THE GLOBE. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1880. THE RETIRING MAYOR.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 2125, 15 December 1880, Page 2

THE GLOBE. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1880. THE RETIRING MAYOR.

“ The King is dead. Long live the King! ” Our late municipal king, Mr. Ick, expired officially to-day, and Mr. Gapes now reigns in his stead. We cannot allow the occasion to pass without congratulating Mr. Gapes upon his second election to the office of Chief Magistrate of this important City—an honour of which any man might well he proud. That Mr. Gapes will fill the offiee in a creditable manner we have every confidence, and, when the time arrives for him to place the Mayoral chain on his successor’s neck, wo are satisfied that, whoever his successor may he, the gentleman will have no cause to regret having had to follow Mr. Gapes. The experience gained by Mr. Gapes during the term of his previous Mayoralty will no doubt prove of great value to him, and should enable him to avoid taking any course which might bring him in any degree into conflict with his Councillors. And that he will receive the greatest amount of courtesy and assistance possible at the hands of the gentlemen who now hold the positions of City Councillors, no one can for one moment doubt. No matter which way their opionions lay during the late contest for the Mayoralty, now that the fight has been lost and won it is a matter of absolute certainty to us that all the Councillors will treat the elect of the people with respect and deference, and unite in one common desire to carry on the business in a way that will reflect credit on the City and lasting honor upon themselves.

We cannot allow the retiring Mayor to pass into the “cooler shades of respectability” without expressing our high

appreciation of the way in which he has, for the past two years, filled the office of Chief Magistrate of this City.; Daring that time many questions of an unusually trying character have had {to he dealt with, causing an amount of care and responsibility to fall upon the shoulders of his Worship which few, if any, of his predecessors ever experienced. Elected at a time when matters Municipal were in a very unsatisfactory condition, consequent upon the conduct of some of the Councillors being such as Christchurch never knew before—and wo trust never will again—Mr Ick, by firmness and tact, steered the Municipal ship so skilfully as to gain for himself the approbation of a large majority of the Burgesses. The result was a requisition to him that he would consent to allow himself to be nominated for the Mayoral office a second year, and in the face of very determined opposition by two other candidates he was elected by a large majority. Nor have the citizens had any cause to regret the bestowal of their confidence in Mr. Ick for the second time. When the Ward system came into operation an almost entirely new Council was elected, composed of very different materials to its predecessor. Then, when associated with gentlemen of ability and business habits, the fitness of the Mayor for the discharge of the duties of his important office became still more conspicuous. Punctual in his attendance, prompt to act on an emergency, firm in his rulings, and always the perfection of urbanity in his intercourse with his Councillors and the officers of the Council, we venture to affirm that he will carry with him into his retirement the hearty good will and esteem of those with whom he has been officially connected. But, although for a time Mr Ick’s services will be lost to the ratepayers, it does not follow that he should not, at some future time, again take part in the conduct of public affairs. After some eight or nine years of Municipal drudgery, we do not begrudge him his well earned holiday. Any gentleman who has filled the office of Councillor for six or seven years consecutively, and after that two years as Mayor, as Mr. Ick has done, is clearly entitled to retire upon his laurels. We hope, however, that Mr. Ick will not do so permanently, hut that before long we shall again find him occupying some prominent place amongst ns, and that upon his final retirement we may he able to congratulate him, and express our own regret, as heartily as we do npon this occasion.