RANDOM REMARKS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 594, 16 August 1913, Page 2

RANDOM REMARKS.

By Onlooker

It has always seemed to mo that such an august body as the Borough Council should be entirely beyond the flippant criticism of an ordinary scribe, and the introduction of humour into a council meeting is an offence which should be visited with condign punishment. Some people are not worthy of the position of councillor. being devoid of that sen3B of decorum, and a befitting dignity which should always clothe the gatherings of outcity elders. However, this is a progressive age, and much as the circumstance is to be deplored, the fact can not longer be concealed that the utterances of our chosen councillors are not always devoid of humour. Still in justice it must be said no harm is meant, and the humour is for the most part ur.eoriscious. Possibly it was stricken senseless by the previous Mayor and Council; perhaps it merely fainted from mal-nutrition after a course of land agent jokes. A certain councillor who shall be nameless is possessed of the gift of oratory to a high degree. Like most orators of conspicuous ability his metaphor is crawn from a wide field and when his rhetoric soars to the height of the purple hills his language is apt to take the hill colouring. This feature naturally lends interest to the speeches.and the silence of expectancy always greets the orator when he rises to speak. Combined with the gift of oratory the councillor in question possesses a keen sense of decorum, and his advo cacy of any question is always on true altruistic line?. That the language sometimes contradicts the spirit 33 one of the alllictions to which suffering humanity is heir. In denouncing the language used by person? in the le Kuiti streets the councillor was at his best. When the laughter had subsided he was heard to enquire what the the joke was? A letter concerning a certain road was heing considered at a meeting when a councillor was asked what he thought about the matter. "What road'is it?" he asked. The Miyor: "It's your road.'' "A very necessary work, then,"' said the councillor; "it should be done at once." "What's wrong with it. by the way?" he in quired. This must be considered a good effort for a Scotsman, and he is evidently destined to go far as a politician. This is the age of the opportunist, and the man who can get a strangle hold on such a slender thread as was offered lacks little in the | equipment necessary for public life. . Some councils are notable for one thing: some for nothing, but the local council has many distinguishing and commendable features to recommend it. Even the fact that the poles which should fie carryis.g the electric current to the centre of buzzing industry known as Te Kumi quarry were reported to be somewhere in the Hauraki Gulf failed to raise a ripple on the calm serenity of the gathering. What purpose the poles were serving in the gulf seemed to have no interest tor the councillors, and when the Mayor gently explained that the poles were said to be on the rail for f e Kuiti two months ago. the statement was calmly accepted without comment. It certainly s?emsas though a tragedy has occurred. How ! those poles could have travelled from rail to gulf without doing violence to natural law is a matter worthy of explanation. Personally I have a dark suspicion that the poles were being brought from an infected district, and were ordered back by the Mayor until he had received his commiss on as public|vaccinator. Now that the appointment has been made the poles will probably be rescued from the gulf, and be sent along for vecination. Not only for dignified restraint and high-class debate is the local council notable. The desire for hustle evinced by councillor; should be an abiding joy to the ratepayers, and though the crusher has not been erected within a fortnight of the promised time we all know the fault lies not With the councillors. Crushers are usually supposed to be instruments of utility, and highly necessary adjuncts to progress, in municipal matters. The local crusher can be regarded by some as an instrument of torture; by others as an object of admiration, while a stray citizen may be found who will regard it as a pure and unadulterated joke. Possibly, as humour becomes missable in the council members will come to throw a tolerant eye en the machine, and that will be fatal to its utility. A crusher to a council should be nothing but a stern and immutable fact, and be treated as such. In the past the weakness has been to regard it as a toy.