that he had not seen troT?h» "r° "'"c strong « noil ß h to conIfWhterTTi° f a C l rtnin councillor. l-Luiignter.) "hey must remember tint n„s?K n W U t0 act in aposition had not the .same authority as one elected to the position, and, if he had exercised those powers, l le would hare v . o e, t l u ?.- e lns frle nd Mr. IVillis in inr« T &0, ,' h^ V «lf, ant ' half the council, lois would have been turned out. ' municipal matters nil round, he claimed ' a knowledge of what would benefit the 1 dty, and asked for a fair chance to carry ' out his ideas. (Applause.). 3 > On the motion of Mr. W. J. Tliomp- ' son seconded by Mr. Evans, the caiull l ! nani ujouslj- given a hearty lotc of thanks and confidence.

MR. WRIGHT AT THORNDON. OBJECTION ANSWERED. In pursuance of his Maypral campaign, « a' i addressed a meetine in the Sydney. Street Hall last night. Ho took the opportunity of replying to an objection that had been raided Vain™ nrnT, j | Ure ■■ bj ',. p ,T le / Ko . c °nteridfd qhonlJ? So V ea I ndld " tes f <r Parliament should be barred. . He pointed otit that -occasions,in- the ilistory of Wellington, gentlemen occupying the iUavoral chair had'-successfully contested I arlin.menta.ry elections, so that in the thnLw- ® ni {>.vro politician was not thought a fata! objection. The law prevented anyone filling the position of Major who had business dealings with ■ the council, and if the restrictive tendency was carried much . further there would be very lew people qualified to contest a Mayoral election. To Tiis mind it was a most absurd objection that a man who was eleoted Mayor might become li | candidate. for Parliament.. He would like to see Wellington become a model city. At present, its drainage and sanitary systems wero excellent and the collection and destruction of rubbish was good. It was true that these improvements had been costly, but Wellington was one of the most healthy cities in New Zealand, and compared favourably with almost any other ot similar size in the world. He attributed this fact largely to The excellent drainage and sanitary facilities. He w'ns of opinion that only, ordinary fares should be charged on the trains on public holidays. Of course, the tramway svstem must be made to pay, but he thouglit the , course he hail .indicated would be profitable because of the increased traffic which it would cause.

?. hme "'"st come when the city of it Wellington would have to erect hot'salt water baths. He was not prepared to s say that the present time was opportune. i but the fact that there were much smaller cities than Wellington which had ■- established salt water baths, and made J ihem pay, should, at least encourage the 11 corporation here to go into the matter A questioner wished to know whether y the candidate was in favour of eitendin" the Thorndon Baths into deeper water. " ,r r : Wr'sht replied that, on looking up ' the balance-sheet, he found that tlio J lhorndon Baths made a slight loss on the > year's working, while the Te Aro Baths ® showed a profit. He would be quite will- „ ing to investigate the question of exten- ° sion of the Thorndon Baths, because, in I all probability, this improvement might • induce more people to visit the bath, J and thereby enable a profit to be made. '> The candidate was accorded a vote of 0 thanks and confidence. e ■ . -MB BISS AT THE DRUIDS' HALL. AIM IF ELECTED. 1 Biss addressed Jhe city elec--1 tors at tile Druids' Hall last .evening, in lurtherancc of his candidahiro for the r city Mayoralty. 3 H°fl- T. W. Hislop, who presided, ii llal ' ' oeen associated with u-'i ! ss on " lc .council, when he (Mr. Hislop) was Mnyor. Mr. Biss had rendered valuable service to the city as a ■ councillor,. particularly in reorganising . the tramways staff and in giving advice in regard to financial matters. Citizens • should elect a Mayor who would stand up • against interference with local bodies in J ■ their control of local affairs. Commencing his address,. Mr. Biss said that ono of his opponents, Mr. M'Laren, ! had fallen into a slight inaccuracy in ; stating that he (Mr. Biss) had said that ; the tramways sinking funds existed only ' What ho had said was that ■ the tramway depreciation fund, amount- ' ing to about JC70,000, had teen used up ' in paying for extensions, and for renewals of plant, and now existed only on paper. ; Che slinking funds existed, of course, • in liahl cash. .Mr. Biss added/that ho did not blame Councillor M'Laren for 1 making a mistake that anyono else might easily have made. It was /his object, Mr. Jjiss'continued, to convince the public tlmt the election "of Mavor was a very important matter, and that although no very large new works were iji progress or in immediate prospect, very important duties would have to ho carried out bv the person elected as Mayor f'p fie ensuing year. Citizens should criticise all the candidates very closely. The Mayor of a city like Wellington should have a tremendous amount of .enthusiasm end energy. A man was needed whu w< nld concentrate on. the Mavonil work; and a commercial man should be selected for the position;also, a practical man rather than a theorist. Citizens were shareholders- in iv great company, and tliev were called upon, 'in effect, to elect a chairman of directors. He was not so egotistical as to imagine that lie was the only person qualified, but lie -.vouid put the plain facts before citizens and leave them to, judge. It elected, he would labour with what energy and enthusiasm he possessed to keep tho city of Wellington on top. Laxity had appeared in various departments of civic a (fairs, and the Mayor aiid eaancil would have to throw more * energy into their work in the iminediuto future. Mr, Biss stated that he was particularly anxious to.criticise the figures cunteiiieil. ' in the corporation -balance-sheet for the year, just concluded. bccnuso l.e' felt that the more .the electors heard frein the ' candidate;, about the affairs of t!.e city the more interest would they'Hike'in the election: <

Mr. Biss invited questions, but none were put, one member of the audienco remarking, "AVe aro all satisfied." Mr Biss was unanimously accorded a vote of thanks and confidence. MR. D. M'LAREN. , AN ADDRESS ATTIIORXDOX. Mr. D. M'Laren, Labour candidate for tlio Mayoralty, addressed 'an open-air meeting of elector's at Tliorudon la~t evening. He outlined a programme of reforms, includiuj; a system to briiirf better order into the work of the council, Du of tha Katsr-simplj sjg.

■ (em, the giving of fuller responsibility lo > nDicers in chargo of trading services,'the ■ establishment ci a represent alive towni plnnning and improvement board to clear . congested arras (giving special attention lo tho outlying districts), the establishment. of public markets and hot-water baths, and tho clearing, planting, and beautifying of the Town Belt, reserves, foreshores, and other vacant places. At the conclusion of his address, Mr. M'Uuen was . unanimously accorded a vol:' of thanks and confidence. Afterwards a large and enthusiastic meeting of his supporters was held in the Tillin Rooms, and full arrangement* were made for carrying on the campaign. PITONE. SPEECH BY Jilt. J. W. M'EWAN. Al St. Augustine's Hall last evening Mr. .T. \V, M'Ewan, who is a candidate for tho I'etone Mayoralty, fired the first shot of his campaign in the presence of about 100" ratepayer!!. .Mr. S. Newland occupied the chair. Alter briefly outlining the duties of a Mayor, Mr. M'Kwan gave a detailed account of his nn>t services, lie said that the rates of interest paid on loans would compare favourably with those of tho city of "Wellington. The assets of tho borough were far in excess of the liabilities. As to the loans raised, they had been thoroughly justified. Ho had been , called ''a spendthrift Mayor," but tho I loan raised for tho eastern drainage was , one that nobody would object to, and since his term of office only four loans had been raised. When he first took office tho liabilities had been in excels of the assets in connection with the gas works. Now, however, tho position was reversed. There had boen an increase in street lamps, anil if returned he would endeavour to rcduce tho cost of gas to consumers. In connection with the Hutt Park, ho, claimed to have been instrumental in securing it for flic benefit of sporting bodies. In I*JO7 the management of the borough had cost <£896. I-'or the present year it cost .£923—an increase of X 27. When thi> fact was taken into consideration that the work had largely increased, tho council deserved congratulation for its working methods. 110 was not responsible m any way .for the delay in tho construction of the new Ilutt bridge (Loud applause.) It was the Wellington Uty Council who were responsible for that delay. It had bsen said bv his op- ! hat H,e bri,| f> ro »'°nM cost from 0C1.,000 to <£15,000. 11l rcplj', ho wished i?, that the whole cost as far as Jctonc was concerned would be only i£l)4BS, and provision had been, made for a loan at suitable interest. The proposed sewerage scheme sliouia bo pushed on immediately. Ihe present system was condemned, and would have to go. An up-to-date system would only cost .£2O more per year for maintenance than the old for SUrOl ' V thl ' S ,Vas ,Vorth hT " ,g

Mr. M'Ewan conchlded hv advocating an esplanade along the water front, and said that he ; ivould favour an import of coal from Westport direct to the Petonc .wharf. a number of questions the candidate was accorded a vote of thauKS and confidence. r;h I \r ? ' candidate for the ■ r Mayoralty, will address the electors '■win ' I ° WS: . - :Q ue eiis Wharf, to-day, at 1-.30; to-mght at Tory Street, at 7.30, and at Devon Streot at 8.30. Mr. A. S. Biss, candidate for the City SSjSf'J l «"*» the electors in I'll Ifouls Hall at 8 p.m. on April 18, A ril 19 150 at 130 p,IU - °" W John Smith will preside at the City Council meeting to-night, and ho will also address the electors at the NewWMo bl 'f r l "I 8 A m : to-ni K ht; and on April 1!) at the Hataitai Bowling Pavilion at 9 p.m.. OTHER CENTRES. NORTH ISLAND AND SOUTH. (By Telesraph.—Press Association.) _ Carterton, April 17. Mr. Frank A. Feist has been re-electcd unopposed ior the Mayoralty. Ar n . -n Danncvirke, April 17. jtlr. ii. A. Ransom has been re-elected Mayor tor a third time, unopposed. ,r n T, r. j Levin - A P'' il 17 - Mr. B. B. Gardener and Mr. Charles ifienkhorn have been nominated for the •Mayoralty. Mr. Gardener is the present -Mayor. , r „ „ , Timaru, April 17. Messrs. P. Hawkey and W. H. Hunt were nominated to-day for the office of Mayor of Timaru. Colonel J. T. M. Hayhurst has been elected Mayor of I'emuka unopposed. lie has previously been Mayor. . Dunedin, April 17. Councillor John. Wilson has been elected unopposed for the City Mayoralty, Mr. Solomon, K.C., for Mornington, Mr. Inglis tor Mosgiel, and Mr. Moeller for West Harbour. Mr. .rallies Hobertson was elected unopposed Mayor of Lawrence, for the fifth successive term. nr t» i, T • T, Gore ' , "- Mr. Dugall Louis Poppclwoll (the present Mayor), and Mr. .David M'Dougall. liave been nominated for the Mayoralty. >r t ~ Napier, April 17. Mr. J. Vigor Brown, M.P., lias been elected unopposed for the sixth term as Mayor of Napier. Tv , r , Blenheim, April 17. i'or the Mayoralty, Councillors J. J. Corry J. J. White, and C. J. W. Griffiths nave been nominated. Mr. Penny, the retiring Mayor, declined nomination. Palmersto'n North, April 17. Mayoralty nominations: Messrs. J. A Nash (present Mayor) and F. J. Nathan, or the vacant seat on the council , caused by the resignation of Mr. Nathan, > Messrs. H. Wollennan, H. M. Havcock, «"'(\^ lckcr i ng ' J : Task er, and A. oeitert liave been nominated. ■-c iv . ~ Auckland, April 17. For the Auckland City Mayoralty, lir. u n't.? 1 ! 1 ? (the P resent Mayor) and Mr. -".all Skolton, representing the Federation of Labour, liave been nominated. . For Newmarket, Mr. David Teed was re-elected unopposed, for Xorthcoto Mr. Geo. Fraser was re-elected, for Onehungn Mr. John Rowe (re-elected), for Mt. Eden "i u IC r ho ? on , («-«lecte(l), and Mt. Albert Jlr. J. Coyle (re-elected). Eltham, April 17 Councillor T. B. Crump, Deputy-Mayor has been elected Mayor of Eltham unopposed. Pahiatua, April 17. Mr. W. W. M'Cardle was re-elected Mayor (unopposed) for his third term today. Christchurch, April 17. Municipal nominations:—Christchurch City: Mayoralty—Mr. J. J. Dougall (present Mayor), Dr. Thacker, aud Mr. H. Holland (Labour). Council vacancy: Messrs. Geo. Barrell, H. J. Otlev. and E. Hoppy (Labour). Woolston—The retiring Mayor (Mr. M'Gregor Wright) has been re-elected unopposed. Lyttelton—Mayoralty: M. .T. Miller (tho retiring Mayor) and Councillor W. T. J-ester. Sproydoiu—Mayoralty: Messrs. AW K Gahagan and G. J{. Whiting (Labour). ■ ' , Nelson, April 17. Mr. T. A. H. Field (retiring Mayor of tlie city) was re-elocted unopposed." Woodville, April 17. Messrs. .Tames Grant and George I!edwood have been nominated for Mayor. Hawera, April 17. Mr. .A. W. Gillies and Mr. H. K. Whittington- have been nominated for I lie Mayoralty. Mr. Whittiiiglon is Hie present Mnyor. Hokitika, April 17. The following candidates linve been re-elected unopposed:—Hokitika. Mr. (1. A. Perry; Jfoss, Mr. 'J'. \V. Unite; Kumara, Mr. .1. A. Murdoch. Whangarei, April 17. Mr. T. H. Steadinaii, solicitor, has been re-elected .Mayor of Wliangarei unopposed. Thames, April 17. Mr. Henry Lowe was re-elected Minor unopposed. Gisborne, April 17. Mr. William Pettic was re-elected unopposed as Mayor of Gisborne. Masterton, April 17. .Mr. J. M. Coradine, the sitting Mayor, and Mr. T. Hoar, until recently « councillor, have been nominated for (he Mayoralty of Masterton.