MAYORS INSTALLED

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3069, 3 May 1917, Page 7

MAYORS INSTALLED

CITY AFFAIRS REVIEWED

! A MAYORAL. LUNCHEON

The members of tho newly-elected (Wellington City Council and a few interested citizens attended at tho City' Council Chamber at noon yesterday on the occasion of tho installation of Mr. John P. Luke as Mayor of Wellington for the ensuing two years. Tbo proceedings were opened by tho election jOf Mr. W. H. P. Barber-to the chair. [The deputy-town olerk (Mr,, Robert p'ait) then- read the declarat-iou from Sfcho chief turning officer (Mr. James lAtaes) 'officially announcing the fifteen (candidates. w|io ..headed the poll as (duly elected. Tho clerk then introduced the Mayor (Sir. Luke), who appeared in Ins robe and chain of office. |- After .Mr. Luke hadl signed tho declaration,. Counoillor Barber, from bis "(place at tho coiuir.iltable, on behnlf of (members of the council, congratulated (Mr. Luko on his return as Mayor of ftho City of Wellington. The fact that ! }h® had been returned unopposed for Another term was ail honour no deserved. If he were spared to see out the jterm for which he had been elected he (would havo established a-record, as, Jbo far, no single individual had been playor of Wellington for six. years. ■ fl'hn tirer* during which Mr. Luke had (Occupied ,the Mayoral chair had been a. wery ( strenuous one, and much work {that, 'was outside the ordinary dutiss ■»f a. Mayor he had been called upon to (Undortake. This he had carried l out.

ftvith .readiness and ability that not only, [reflected • credit- oh himself, hut. on the councillors, and on tho citizens. He poped that the Mayor would bo spared Ro carry on the work, and that his [health would enable him to hear the {responsibilities of. tho duties ho was

bontinuing. He would not bo doing his {duty if lie did not mention the splendid work, done by Mrs. Luke. Ho shoped that she would be spared to {perform th«.onerous duties which hadl [devolved upon her. He congratulated fcer on the, work she. had carried out, which not only conferred a benefit on ifclje city and New.Zealand. hut was of considerable benefit to tlie. Empire. Mothers- elseivhero in New Zealand jsrho had boys iii camp always felt an added security in", the influence they knew Mrs. Luke exerted on their he-

jbilf. : Mr. Barber said that, he hoped (that pcace .would bo declared during •Mr.. Luke's term of office, and , that Ojo would be. given the opportunity 0 f (carrying oiit those improvements to st-ho city , which the Mpyor was so desirtous to sco completed, some of which Sn-ero inaugurated iii his previous terms tof office. Finally ho congratulated 1 tho fiMaydf once more, and wished him and who ' Mayoress tlio' of. health and {prosperity. ' r Councillor George Frost added bis teongratulatiohs to hotli the Mayor and mayoress. The, return of the Mayor fand so many of the old council showed Sthat the public had confidence iii them End approved of their aotioris- Hothojped that the Mayor's term of offico [would he a pleasant one. Ho hoped (that; during tho term tho great war Swould. comd to an end, and_ things twould right themselves sufficiently to nsnahle tho council to adopt a more policy than they had been rablo to pursue during the past three (years. . , T Councillor 1. A. Wright, supporting (Councillors Barber dnd. Frost, stated jthat they had their little troubles at Jtmies— thoy were only family squabbles [—but they had enabled him to realise {that Mr. Luke was an exceedingly {strong man.. v.Ho would'like to [public testimony, to the fact that no [matter how thoy might differ in opinion &he -Mayor never bore malice, and that [after their little squabbles—in which (Councillors Barber and Frost took a (lively hand—ho' was always ready to [shake hands and forgot all aboiit them. jHe expressed the hopo that tho Mayor ywould "havo as. satisfaotory_ a term of toffice as tho ono which had just passed. The .Mayor's Speech. The Mayor thanked tho ■ councillors lor their kind congratulations. Ho was tot insensible of tho responsibilities he _ as undertaking: In hcing returned ifor another' two years'- tcrm of offico lie (had' to faco the criticism of the public generally, usually given in'the. best of (spirit: Ho was not at all uiimiridful »f the" wisdom in the saying that after ki man had been in offico for a time

lie should shift out and mako room for another, but when an influential and representative deputation had called to w*> liiin, ho had informed thorn that ho could not sco his \vny to divest himself of office, unless it was at tho dearly-expressed wish of the people, and at this timo ho had no mom right, to givo up worlc than tlio boys at tho front. So ho had insisted on pla.ving his part. (Hear, hear.) Ho wished to say that ho hud been considerably helped by Mrs. Luke, and a good wife, was mi asset to a Mayor, and a. (front foroo in helping on tlio work of the city. After tho election thoy could n °t hotter than lot their mind's rest on 1 he hoys who had left tho corporation service. Men to tho number of 152 had left tho staff and goiw to tho front., and of that number twclv'o had linido tho supremo sacrifice, and seventeen had boon wounded. 'I'o tho parents and friends of tho fallen they could only say' that, their boys had met, a noble death, going down in tho strugglo that wns to bring'about a .succcssful pence which would be in tbo best interests of tho world generally. . To those, who worn wounded they wished a speedy return to health, and to their places on tho staff. 'I'lin Mayor congratulated the old councillors who bjd been returned. Tho only one not returned wtifc Ml'. 'J'. Bush, who had performed his duties in a splendid spirit. In .tho fortunes of war lie had been put aside, but thoy all hoped that bo would come again. (Applause.) Ho welcomed tho three uew councillors, believing that they woiild ably and honestly represent tho peoplo who had returned t.hem. Tlio Mayor then gave a resume of tho city's financial position, pointing out that thov finished up tho general account with £24,000 to credit, an amount that [ would havo been £3400 more had they mado claim on tbo Government in ro,spcct to Williams Park (at Day's Buy), and more, still had the repayments for money expended on the Hjitt Road been made. Notwithstanding the strain there had been progress on all sides. He referred to the system ho had introduced of .giving a monthly statement of receipts and expenditure under all heads to the councillors. By that means every councillor know how much money was being spent monthly out. of the estimated amoiuit for the year—they were taken into confidence. Tho system had obviated the need, for asking a lot of questions at council meetings. . Clly Works. About .the work of tho city,, thcro was not much to say, as they had been marking time. Referring to tbo lift for Wellington Torrace, the -Mayor said that' he wa3 sure the peoplo would never bc-grudge tho people of the Terrace this improvement. Plans had been prepared and sent Home, and they had received word that the work was similar to somo ill tho Old Country, and tho plant would ho forwarded as soon as tho. war jiormitted their getting a. firm quotation. In mentioning the improvements at Clyde Quay and Oriental Bay, tho Mayor referred to tho great difficulty in getting ordinary workmen as well as material. They recently had to stop altogether on tho work in Blair Street (which is being paved in concrete) because they could not get tho gravel owing to the "scarcity of labour. Not only were such works being affected, but tho ordinary services ot-the city wero suffering owing to the disabilities of war. Respecting tlio Basin Reserve, Parliament had turned down what they had termed the major scheme, and they had gone on with the minor scheme, which would he a great improvement to the Reserve. As to work in tlies outlying districts, ho could assure the peoplo concerned that more money was spent in those districts than came out of them in rates. Since tho change from tho ward system cam© about in 1899< there wa's no sectional expenditure, and the condition of tho streets compared very favourably with the inner portions of tho city, and more than favourably with the outlying districts of other largo cities in Australasia. Bath houses had •been erected at Kilbirnie, Balina Bay, Lyall Bay, and Island Bay. These contributed to the health of the commun-,'! ity, and bathing as a- recreation should be encouraged. At Central Park, the fountain presented by the , Messrs. Blun3ell had been built in, and was a handsome feature. Mention was also' made of the Botanical Gardens, the miuiicipal golf course, tho Zoo, Williams Park, the new chairs at the Town Hall, tho water supply, electric light, tho milk supply, the Hutt Road, and the Thorndon Baths, to give an idea ofHhe many interests involved in city management. lii conclusion, the Mayor expressed: his thanks to the councillors for the good work done in the past, and to the officers and employees of the corporation for tho spirit in which they had

worked for the advancement of the oily and the interests of its people. Mayor Gives a Lunchoon. At tho conclusion of the meeting tho Mayor entertained the councillors and beads of departments at. luncheon at the Royal Oak Hotel. Tbe.ro was only oiio arranged' toast. —"Tbo King" —which was drunk with musical honours. Mi'. M. F. Luckio, in an appropriate Speech, proposed the. health of tho Mayor, and in doing so referred to the fino work Mr. Luke had done as Mayor and as a patriotic citizen, and iilso to tho good fooling-which existed between their host and tho members of the council, which ho hoped would bo maintained. The Mayor responded suitably. After luncheon a pleasant half-hour was. spent over tho cigars, when speeches of congratulation, moro or less iu lighter vein, weTe. inhdo hy tho Mayor, several councillors, and tbo city engineer (Mr. W. H. Morton). Council Commlttcos Sot. Up. As is the usual custom, the Mayor (Mr. .I'. P.. Luke) presented a. list of the committees of tho City Council, after his installation yesterday, and asked tho council t.o accept thom in globo if possiblo: It them were changes that could he made to suit they could bo mado beforo tho next meeting of tho council by tlio mutual consent of the parties concorncd. ■ Councillor Ifildrcth said that ho noticed that. Councillors Bejinott, Lucliie, and himself had been given an extra committer The question was would they have the time to attend to them all- ' ' Councillor J. 15- Fitzgerald saw ho appreciated tho expressions of tho Mayor about the outlying'districts, and .ho 'hoped that tho Greater Wellington Association would take them to. heart. It tvoiild, he hoped, removo the impression that certain portions of the outlying districts were favoured. Be testified to the excellent work which had been done by Councillor Thompson on tho Outlying' Districts Committee, and hoped his services "would nofnTn lost to that committee. Councillor M'Kenzie said he was sorry lo see tho name of .Councillor Veitcli was not, included in the Outlying Districts Committee. Ho pi rsonally had been taken off the By-Laws Committee, in the work-of which ho was interested, and placed upon the Libraries Committee, about which ho knew-nothing. . . ... • . • Councillor W. H. Bennett said that, lie hoped that cither Councillor Thompson or Councillor Voitch ' ' would replace him .on the Outlying Districts Committee. His soil, on whom he had relied to a considerable extent, had gone, into cainp, and ho would not havo so milch leisure as formerly, wlioroas both Councillors Thompson and Voitch were men of leisure.

Tho Mayor's draft was agreed to provisionally- This provided for tho following personnel of committees:— Financo and Property.—Mayor,- and tho chairmen of tho various committees.

-Power Stations and Tramways Committee. —Councillors W. H. P. Barber, J. E. Fitzgerald, G. Frost, J. Godber R. A. Wright, and W. J. Thompson. Leaseholds and Legislation.—Councillors A. R. Atkinson, John Castlo, W Hildreth, M. F. Luckie, C. 8.-Nor-wood, and A. Voitch. Public Health. —Councillors A.. 11 Atkinson, W. H. Bennett, J. Castle, J. 13. Fitzgerald, J. Godbcr, J. 0. Shorland, and R. A. Wright. Baths, Libraries, and Bcaches.— Councillors A. R. Atkinson, AV. H. Bennett, J. Castlq, W. Hildroth, M. F. Luclao, L. M'KcriziOj and J. 0. Shorland. Resotves and Public Gardens. —Councillors W. 11. P. Barber, G. Frost, M. F. Luckie, L. M'Kenzie, W. J. Thompson, A. Vcitcli, and R. A. Wright. By-La.ws, Firo Brigade, and Street Lighting.—-Councillors W. H. P. Barber, W. H. Bennett, W. Hildreth, M. F. Luckio, C. B. Norwood, W. J. Thompson, and A. Veitch. Outlying Districts. —Councillors W. .11. Bennett, J. 13.' : Fitzgerald, G. Frost, W. Hildreth, L. M'Kenzie, C. B. Norwood, and J. 0. Shorland.