THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY: THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 1871.

Grey River Argus, Volume X, Issue 846, 13 April 1871, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY: THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 1871.

3?rom what we can learn there appears to be an objection amongst the members of tlfe T "Borough Coimcil to vote"any'suiri of money towards defraying the cost of a public reception to his Excellency the Governor. The only step ihat the Council has taken is to invite the co-operation v ol a Committee of the inhabitants in making arrangements for according a suitable reception to the Governor, and that invitation has been responded to. .; /A number of gentlemen, acting with a portion of the Borough Council, as members of the Reception Cdnntuttee, have put themselves to a good deal of trouble and inconvenience, and they are doing their best to make such arrangements as will make the festivities in connection with the, Governor's visit as popular as possible. . Bui it must not be forgotten that, ÜBder

the most economical management, anything in the shape of a public entertainment befitting the occasion, cannot be made entirely Belf-su pporting. Some inconsiderable sum will have to be raised ,iy the public, collectively, and the fairest and most suitable mode of supplying the small extra amount required, is for the Borough Council to vote it out of the Boroughfunds. In every case where the Governor has visited a corporate town, this plan has been followed. In Dunedin, the Corporation voted about £200 towards the expenses of hia Excellency's reception ;.. at Oamaru, the Borough Council defrayed all the cost ; at Timaru, £50 was voted ; and at Hokitika, the Borough Council has sanctioned an expenditure of over £100. Now here, the Borough Council have done nothing, and we are assured that the sum of £50 would place the Reception Committee in a position to make arrangements that would be generally satisfactory to the citizens. The County Council relieve to the town of the cost of the Governor's personal accommodation, and surely the Borough Council cannot object to do its share. The visit of the Governor is not an every day occurrence, a.id we are sure that every resident would desire that her Majesty's representative should receive a hearty and respectful welcome. The Committee, after consulting his Excellency's wishes, have arrived at the conclusion that, a public ball and supper would be the most popular and agreeable demonstration, but the difficulty exists of not being able to make the affair reasonably effective without incurring a greater expense than can be raised by the sale of tickets. If the Committee regulate the price to meet the cost, numbers of the citizens will be excluded from participating in the entertainment. If they issue the tickets at a loss where is the balance to come from? A public subscription for a thing^of this kind would be out of place, and the fairest way of meeting the difficulty is for the Borough Council to vote say £50 to meet any deficiency that may arise. Besides the ball, there will be many outside and incidental expenses which the town as a body should defray, and we are sure that there could be no one so mean as to grudge the small sum mentioned but of the borough funds for a purpose such as the one in question. We trust that the Mayor will at once summon the. Council, and recommend to them the appropriation of a moderate sum. It would be a reproach if the Governor should not receive at least that amount of attention here that he has had cheerfully accorded to hint elsewhere. Andsmely Greymouth can as well afford £50 as Hokitika can £100.