MAYORAL ELECTION.

Franklin Times, Volume 9, Issue 605, 4 February 1921, Page 7

MAYORAL ELECTION.

(To the Editor)

Sir, —As the municipal elections draw closer it is always the same; men use all sorts of excuses to try and show the weakness of those that are carrying oh public work. Personally,. I do not mind the man on the street saying all sorts of nasty things. It shows, at least that; I must have been doing something or they would have nothing to pull to pieces. What I do object to is men like the president of the Chamber of Commerce trying to make political capital out of a cunningly devised plan adopted by him. Any of your x’eaders who read the report of the Chamber of Commerce meeting would quite naturally think I had failed in courtesy to Mir Webster in not replying to his letter sent to me from Helensville. The facts are these:— Mr Webster did write to me (a private note) but did not forward a copy of the paper, as stated in your report. I got a copy of the paper referred to, an Observer,. Your pre-

sident stated in that letter that he would be in Pukekohe in a few days. Thus the reason for my not replying to his private note. When Mr. Webster came to see me about the matter, I told him that we were doing our best to secure money. The town clerk had written to several likely money lending institutions, but if he (Mr. Webster) could assist us in any way I would be very pleased to get his assistance. That was the last I heard about the cheap money referred to; and I do not know if the gentleman referred to did anything to assist me; if so I know nothing about it. I know quite well that from now until the end of April we will hear a lot about our faults, no doubt some of which are genuine but mostly only imaginary. I would just like to point out that is the sort of thing that keeps our best men out of public life. 1 believe if a port on honestly thinks ho (an do better than 1 hose in office he should come out and assist or otherwise keep quiet, as these little pin pricks do no good, hut only tend to make a public man more careful with whom he speaks confidentially. I can assure you when 1 was discussing tin* financial posi• lion with Mr Webster I did not expect him to make capital out of our private conversation through the press. C. K. LAWRIE, Mavor of Pukekohe.