A WORDY BATTLE

Hokitika Guardian, 17 May 1932, Page 7

A WORDY BATTLE

MAYOR. A'Nl> county chairman

OVER CEMETERY dispute,

MASTERION, May n. A reply to a statement made 'by the mayor of Masterton (Mr T. Jordan) at a meetong of the Borough Council jegaiding the l Masterton County Council’s contribution toward the upkeep of the Masterton cemetery was macro by the chairman of the County Council, Mr W. I. Armstrong, at the monthly meeting of the council yesterday afternoon-

Mr Armstrong referred particularly to the. remarks regarding members of the County Council, allegedly passed by the mayor. Mir Jordan wa® reported to have stated that he was unable to understand the mentality of a body of public men who would not contribute towards the cost of burying their ’dead. Mr Jordan • should have explained, said Mr Armstrong, the mentality of the Borough Council, w;hioh, isince the year 1926 27 had contributed only £IOO. Mr Armstrong went on to give in detail a comparison of the contributions made by the two councils. He stated that since 1926-27 the county’s contribution to the total subscription of local auhorities had been in the proportion of 30 to 130. This was approximately the proportion of the county’s population to . the gross population of the borough and/ county—namely, 3,000 to 12,000. Mr Armstrong also declared that the cemetery account had shown a profit and no contribution bad been necessary from neither body since 1927. If Mr Jordan had taken the trouble to examine the borough cemetery account, the county chairman continued, lie would have seen that the borough council had been running the cemetery at a considerable profit, and that his complaints of the county’s failure to subsidise these profits was “unblushing mendicancy.’’ It made him wonder, and lie wag sure councillors would feel likewise, 1} whether the mayor of Masterton was sincere in his statements, whjch he was reported to have made from time to time, regarding the. working together of town and country. Other members of the council endorsed their chairman’s remarks, Replying to the statements made at tile Council meeting, the Mayor, Mr T. Jordan, stated to-day that since 1924 the Borough Council had paid £4OO into the cemetery account in order to make up the deficiency in the working of the cemetery. I n that period the sum of £3O had been received from the County Council. The population of the borough wa K 8600 and of the county 3670. Could; it be said, then, that, they had paid their fair proportion Mr Jordan said that he did not wish to make a long statement on the matter, but lie did wish to make it clear that it was due to the borough’s contribution of £4OO that the cemetery account wa® in credit.