THE KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. Saturday, May 7, 1910 THE BOROUGH ELECTIONS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 257, 7 May 1910, Page 2

THE KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. Saturday, May 7, 1910 THE BOROUGH ELECTIONS.

|| The result of the first Borough eleciftions in Te Kuiti will be hailed with by all who have interested; in the issue, both pakeha Band Maori alike. The return of Mrj IPjames Boddie with a substantia] ma-j ||!jority over the three other candidates, ||is a tribute to the energy and ability [Suf one of our leading citizens, and Sgcannot but have an influence of great Blfuture value to the town and its welIlfare. In the Council we have a representative body of men, who will, we Bfirmly believe, carry out their duties Ifwith zeal and conviction. Mr Pepene ||Eketone is an admirable representa- \ Btive of- the Natives in the Borough, I Hand his assistance will be valued when questions affecting Maori arise. Mr E. H. Hardy, too, gwho headed the poll, will sympatheti|fcally represent native interests as well I as pakeha. Mr Boddie's election to I the Council involves an extraordinary j I election. Major Luslc is an old and | 1 tried representative, whose addition to | I the list of Councillors as a consequence | I of the re-count, will be welcomed by ? I all who know him. Of the remaining! it may be said they are all | Ifipen of character and capacity in | ilifferent walks of life, and are calcullated to bring to the Council table jjimuch valuable experience. Many of

|our Councillors are new to I life and work, but enthusiasm for pi'o-|| 1 gress will cover an infinite lack of|| I previous experience. To the I we offer our condolences and congratu- I llations: Condolences, because they | | were not all elected; congratulations, I I because they escape the worry, an- | 1 xeity and responsibility attached to | 1 the office they aspired to fill. But all, | | whether successful or unsuccessful, we | | congratulate on the orderly, friendly® I spirit in which the contest has beenH | conducted. It is an object lesson toH S many other arid older communities. ra 1 OUR WATERWAYS. I I The proposed deepening of the® | Waipa river above Pirongia will haveH I the gseate-it possible interest and value® Ito dwellers in Waitonio County. It is® wbut another step in the revival of& jgour inland waterways, and it may lead® ffllo a return of the old, old methods of| gconveying heavy freights from theß SKing Country to Auckland. The | ■younger generation —Maori and pakeha | Halike —scarcely realises what immense | ggpossibilities are contained in cheap | Mwater carriage. We have to go back | Hnearly to the middle of last century—| ||lSsß or 1859 —to find the streams and 1 Hrivers in this island used as they | fishould be. The railway has not al-jj Hways been a blessing. It gave us | Bquicker means of communication, but jj Hit choked off the traffic on our rivers. f Bin the fifties the Natives were carry-1 King cargoes of wheat from within ajj Hcouple of miles of Te Kuiti by water ? iWto the Manukau with the exception of j ■four miles of land transit between the | Bwaikato and the other side of the S Bisthmus. Why should we not have | ■Bsuch facilities to-day? The Waitomojj ■County Council is doing its best to* fflclear the Mangaokewa stream from! Bvvillows, and a grant of an additional I was made by Government only § Bthe other day for that purpose. It is| Hessential that our streams should beg Bcleared of willows if they are to be | ■Bused, and if the surrounding land is to| 'Bbe freed from floods. We shall follow | Bthe valuable work being done with theij jßgreatest interest. jj