CORRESPONDENCE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 2042, 16 October 1919, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

(To the Editor.) Sir. —I read in your issue of Tuesday last that the Council had granted Cr. Hannah three months’ leave of absence. Now, what I want to know is, hoy can Cr. Hannah any (onger hold his seat? for I understand tlpit.a councillor can only be granted leave immediately after election, but in this particular case the councillor Fas'missed all meetings but two since the election six months ago, and has legally forfeited his seat. Further, the three months’ leave granted is, I tinderstand, contrary ,to the Municipal Act. The plea of the Mayor .that by so doing saves a bye-election is wrong, for no public body can now hold one. The procedure adopted is to call on the next highest candidate to fill the vacancy evented. These regulations were gazetted some time ago. Like .your previous correspondent, “Democrat,” I agree that Cr. Hannah’s action in still retaining the seat is very autocratic, and contrary to Labour principles. By what right has the Labour Party, or any individual, to deny the right of the people to be represented on the Council. The position is ridiculous, fur. what is to prevent any nine people asking for leave of absence for nine individual councillors) In justice to Mr Hannah, he informed the Lab-, our Parly that he left the matter in their hands when they asked him to stand, which puts that Party in a very awkward position when we remember what reforms and principles they si and for. Take, for instance, the time they circulated petitions asking for a general election, as they said the present Government had no right to extend its political life,- and that they did ifoTrcpresont the people and, locally, take their action when they got their teeth in the “German piano” on patriotic grounds, and asked the late chairman of the School Committee to resign for standing up for a, principle, winch is one of Labour s fundamentals. And yet we have the sorry spectacle of the Labour Parly’s representative, with the Party s connivance, bolding a seat on a public body by leave of absence, depriving a section of ratepayers wbu blindly followed this little coterie ot representation on ’thy Council. In conclusion, 1 may slate that these actions are not favourably viewed bv tin* majority of I he-workers, and the local Labour Parly are not by any moans a sample ol; the broadminded and more inlelleclual section who form the great majority of the N.Z, Labour Party, —1 am, etc., RATEPAYER.