MR. M'LAREN AT POST' OFFICE SQUARE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1718, 8 April 1913, Page 6

MR. M'LAREN AT POST' OFFICE SQUARE.

INDIGNANT AT HIS CRITICS. | PROUD OF HIS ACHIEVEMENTS. Mr. • D. M'Laren opened liis Mayoralelection; campaign by • delivering an address -in -the Post Uffico Square during tlie luncheon hour yesterday. With some half a dozen members of the Trades Council and four pressmen as a Mr. M'Laren. collected an audience, ot about 200. Mr. E. J. Carey, who presided, said that hitherto it had been the usual practice to allow a Mayor to hold his seat for two years, but .now tliis precedent was being departed from, and the commercial. classes' liad decided to oppose Mr. MTaren. Tile Dominion, ho said, had apologised , for. Mr. Luke, and' advised people to take no account of his personality, but to vote for him because he dicl not belong to the Labour party. Not a "Showy Term." Mr, M'Laren said at onco that he had no intention of making a policy speech. "I am billy going tto place beforo you some .of the reasons why I am standing again for the position! of Mayor, and some facts in connection with my term' of office. I want also to clear away some misrepresentations that havo been 'nnde respecting the Labour party, and respecting myself. You will have noted ]that. a. portion of the public press of this ;rity -doesn't seem to bs able to write at uiil "without bringing in tho namo of It is always doing it. One or two papers have a weakness in that direction. X don't mind, because the effect'of. it.is that they are advertising me. free among tho peoplo of tho community. ... My term of office has not been a showy term. I was not out to stand in tho limelight and make displays, but to seo work done, and done as well as possible. ■ If on occasion, in order to see business properly attended to, I havo had to be hard, on some of tho men in the .co'uncil, that was necessary, and I would do it-- again. Tho city's interest must come beforo that of any private individual. . . Newspaper Criticism. "l r ot tho first tight months up till Christmas time, you will have noted that the criticism of myself was very small indeed. There was practically no criticism at all. And I want to point out to" you that that was in eight months of very hard .work. At the closo of that period I put in the time throughout the Christmas and . New Year holidays in _ visiting tho various homes of the city in order to make things as happy for peoplo in jiocjr circumstances! as possible." He went 011 to tell liow he and Mrs. M'Larou had gone for a short holiday in the south after that. "But my back was no sooner turned," he continued, "than these two newspapers in this city, in their leading articles, began to attack me. I say that to attack a man when his back is turned is a coward's game. Is it not, men? ("Hear, hear," in ono place, and spoken indistinctly). I merely mention ; fhat'to. show you tho. kind of criticism that ~I:., havo' to. meet." ' He complained bitterly 1 that one newspaper, not content with employing within our city, had hired writers, or a writer, from outside, a lawyer in Dunedin, to deal with our municipal affairs. What right,'he asked, had "some people" to bring in these men's articles to influence ■the people of-Wellington? '' He "detailed" a few'of the public functions,in which,-as Mayor, ho had taken a prominent 'part, and lie pointed out specially .that he had been conplimentcd on tlitf. manner in which ho had conducted the proceedings of the Municipal Conference, by "men in business, men in professions, and men in big undertakings ot one kind and another." "What does that' indicate to you?" ho asked. "It indicates that this cry against tho Labour Socialist is so much buncombe." Mr. M'Laren reviewed also the works completed'during his year of office, and tho mention of one of them—a culvert at Island Bay—gavo.him his opportunity to refer to Mr. H. 0. Hill, a candidate for the council. "110 is president, I believe," said Mr. M'Laren, "of the Greater iWellington-'Municipal' Association, that jokA^-becauSe" .it is., a joke. The namo is' altogether too long. Let me tell you this: It was reported in tho paper that at the meeting of the association, when they elected their officers, tliero were 20 peoplo present. To think of 20 peoplo pefctinß together and willintr themselves the electors of Greater Wellington, is truly ridiculous." Tho fault lie had to find with Mr, Hill was that lie had dared to lecturo the council about this culvert at Island Hay., even although he .had never been in a public position before. He (Mr, M'Laren) took crcdit for having urged the council to embark upon a sehemo for improving the Town Belt. He had agitated—perhaps some people would think it vulgar for the Mayor to agitate— for ,the planting of tho lulls with trees, and as a Tesult tho council had appointed a. forester to lool: after this work. He had not opposed tho granting of a sub sidy towards the establishment of an art gallery here. Good urt galleries and

.good libraries wore, lie thought, tlio universities of the working class.' "Sparring." "The paper?," lie said., "will make a good <ieal of the fact that there has been ft few sparring matches between the council and myself. They say tho councillors havo no confidence in the Mayor. But let me tell you I never had any coufitloneo in them. Mark you this— these samo councillors, who, the press says, havo 110 confidence in 111 c, liavo said this: Councillor M'Kenzie said at 0110 of the meetings within my knowledge, 'The pre.smt Mayor.of the city has given more time and eloso attention to tlio duties of his office than any other-man. I know of who has occupicil tlio position of Mayor.' That was endorsed by Councillor Smith. When that was said, in Ihe council the papers didn't report :'t. They ieporled the occasions 011 which there, were expressions of "no coaljdence, but not those when expression of confidence wis offered." Mr. M'Laren detailed a few figures to show tho improved condition of the tramway, finances. "I am going to submit'it to any business man," lie said, "whether in tho face of these figures, I have handled the tramways weakly or strongly. . . . Those people who meet in tho Chamber of. Commerce who say they are the business men of the city! It's near time they came forward with something of a more definite character in the way of criticism o£ tho man who occupies tho Mayoral chair than tho statement' that lie is dangerous, that he is a wild-eyed Socialist, or a red revolutionist. They talk so much about red revolution, because, they think tlio people are green; and can bo put off with anything." , A Few Questions,, Tho address in chief concluded, Mr. M'Laren offered to answer questions. One working man wanted to know why it was that he could ride to Newtown for 2d. in the days of tho liorsc cars, but now he had to pay 3d. .Mr. M'Laren replied that when ho himself was a conductor on tho horse cars lie thought the fare was 3d. 'He stated further than it was necessary to get more revenue for tho trams, and tho sections had to be readjusted. Ho did not. consider the adjust-ment-on the Newtown line equitable. He thought the 'first section should end at tho Royal Oak, the second on the other sido'of tho Basin Reserve. "What's your position about the freight car? I'm speaking as a carrier," said another questioner. Mr. M'Laren: My opinion is. that freight cars _ aro a necessity- in 'a modern community. The questioner: What, at a loss? Mr. M'Laren: No, nit' at a Joss, and I am endeavouring to change the system sa that they won't bo run at a loss. Ha added that he was not in favour of the freight car carrying merchandise. In answer to other questions, Mr. M'Laren said ho was not in favour of the council electing the Mayor; that he was not in favour of 'handing over the Basin Reserve to trustees; and..that he was in favour of reconsidering the application of tho Watersiders' Band for a subsidy from tho city. -e