THE MAYORALTY

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 173, 16 April 1919, Page 8

THE MAYORALTY

MR. T. S. WESTON'S CANDIDATURE

THE OPENING ADDRESS

Mr. T. Shailer Weston, a. candidate for the Wellington Mayoralty, addressed a public meeting in Iho Concert Chamber of the Town Hall last night. There was a moderately large attendance. Mr. T. Foi-fyth occupied the chair. The chairman said that. Mr. Weston had resided in Wellington -for the past fifteen years, and had taken a prominent part in many activities. He was a man of wide experience, and had done particularly good work as chairman of tho Repatriation Board. His tact and ability had impressed all the mem'bers of the board, and ho was a man able to fill the Mayoral office with credit to himself and advantage to the city. The office of Mayor should be a rolling one. (Applause.) Monopoly was not desirable, and the time had arrived when a change should be made. It was true that Mr. Weston had not had experience of municipal work. But the same might be said of any new candidate,- and it would fio a sad thing for Wellington if there were only one man competent to fill tho Mayoral chair.

Mr. Weston said that, ho had come forward at the .request, of a large number of friends. • He was New Zealand bom. His grandparents on both sides had come to Nmv Zealand in the early 'fifties, and had faced the hardships of pioneer life. His father bad filled public offices when a younger mail than he was, and if the electors gave him a chance he would do his best to follow in his father's footsteps. He had got his education in the State schools, the secondary schools, and the University. He had specialised in political science. ' lie mentioned those facts because he was in the position of a man applying for a job, and so ought to state his qualification!!. Several objections hail been urged against, him. It had been said that lie was unmarried. That might be a drawback, for a loyal partner in life could bo of great' assistance to a man. But he felt sure that as Mayor of Wellington ho wouiu navu tho. cordial assistance of the patriotic women who had done so much in public and national affairs during recent years. Ho had not had experience in municipal affairs. But many of Wellington's most prominent public men in the past had also started from scratch. The ■ Mayor, moreover, was not the "big boss" of the city. He had fifteen councillors, a- particularly strong permanent staff, and all the records of past work to assist him. The prime duty of a mayor was to coordinate the work of his councillors and staff, and no mayor could do- good work unless he had tho confidence and- support of his fellow-municipal workers. A mayor must be heard of a team, and he must be prepared to accept loyally the decisions of the council, even if those decisions went against him. Mr. Weston mentioned that he was president of the New Zealand Employers' Federation, and referred to industrial problems, as reported in another column. Then some mysterious objection to his candidature had been associated with the welcoming of the Prince of Wales end Lord Jellicoc. There were no serious difficulties to be feared under that heading. He felt that the goal of tho public effort at the present time should bo more humanity, more sincerity, and more efficiency. Men should treat one anotheras they wished themselves to be treated. He would endeavour, if he became Mayor, to act and think with justico to everybody. A politician should aim at truth aud sincerity, regardless of side issues, vested interests and every other consideration. Efficiency was the keynote of success. Mr. Lloyd George had shown what could be done in the national field by making full use of the best expert minds in every branch of effort and industry. A politician could lay down general lines, of action, but ho should use the highest technical advice that was within his reach. That principle should be applied to municipal politics. During the next few years the foundation of Wellington's progress in future years had to be laid. The hydro-electric scheme was one of tho problems to .be faced. Wellington needed more power at once and had to bridge over a period of at least five years that would elapse before the water power became available. Tho existing plant must be extended on lines that would fit in with the larger scheme later. Then the water supply would require to bo extended. The inclusion or the borough of Onslow in the city had made that necessary. Onslow was going to provide space for garden settlements, linrori and Mira'mar would come into the city later, and the city, m framing its new water sc'neme, must look to tne requirements of the next fifty years. He would not pass any opinion on the milk scheme. He had not all the facts before him. But he recognised the importance of making the scheme a success. Upon the success of the scheme depended whether or no the same principle was applied to other nccessarHs of life. He thought it. would be wise, in that connection, that the Government e-hould take power to obtain coal from private mines for sale through the . State coal depots. The cost of production of coal was much the same at all the mines, and it would be a great boon to. the public if more coal were made available at the depots. Referring to tram services, Mr. Weston suggested that tram service should be extended along the waterfront between Cuba Street and Cambridge Terrace, in order to facilitate express trams to the suburbs. Flat rate fares did not appear to him to be a good proposition. Melbourne had abandoned the lint rate for the section system after long experience. The single fare would have to be a high one, since at present the penny fares produced a big share of the revenue. But ho advocated a relative, reduction of fares on the longer lines. He had seen something of the housing problem as chairman of tho Repatriation Board. It was not difficult to get rid of old. insanitary buildings under tho present -law., liuf. the old buildings were sometimes cleaner and better kept than the newer houses, and he felt that there was work for more women inspectors. The Dominion must have, more houses, and private enterprise would not supply them, because building houses to let wiis a poor venture under present conditions. The housing difficulty was rampant throughout the country, and the fole authority capable of dealing.with it was the Government. The Government would have to build houses and meet the loss if there were a loss. The cost of building was not likely to fall materially. Big employers could help by recognising that it was their duty to provide housing for their employees. Experience 'u'j\ shown that this could be vir.ne. and he thought some of Ihe bis firms could- band tocelher with advantage to- build homes. The financial situation did not permit of verv ambitious schemes at the. prestvit time though he would like to see a special effort made to put the Mount Cook site, the most prominent site in tha capital city, to good use. In conclusion, Mr. Weston said he wanted to soe grow, in" up in New Zealand tho same love for the Dominion as the Frenchman had to France. He felt that there was work enough in tho Wellington Mayoralty lor a man without any other public duty, and ho would do his very best, if elected, to do justice to the highest civic office in the capital city. In answer to questions. Mr. Weston said he did not think Wellington compared at nil unfavourably with other cities on sanitary grounds. He hoped that a National Art Gallery would be placed on the Mount Cook site. The basis of a scheme for improving the Lory Street area should lie laid down, jno owners of houses in thai area were not entitled to get more than the actual value of their properties. City Council worker* on«W to get any wage hud down for them by the Arbitration Court. The meeting closed with a vote ol thanks to the chairman. Mr. W. H. P. Barber will speak at the Town Hull to-night at 8 o'clock.