CANDIDATES FOR THE COUNCIL

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2443, 23 April 1915, Page 6

CANDIDATES FOR THE COUNCIL

ADDRESSES AT NORTHLAND,

The .candidates on the' ticket of th© Greater Wellington -Electors' Municipal Association continued the campaign last night at the Methodist Churchrcom, Northland; Mr. L. George oc'cupiea the chair, and introduced the candidates to 'the meeting. About twenty persons were present, Mr. Godber spoke on lines similar to his other addresses, and dealt with the milk question, the improvement of the working of the tramways, and instanced the expenditure of £27,000 for last year in new trams and permanent way. He advocated the extension of the Constable Street tramway and other improvements, and outlined proposed route suggested by the general manager, for the shortening of the line to Karori. • He stated that the Lighting Department'had made a profit of £16,000 on last -year's workings, and stressed the necessity of reduced Chargeb for electricity of both lighting and power. He strongly advocated the erection, of hot salt and fresh water baths as at Auckland and Christchu'rch

Mr. Bennett drew the- attention of the meeting to the fact that on all the larger undertakings of the council the electors usually had a direct vote as tp - whether a loan for the purpose should bo raised or not,, and therefore it was useless for either him 'or any other prospective councillor to make promises'that they might never be able to fulfil.. The expenditure out of revenue; was quite another matter, and the requirements of the citizens demanded that men should be elected who would do their best in the interests of the whole city. There was always the danger of tho centre being nursed at the expense of the outskirts. This was the most expensive city in the Dominion in which to build owing to our stringent by-laws—not too stringent— but there were cases'where it was deemed wise to make alterations to promises, and it was on these occasions that' the opportunity was taken by at least one branch of the city engineer's department to tear up and rebuild work that had been passed by former engineers. He thought too much power was given the servants of the council. We "had an army of sanitary inspectors, but in spite of them we still have glass -verandahs with little glass and many 'holes, spouting, but full of dirt, down pipes that carry away no water, and so our footpaths are almost as level as the cartway. A stricter supervision of the councii'6 employees was neccssary. Referring,to Mr. Herdman's statement on gaol reform, Mr Bennett urged that a hew approach to Kelburn should bo made when'the • gaol site is handed over 'for'. ScKofil ; ,purposes. The time would come when the council must take over the . whole area between Vivian Street and Buckle Street and replace the block; If elected.' he would endeavour to dq his best for all classes without fear or favou>.

Mr. R. A. iWright said if the council waitedf-nntil the London money market became normal before _ floating a- loan for urgent, works it might wait a long time, because even when the war terminated the demand for money would be great. He believed a loan could be floated locally, at a rate of interest not in excess of five per cent. Referring to the controversy between the council and Harbour Board in reference to the charge for water, he said that he; found the Harbour Board had property the unimproved value of 'which was £490,003, and the capital value £636,589. The board paid no rates to the council upon this estate. If this property were rateable, the board would contribute £6523 7s. to the City treasury. In view of this, was it not ungenerous to complain, especially when the board made a substantial profit over and above what it paid to the council for the water supplied from the city mains?

Mr. R.: Hall urged the electors to supnort the men selected by the Greater Wellington Municipal Association. Another ticket had been issued, purporting to be the choice of certain business men. Who these husiness men were was not disclosed. The burgesses should take pains to avoid any confusion in the tickets. He also dealt with vario'is subjects along the lines of previous addresses. After a number of questions had been answered, the meeting closed with a vote of thanks to the chair. .

Mr. H. G. Hill, candidate for the Harbour Board, addressed the electors at Hataitai last night, traversing tho' main points of his previous addresses. After dealing exhaustively with the question of the board's reclamations and their cost to the board, Mr. Hill alluded to tho published report? (f a statement by the chairman (Mr. giving a Teview of the 'position; for the years duting which he wns chairman, or comparing the years 1909 and 1914. Tt was, Mr. Hill contended, remarkable that 110 reference was made in,this statement to expenditure. This, of course, was a most important item, and Mr. Hill stated that he had _ taken out the figures, which certainly showed that great care was necessary in the management. of the Harbour Board's affairs. The revenue, as stated by the chairman, showed an increase of £49,877, equal to 29.4 per cent. The working expenses for 1900 were £1.12.710, and, for 1911. £197,033, being an increase of .CGI .923, or equal to 49-per cent., so that while the revenue had increased nearly 30 jjpr' Psu£. the . ill the same

periodhad increased nearly 20 per cent; in addition to that. Mr. Hill contended that it was here that economies could be practised with dne regard to the efficiency of the work of the board. LABOUR TICKET CANDIDATES. A meeting in support of the Labour ticket candidates for the. City Council, Harbour Board, and Hospital and Charitable Aid Board was held in Fullford's Hall, Brooklyn, last night. Mr. Barras, a resident of Brooklyn, was chairman, and briefly introduced the speakers to tho audience.

Mr. A. H. Hindmarsh, M.P. (Laboui candidate for the Harbour Board), was the first speaker, and dealt with the actions of the so-called "business" men. He ridiculed the pretensions of the "business" ticket, and pointed out that the Parliaments of New Zealand, Australia, and Great Britain were controlled by men whoodid not pretend to be "business" men. Surely men of the type of Andrew Fisher were capable of helping to carry on the business of a City Council.

Mr., Young, Labour candidate for tha Harbour Hoard and City Council, dealt with some of the statements' of Mr.. Hill and challenged their accuracy.. Mr. Chapman, Labour candidate for the Mayoralty, criticised the past actions of the. so-called "business" council, and stated that the short-sighted policy of the Kilbirnie tunnel scheme and excessive interest charges on municipal loans ought to condemn +he "business" men for all time.

The meeting concluded with a. unanimous vote of confidence in the Labour candidates. , '

ELECTION NOTES. In connection with Mr. J. P. Luke's candidature for tho office of Mayor, a meeting of lady supporters will be held in Godber's rooms, Courtenay Place, to- ' day, at 3 o'clock. Mr. J. P. Luke will also hold a meeting to-night in the Concert Room of the Town Hall, when he will address the electors of the city and give an account of his administration during his term of office as Mayor. Councillor J. Fuller, jun., will address the ratepayers at the New Century Hall this evening, when he will deal with tho milk question and municipal finance.

Mr. W. H. Edwards, an Independent candidate for the City Council,- will expound his views on municipal matters in the Maranui Church Hall at 8 o'clock this evening. Mr. A. B. Clater will be in the chair.

Khandallah residents are being subjected to an'unusual excitement connection with the election of councillors for Onslow Borough. Three seats are vacant, and six. residents are going to the poll, three in favour of a water scheme from the catchment area, the other three opposing the scheme; the opposition having given their views on Monday night last will be replied to by Messrs. Alderson, Anderson, and Smith to-night at the Khandallah Hall.

Mr. W. Moore has been re-elected unopposed as a member of the Wairarapa Hospital and Oharitable Aid Board, representing the Boroughs of Carterton and Greytown.