MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3056, 18 April 1917, Page 9

MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS

; THE "CITIZENS' TICKET"V - MEETING AT HATAITAI ;"■ '?' ..Candida'tef who are. contesting the 'municipal ejection as the nominees of the G*eatej "Wellington Town-Planning -.and Electors' Association ad-' ■ pressed ,a> ope>cir meeting in fiataitai last.light.. The attendance was small ana fluctuated in response to the cccasionil; showers of rain. _ Mr. /.' E. Jehkihsoh,'who was the first speaker, said that the cancldates nominated by the-.association wtre prepared to undertake a great wcrk auir- . ing ; che next two-years.: Mphy mat- .' "ters-.of -importance -demande? the at- •:■' tention of the Wellington, .' The Wellington water- -system was' at ■" present supplying'some 90,010 people in --an:,- inadequate -way.'- -jViinia fifty. -yeas: the population of tie city ..would'. ;> be ; :a,t. least a quarter-of a-million, and i the City Council ought'not merely to [ provide .for immedifte. •' needs, . bu)> i'should look.forward; /An extension of ■| the-.water/system wai necessary. ~ He jhad.no doubt that tie city's,engineers [•"were capable of'.nia<rng ; the necessary i plans... -Then then! was pressing' ! question . of,-, the'iilk Supply. The ' electors-would iWeniber : that-at the last .municipal elation "all the candi-'' 'dates had talked'of, this matter,' -and /had said that reprms were.necessary? . i.But, -as a i matter- of fact, two years i,had passed wifioufc .any practical., reforms being iiiroduced. -The Minis- - ter of Public, Health had talked of municipal cp»rol of the' machinery of distribution, (jut as a matter of fact the city.;retJired-. to, t go . fUrfclier - thau- ■\ the- ~Minist>. had suggested. ,r: -Any 'scheme tW was.to be. of value must ■ get back t/the actual 'source;of supply.' .'A clearinghouse, which had been. der manded iy. the farmers, -would, cost anythingfrom £25,000 to. £30,000,-'and-•it wouk not reach the. sources of -the' :.>milk'.. Referring to the tramways,-Mr.- - ; Jenkinon _ said', that it was not desirbuild qcbuy additional cars at' the pesent time, when all prices were' : :.. abnojnally. .high. ■ ■-. He -suggested.- that' Congestion at the-rush hours should be./ relieved .by - arranging -' that tho' factories -i and: workshops should •«?/■ all -'{•• close -..at .--the'-: - same j' e ii.' i OUsi °S question demand- . .ed;the attention of the City-Council.-Hs own idea;;was that .tho-ienement would have, to:.-be:adqpted in;MeUington. .The amount of land at: the djsfosal of the city-was limited,- and IJeconstfuction of .tenement houses by thenranicipality. would;.prove economicaland efficient. He thought that the rmuncipality ought : to have,'power to bujlaud compulsorilyior building mir•poss aftenper.'.cent; ovef-the: valua- . tlO-.. .' . . -,- .'..'.-.-' ■"-.-•'•-. '

J r -,p: ?•' Norwood said that he was . a-andidato for a seat on the City Ccincil and also, the Harbour ■ Board.. Beiness ihen were -'required :on both ..; .bdies at the present,.time. ' Many mat- > tes of great importance- were demand-' v in; attention. 1 .Hedid not believe that . -, .&» heavy.lqan expenditure ought to :be .:, under conditions, -M some of the,-important work's that wei required could properly" be charged • to avenue.. The iGity Council was becomjg j a huge, trading concern and it reqtred. the services of men ..who, were •in business on their own account. ... acquainted with business methds. ; ,The old : council had 1 , done • fomegood work, but he, was. convinced ■that few. blood was;needed?'.He empha- ..'■■■ V 6 importance, of attention to the . - te c "s ! ,»PPly r and also Jhe'improvement °v L e mean s .of -access :to the' outer . sububs. , The tunnel/ that: connected ....Hatrtai.with. the city ought to pro-. "■: I'M*: foot and traffio as ■:•■>''t®4«,for-:the trams. v Referring to Jiarbir Board;matters, Mr. Norwood. .... said hat the harbour dues affected the' . •.'.E«wtl public directly,"since/the merchani and the retailer passed on to the oasumer the charges imposed upon themby -the board. . Moreover ; if. the chargs made in ..the port of Wellington lire high /as compared >ithother • .portsjthe.city..would, suffer, from'the divermi of trade.: .Wellington had suk feredi, great deal from, tho unsatisfactory Editions of, employment" on the wharvs. There/were too many 'employ- . PTB/ttre. He would'like to see the , . Harbor.... Board. ; . controlling all, the .laboutpn...the. wharves arid employing, an irjreascd number 'of permanent'- .• hands!. .J -■ ■.'• : ' '"',■" ■."■■"-. '. .Jli-.8, A/Wright,; J\f.P.; said that 1 the. a&ciatiou, had, not had anything .- to do With the establishment of' the old imiicip'al fish' market.'. The scheme had ben unsound frpm"'nrst to last.- / ; Th'e.mrket-had.been;badly situated,' 1 and, it had never had . an adequate -supplyj of fish.''- IfeV failure ■ had' been.iievitable: Tlie.Laboiir /candidates , were.sying how'that if they were re-. , ..; tiirnedto: the. City Council they would' ■ afran§ -for .trawlers; to work under municiial control, and so secure an adequie supply of cheap fish for the •■■■oty.-.tßut .as: a matter ".of fact; the City (ouncil had already given a great •deal q attention to this question, and it hac secured expert,evidence to the effect that trawlers could, not operate sucoefcfully in the neighbourhood of Wellijgton.. Suitable fishing grounds did mt exist, and the experience of-, ; ; ".privap trawling companies, showed that' . ventres of■ the/kind were doomed to' failure The city of Auckland was. in . a diferent position. . Good . trawling ~ - grouids : were within .easy, reach, and the fupply of fish was regular and _ But inquiry had shown'-that' :-., the Railways Department would not . Undertake to carry fish from Auckland •; to Wellington by the mail trains, owingi ... to.tie impending reduction.in the service!., .; The problem of -Wellington's •.fish'supply, had still to- he solved. Re- '- ferring : to the milk supply, Mr.. Wright said that. th,e City' Council had already given a great, deal of. time and p&oiV ; :tion matter. One point to be remembered was that the factual sup-pliers-were not bound--to send''milk , city at all., ,Tlie.:farmers, could get just.as good a'pric&'from .the factories.. . They had formed an organisation among themselves', for the protection of their own interests, and. their' attitude was one. of .'independence! 1 hey had-asked for .the establishmeni ot a clearing-station, , whioh . wouH . cost the- city at least.' £30,000, a«l' then would not touch the .'actual souses , of supply. , Mr . Wright • ; BUgge/ted , Niat the suppliers'.organisation shouldbe entrusted with the whole Wk nf distribution, at; prices:, to be ' fi?id agreement with the City Counel- He referred,also, to. the housing, otestinn.' and said, that the: CitvCoV'eil M round it lacked power to bhld. workers, homes on its land at frail Bay, owing' to the.fact -that the land, had heen.acquired .nriginallv. as'a site for' a. tramway shed. Hc.*em>hnsiserl thn" .importance of' the. Harbou Board and : the Hospital and Charitabe Aidßoard, which were doing , .imp<rfcant' public work, with,a direct a/ect, upon the burdens to be borne b : .':the.'commiin- ' ■ '■^■ / ■'-•■ '".' ,-':' The last speaker wasMr..'j!;fX Shorland, who urged of at-, tention .to the milk'supply and the improvement of thejfater.siipply. .*He said that he would.ie.in favour of scouring expert opinifii befor^.'any heavy expenditure was undertaken in connection with the O'ohgqrongo scheme.' He thought thatxhe city's fish supply might. be improved, materially without, any heavy expeiditure. I The council certainly should face the'question and. effect some chaigeß of-tlie kind requir■ed by the pecple.- Hi> thought that the council to talje np the h'ous- . - ing question *s soon _as it was able to , .Beoure iiom the Legislature. -■-.-'/>.; :■-•