THE HUTT, MAYORALTY

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2132, 25 April 1914, Page 8

THE HUTT, MAYORALTY

CANDIDATE' SPEECHJSS,

AN ADDRESS JIT DK I'l lillV.

Ui- J. ){. Punh'. is i'undidiilfi )'«r Ui<; Hull.. Mayoralty, ndilnssiHf:;! (t inecliiiK at the 'i'oivn Hull linildingii, L(.i\v(-r Untt, last crcniiig. Air. U, Trovctliick prosideil. Ilr. Furdy said lliitt lii« piittfurin liih'l ratininvd imiilttMvd rijjht thi'onyh It in addresses. Ui» tivei oppniientH, liovvcvvr, had from what thsiy hud already snid. H uppwired tlint tho main point in tho piifscut electiiiri was thnt <il i;a.s Kiipply, ami lio Jitid hwii (•hai'iicrl with niis-stiiU'Wefitfl iii that wniiKMitioi.t, hut lilat chiiriso was ioundationlc'-sa. Olio of Ilia opponents, Jlr. Da n'wn, hud occnpicd Heiifly the wlmlo of his rt's.'ent addrfsa with this imrniitu question. lift (Mr. I>ft\vson) •had idso inndo a slaU-inent at tlift J<ycminf 1.1.a1l ns to tho want of progress «f tho borough, but, later, havinii fiuiitd that that Btutement had displeased Kow.o of his supporters, bo S'sad modified it. The speajser furtlicr qitotud roruurks by Mr. Duwsoii iu retereueo t(i the gas supply, and remarked that it was apparent that liis op(>onci'it was not very strong in his .facts. Tbo speaker tlicH went on to traco the recent i.tegotiations between ttic> Hutt ami I'etono Councils in refereneo lo tho extension of tho gas agreeniout. G'ho ratepayers, lw said, Imd luwer had tho correct gas figures plnecd before them. He bad opposed tho extension of tlio agreement, Tbo most that could bo gained by tho present agreement wtis £128 los., whifo they stood to lose £600 or £700. The council was calling a hurried meeting oil Monday night, becauso he had criticised mat-tors in connection with the gas supply. For his oivn pari, ho Was. perfectly satisfied that they could run the borough with electricity from the Belmont Stream, and ho thought that they would hare .electric lighting within two or threo years. Tho speaker meant ta go thoroughly into this question aud p]a.co his findings before tlio ratepayers. It was flue of tho planks of hts prbrgratnmo and lio was supported in it by a largo number of ratepayers. They really wanted fiomeono to "boast" tho Huti; there were too many public- 'speakers, in tho district run-ui-ug their borough down. They had aa example where <iue of-his opponents liftd stated that the Hrcti had not progressed as it should. Tho speaker quoted from the Municipal Handbook. _ Whilo this book- gave elaborate- descriptions of other boroughs it- contained practically nothing auouj their own. borough. Ho had asked at tlio council why this was so, but no cine could tell hi®. Turning to tho River Board Dr. Purdy said tliat they could not dissolve theRiver Board without considerable ttouble. Ho suggested that at tho next council election tlio ratepayers shoalii pat up a ticket of five men who would, talso up River Board affairs aud pledge themselves on that matter. •It was' not ■right that tie river banks should bo shut off from th© public;' these fins Walks should bo open to everyone. Such n proposal as lie had made would not lead to dam-ago to the banks'; it woidd an fact toad to improve them. Passing to other matters the speaker said that they heard a good deal about r-e----dncing the rates, but that Was an. absolute impossibility as thejr had to meet their liabilities. There wero two ways oi : -reducing tho rates: oa® was by getting more ratepayers into the borough, and the othof was municipal enterprise. Dr. Purdy then referred to his efforts to secure a hospital lor tho district and stated that although his proposal was art, taken up' at first, they could, now see that it was nearly an accomplished tact. . At the. conclusion^of, the candidate's ; address :i number of questions, worn answered and, on the ■motion.of tho chairman,, a vote of thanks to ,tha ; for his "address was carried with acclamation.

MR. BALDWIN'S ADDRESS: At St. James's Hall, Lower liutt, iast evening, Mr. iL- Baldwin delivered an aadrosg to electors in caimceiioia with a 1, 8 for tho Unit. Mavoralty. Mr. F. de J. Were briefly iiitroducod tho speaker. . Mr. Baldwin stated that Ij© did not UuGiici to deal much witJi uiuuicipiii matters, as he had already touched oil thorn at u. previous meeting, and ho ,te rnako rash promises, tlio Hjianees of the council would not allow of any extravagant. expenditure, ana ho gave figures indicating tho amount _ of money which had been absorbed m accessary works. Mr, Baldwin went on to reply to certain criticisms regarding j-iospilal matters, "the control of the Hutt Hivcr, aiid the purchase and price of gas. Ho Ws intsj> csted m tlto Hutt Rivor Board, and tho opiiHoa had been, expressed that tho tim® had arrived when the BoroughCouncil should absorb the board. Ho himself had joined tho Hirer Board for just that purpose, but ha had come to the conclusion (and h-c had legal authority to support him) thai it. would Era impossible for tho council to absorb tlw board without approaching Parliament t<\ bring down a special Bill. Tho difficulty was that tho Hutt River ran through three districts, namely, Hutt county, Hutt borough, and Petene borough. The capital values of. these boroughs wero;j—Hutt borough, Sf-857., 88-5; Petone borough-, £aff,s3D- ~ and Hutt county, £5i«3;.5.53, As chairman of the board, however, he considered ' that tho time had arrived wjien it should be absorbed by tho Borough Council. If this c-amo about it would mean the saving of about £100 per annum. Mr, Baldwin denied assertions which ho attributed to Mr. T. C. Dawson, to tho effect that the river was in a very bad condition, and that the board did not know its business. His reply te Mr. Dawson was that ho did Hot know what ho was talking about. Continuing, Mr. Baldwin dealt with tho gas agreement with tho Potono Council, and stated that,, whilst tho east of gasto tho Hutt Council was being reduced, i the cost to tho actual consumer had not! ; diminished. If 'ho-< were elected he j I would seo that tho consumer benefited | pro rata with the council itself. Last year tho council had a profit of £300, and tlift speaker considered that, of tills HUiouat, at least £i! 00 could havo t bean apportioned to rcdtico the cost of gas to the consumer, Regarding Itos- . pit-al affairs, Sir. Baldwin -stated that Dr. Piirdy had spokts in favour of the establishment of a cottago hospital in tho district. The speaker .was in favour of this, hut it was all a matter of ex- ■ : pense. As a member of tho Hospital : Board lio could say that, if a cottage hospital wero erected, it would mean an increase in espenditu.ro of something ; like £1500 per annum. Instead of providing swell a hospital tlio Hospital ; Board bad dotto tho next best thing— it bad purchasod a motor ambulance, which would bo ready for work iu n : fortnight. This ambiilanco had. cast £610, and. the- charge for Hutt or Wellington residents using it- would ho Ms., a»i probably 15s, beyond a ton-mite radius. Those charges would just cavor running and repairs. A unanimous vote of thanks brought . tho meeting to a clos®.