THE COUNCIL CONTEST.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1730, 22 April 1913, Page 6

THE COUNCIL CONTEST.

THE ASSOCIATION CANDIDATES. A STRING OF MEETINGS. Candidates selected on the "ticket" of tho Greater Wellington Municipal Electors' Association addressed meetings at Roseneath and Hataitai last evening. Ic was intended that _ the five candidates on the list ef speaken? should address a meeting at Kiibirnio also.. but no audience turned v.p and . this speaking place was '.abandon-ad, Mr. A. Leigh Hunt, who presided At the Hataitai meeting, said that the present election was a most important one, for this was. the first time ia the history of the city that any ono section of tho community, had tried to capture ai! tho seats on all the; local bodies. In this wero possibilities of;.very .great wrong, whether the one section of the community were the Labour pasty, the Prohibition party, or any other singto party. On tho other hand the candidates who would address the meeting had been selected'by the Greater Wellington Municipal Electors' Association, membership of which was open to any citizen. It could not be said that the association represented any ono section of fho .'community; it really represented all sections exclusive of the section to which it was now opposed.

' ~, MR. T. C. A. HISLOP. Mr. T. C. A. Hislop, the first speaker, stated his reasons for seeking to represent tho citizens on the council. He enlarged upon the importance of local government", mid deplored tho apathy of people regarding it, which had made possible serious interference, from, tho general Govern : ment in the direction ol infringing tiw basic principle of local government, j.i he had tho honour to rctfrcsont'" tho city., ho would certainly use afi his endeavours to protest effectually against tho Legislature passing any mors Acts • which would have'the effect'of taking awcy from tho people, the right to control and administer purely local affairs. He went on to discuss' the tramways and tho running of them. He thought the finances were fairly satisfactory, but he did think there was'room for 'much improvement in the running of the cars. Ho thought, also that the steps on some types should be reduced. Ho hoped that it might be possible to do something in the way of beautifying the reserves.

In replying 'to a question-he said' that ha was not sure as to whether improvement was possiblo in the life-saving apparatus in front of cars—it wag really a technical question—but if improvement were possiblo ho would certainly be in favour of it. . 1

MR. W. H.' P. BARBER. , Mr. W.' H. ,P. Barber made his first speech in i the' campaign, and his spcech wqs mainly in. the nature of giving an account of his stewardship. Ho said he had first entered tho City Council in 1891, and he had been a member for 18 years, in two periods,'having had one break of five years in ,his service. When ho first entered tho council, when the Hon. H. D. Bell was Mayor, the first and most important work was the drainage schome. At that time Wellington had very little to boast about except its water supply, and'it was a very different place to live in from what it,was to-day. It had no town hall, no baths, no corporation trams, no electric . light, no, wood-blocked streets. .These things had oil come, and other things had coino also. , Private streets had bc?n taken over, narrow streets had boen widened, the boundaries- of the city extended, and the recreation grounds increased and improved. All this had been done in 20 years, and he did not think it was fair to say'that the City Council had been failing in its difty in providing for the growth of the city. In only one regard had perhaps tho council been neglectful—it had not done as much as it should to beautify tlio city. Ho did not wish to claim credit for all these reforms. He had (luring his connection with tho city seen these reforms carried out, and all he had done was to -assist, a 9 was his duty, in bringing them about. -Two reforms, however, he had consistently advocated in the face of opposition, and he did claim' a little credit for those two! They .were., tho widening of certain streets, and the taking over of private streets. These private streets had been a source of very much inconvenienco to those unlucky enough to-live in them, but . when he first suggested that tho city should acquire them, tho proposal had been strenuously opposed. . Like Mr. Luckie, , he thought:; til?'ctmhcil iwould be well advised* to • lease small patches of laud to -tennis™ and bowling clubs, rather than allow pilose lands to lie waste. Thoro had been a.-•great deal of talk-about cutting up: the Basiii Reserve, but it had never really been suggested thai the Basin Reserve should be cut up. He had always been one of tho foremost in the agitation to have t!ie-tram> iouto -to Newtown taken througli the reserve, and his idea had .never been to take;the reserve away from : tho' p'nool'o; N6wCli» was strongly in i'av,'Our H. Morton's scheme, which would retiiin-tlie reserve, and reduce the cost of running the trams round the series of corners. He realised that the trams must, ba made to pay. If they could not be made .to pay by economy from within, then he- admitted that tho finances must be strengthened by increasing fares, as the-board had dealt with the question. If it Should prove necessary to shorten ttie sections further, he would be in favour of shortening the sections within the city ratlier tli'an .'those' in. the -outlying suburbs. He was in favour of the cutting of a-.traffic tunnel to Kilbirnic, but ho thought it was not fair to ask the city to bear tho w'holo cost. Minimal' should either.be called upon to nnv its share, or to conic into Greater Wellington.

He spoke 'of the life-guards on city tramcars. He did not think our -present guards wore/any real protection at all, and ,if those guards in use in Christchurch could be adapted to the Wellington cars, lie would be in favour of fitting the new type of guards.

MR. R. A. WRIGHT. Messrs. Jl. A. Wright, H. Buddie, and II: F. Luckio addressed electors at Jtosqneath School last night. Mr. Mulligan presided. ■ Mr. Wright opened tho speeches. He said that he stood with eleven others on tho Greater Wellington Municipal Electors' Association, ticket, which was being run in tho interests of tho city as a whole. 110 declared that it was necessary for the general body,of citizens to l-oto solidly for tho ticket 111 order to ensure that tho "Labour" ticket, though supported by a minority, would not bo elected to dominate tho council. Continuing, 110 said that lie was anxious Jo see progress, but was against wild schemes which the city could not afford. Mr. Wright outlined his views (as preciously published), and at the conclusion of his speech lie was accordcd a vole of thiTiks. MR. H. BUDDLE. Mr. H. Huddle'said that lie wos ntliu: as a citizen. He was not a reprcsen-

tative of any clique or faction, ami though not ono of the "Labour" ticket ho would certainly support any good proposition brought forward by any "Labour" man ivho chanced to get on to tlio council. He said that ho favoured the extension of the trains over the Constable Street hill, but lie added ,that fho condition of the finances had to bo borno in mind. Respecting Roscneath's need for trams, lio would, if elected, support the extension' of the system to the suburb as soon as tlio finances warranted it. He favoured the city engineer's (Mr. W. H. Morton's) plan for the reconstruction of the Basin' Reserve, which would .'send' tho cars through tho reserve without lessening tho lilaving area. • ■

■ In reply to a question Mr. Buddie said that he would support a proposal to extend the sea-wall from its present terminus along Oriental Bay to Roseneath; ho thought it should be done as soon as thero was money for the work, and pro. viding tliero was no other'need with prior nlaim. A liearty vote of thanks was accorded Mr. Buddie.

MR. M. F. LUCKIE, Mr. M. F. Luckiq said that city councillors had only one duty perform— tho consideration and effecting of tho best interests of tho city. All classes, all f-ections, all branches of the community were equally entitled to representation on tho council, but no party was entitled to exclusive representation. Of lato years Wellington had te.ken up the l-ucajng of some big enterprises, and it was necessary to watch the finances very closely. As to the, trams, it would be Lime to reduce the fares when it was certain that the system was showing a permanent surplus, and then the reductious should be made in the outlying districts. where the people could-leajt do without them, and for the working classes, to whom concessions were such a help. Ho was in favour of the citizens' carnival being made an annual event so as to augment the fund for tho supplementing of tlio present breathing spaces and playing areas. He used to be opposed to tlv> old scheme of running tho trams through the Basin Reserve to the destruction of tho Basin; but he (and so were most other cricketers) was now in favour of the carrying out of Mr. W. 11. Morton's present scheme for running the trams through tho reserve and at tho samo time making what will be perhaps the best ground in tho city. Mr. Luckie was thanked for his address. ' ! . LABOUR CANDIDATES. . \IN THE POST OFFICE SQUARE. Messrs. W. S. Bedford, M. J. Rearuen, E. J. Carey, C. H. Chapman, .lrid E. Kennedy addressed an open-air meeting in the Post Office Square during tho lunchcon hour yesterday. Their speeches-were similar to others tho speakers had previously delivered. A little hostile demonstration -against. Mr. Carey while lie was speaking caused Mr. M. J. Rearden to upbraid the workera a little for their, inconstancy'. It was. icurious, he said, that w;hen men stood for election in tho Labour interest thcy had to put up with much hostile anil unjustified criticism from the-rank's >of Labour. Nor did the workers give un-divided-support to their-candidates. At Hie last election, for instance, at the vliar? booth only 2200 votes were polled for Labour candidates, while- 2700 were recorded for others. Thus the effect of the votes cast for the Labour candidates Was nullified.

MR. PERRY AT KELBURNE. Mr. _W. Perry addressed a meeting at liriburno last evening. Mr. C. H. Matthews presided and there were 32 persons present. Tho candidate said ho stood as an Independent, that he was on no ''ticket," and he claimed to stand in tho interests of tho citizens as a whole. Discussing tramway matters, ho said that the cardinal principle of tramway policy must be that the trams must pay. The trams were a convenience to the public and tho public must pay for that convenience. Ho commended the action of tho City Council in setting up a Tramway Board and said that, while matters of tramway policy should be decided by the council, the Retail work should bo left to experts. The council had made ar. honest effort to grapple with the tramway problem. He deprecated tho fact that tho municipal roll had been muddled, the main roll being printed only five days before tho supplementary Toll closed. Tho time was not opportune for borrowing, as money was dear and likely to become dearer. In view of the fact that the city would shortly bo called upon to pay a considerable sum in connection with the' Hutt Road, care and prudence would have to be exercised in expenditure during tho coming year. Ho. advocated tho Mayor beinc olected by tho council from the council. By means a bei ter type of, candidate for tho oouncil would come forward. Tho meeting concluded with a unanimous vote of thanks and confidence.

JOTTINGS. "Are you in favour of the prohibition of boxing in the Town Hall?" asked a (Koseneatn elector of Mr. E. A. Wright, during the latter's municipal address last night. ."No." said Mr. Wright, "I don't wish to see boxing in tho Town Hall stopped, so long as it does not descend to prize-fighting." Boxing with the regulation gloves, ho added, was not objectionable.

Mr. ~W. H. Morton, Wellington city's engineer, according to Mr. H. Buddie (a candidate for the City Council), is a very much over-worked man. "However." said Mr. Buddlo.at Roseneath last night.."lie seems to bo willing to carry <iny fresli burden they put upon him. Tliey put tho trains on him, and other things, without asking him about them; and ho has made.a success of tho trams."

/'Would you support a by-law prohibiting ladies wearing hatpins without protectors?" This question was asked Mr. Perry at his meeting'at Kelburne' last evening. "That's a very awkward question for me to answer," said the candidate, "in view of the fact that I have no fewer-than-33 ladies-on my committee. However, as none but the bravo deserve the fair, I will be brave and say that X would support such a by-law." '

Mr. R. A. Wrisht suggested, in tho course of his address to the municipal electors at Roseneath last night, that the .Wallace Street tram line should be linked up with the Newtown line, and that instead of the present system of having cars used solely for tho Wallace Street service, the Newtown, Island Bay. and Constable Street should alternately run through Wallace Street. He did not think that the'idea had insuperable difficulties to face.

Mr. G. Frost was a member of the audience at Hataitai last night, when a number of candidates for the council were addressing a few electors. He was asked if ho cared to speak; but the hour was l>ast ten o'clock, and ho refrained.. His only remark was that if elected it would bo'his pleasure to see that all the other candidates fulfilled the many promises they had given. For himself ho asked only continued confidence.

Speaking; at Hataitai last night, Sir. H. Buddie said the construction of a traffic tunnel through tho hill was a question which would hare to bo faced. It was a necessity mow, and it was a great pity that provision had not been made for' traffic when tho other tunnel was being built. 110 agreed with tho view that Miramnr ought to be required to pay a part of tho cost. All the other candidates who spoke on tho question concurrcd geiernlly in this view.

A question was submitted to all the candidates at Hataitai last night, which really arose out of the Coroner's remark yesterday morning concerning, tho death of the man John Dillon, who was knocked down by a tram-car. ■. The questioner and others drew attention to the entirely inadequate protection tho city cars carried to prevent foot passengers from belli? run over. It was suggested that a form of guard, similar to thai: in use on tho Christchurch trams, a kind of steel basket or carrier, into which a person knocked down would probably fall, and under which ho cannot go, should bo adopted in Wellington. All the candidates to whom the question was put agreed to give tho matter consideration, and agreed also that tho protection afforded by the guards now on the trains wcro inadequate.

One of the pictures which brightens up the programme nightly at Tlis Majesty's Theatre is one of Councillor John Fuller, who make? an appeal to munirip;il electors from (lie screen. The same council tin" is also I'lirltiering hi- campaign by means nf 1111 advertisement flashed on to the aufc droD.