MIRAMAR MAYORALTY. MR. V. R. MEREDITH'S OPENING ADDRESS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXI, Issue 86, 12 April 1911, Page 3

MIRAMAR MAYORALTY. MR. V. R. MEREDITH'S OPENING ADDRESS.

The campaign for the- Miramar Mayoralty was opened last night, when .Mr. V. R. Meredith gave an address at Miramar. Mr. Meredith, in opening, said that as he was unknown to some of the electors he thought it was advisable to make an early start. He stressed tho point that he was an independent candidate. There lia-d been rumours circulated that ho was standing in the interest of certain, people, but to them lie gave an emphatic denial. As to the tram service, ho wished to say that the present method of. handling it wafi not a right one. In running the cars tho majority should be considered, not the individual. The cars to the junction only he did not approve of — they wore aiot of use to anyone, and an alteration was a necessity. The extracharge of Id on Saturdays and holidays should not bs imposed on residents ; holiday-makers should be made to pay, for if there was any loss on the tram service the ratepayers had to make it good. If approached, he was sure the City Council would mako an alteration in the running of cars in the evening, so that borough residents would not be crowded out by one-section travellers, who used the suburban cars. It was impossible to tell from the borough balance-sheet what the financial position of the tram service was. As to th« lighting of the borough, it was disgraceful ; the tram-track- was brilliantly illuminated, but the side streets and back roads were shamefully neglected. There had also been a ghastly waste of money in roading the borough. The necessities of the borough had been starved to meet the interest on loans. Water and drainage should have first been provided for j better a healthy borough than flash footpaths. Referring to 'tlis Kings-road. discuscion. Air. Meredith said that the true position first came to light at the meeting at Seatoun on a recent evening. Itseemed as if only on© eection of the council was fully aware of what was being done. The Legislature had laid down the procedure in the matter of diminishing the width of roads. A resolution to sell the surplus width of Kings-road was- forced through at an ordinary meeting of the council, which rhould not have been done. Some of tho councillors, however, got on the right track and afiked that a valuation of the land should be made, as laid down by law, but this was rejected, hut later reconsidered. The council had accepted the Gas Company's offer of £750 for the land, but found out later that it should have had a valuation made. Now it was in the position of finding a valuer who would set the valuation at the price offered. It was a glorious muddle. If the Gas Company got this extra land, it would put a private road through its property, and would eventually call on the council to take it over aG di public road. The council would get £750 from the • Gas Company, but when it had carried out all the improvements the company would require, and met the expenditure on maintenance, there would not be much of the £750 I left. It was a very profitable proposition for the Gas Company, but not for the council. Mr. Meredith quite agreed with tho policy of tree-planting to beautify the borough, but at present the mor=:y could be better spent in the more populated parts of the borough in improving tho footpaths and roads. The ratepayers also should not be saddled with rate® for the improvement of p&rfe of the borough, which only went to advance the value of land held by syndicates. Referring to the question of Greater Wellington. Mr. Meredith said that he would treat of this matter fully at a later meeting, but he was of the opinion that ultimately the borough must be merged in the city. fBY TELEGBATPH— PHESS ASSOCIATION.} NEW PLYMOUTH, 11th April. I For the past three years every penny of ratee and rent due to the New Plymouth Borough Council has been collected before the end of the financial I year. I The municipal electric light depart- } ment madq a profit for the year of [ £1860, and the earnings from public

and private lighting and power for the year amounted to £4428 Is 7d. TIMARU, illh April. A good deal of interest is being manifested in the municipal elections, and soms feeling ie being shown over a refusal by the returning officer to place a booth near the harbour for the convenience of wharf and store hands. There are about 5000 names on tho roll.