LOCAL ELECTIONS

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLV, Issue 120, 23 April 1925, Page 2

LOCAL ELECTIONS

CANDIDATES’ ADDRESSES. MR F. W. HUBBARD’S VIEWS. A number of candidates for municipal honours addressed electors in various sections of the town last evening. A somewhat small attendance greeted Mr F. W. Hubbard at the Coronation Hall, Terraco End. Mr S. H. Snell presided.

The chairman, in introducing: the speaker, apologised for the apathy of the residents of Terrace End in civic affairs as evidenced by the attendance, If, he said, the people took so little interest in the elections they could not cavil at the actions of the council when elected. The candidate said that ho had lived in the district for a good many years, and that he had acquired a fair . amount of property in the borough. Ho desired to see the borough land increase in value without excessive taxation, for he thought that at present the rates were not being used to the best advantage. “There is not enough consideration given to large borough schemes before they are undertaken," ho said. Dealing with the watersupply, he stated that there should be better provision for cleaning the reservoir or for seeing that the filters were efficient, and he would look to that if returned. The water pressure and supply were not so bad as was generally believed, but there should be a steel aqueduct across the river on the upper side of the Fitzherbert bridge, which structure, together with the sole supply line which it carried; might be damaged at any time by an “old man flood.” Borough drainage and sewerage were fairly satisfactory. Tar-surfaced streets were essential, but, he thought, they should not be laid down in so expensive a manner as at present. “All the bus routes should be tarred at once,” he declared, “for you get a cloud of dust every time you get off a bus.” The municipal buses, he added, were too heavy and uneconomical, and a lighter class of vehicle, cheaper to run, was required. Further, the present buses had only ono entrance, and if they caught fire when loaded a disaster might occur. An emergency door at tho rear, opening only from the inside, would meet the position. That would not necessitate a conductor.

The speaker had been surprised to see that the .Gorge Board of Control was short of funds, which were largely supplied by adjacent local bodies. The work should, he thought, be a national undertaking, for it served places much further afield and the undertaking should be completed out of the consolidated fund. “I cannot give the council much credit for the state of the footpaths,” he continued. “They have done a iot of socalled ‘beautifying’ work and let the essentials go. They ill repair the pavements after a sewer or gas service has been put in.” He deprecated the practice of leaving grass strips along street frontages, because they were not uniformly kept in order. An eight-foiot pathway should be wide enough and would save reducing the road width, while cycle tracks should be more liberally provided instead of as at present catering purely for the motorist. Mr Hubbard voiced an advocacy for stricter supervision of traffic* stating that a maximum speed of 15 miles an hour should be recognised. Mr Hubbard then alluded to the negotiations between - the council and the Power Board, stating that, if the cost of, power from Mangahao was going to be about the samo as the cost of manufacture by the borough plapt, the latter should be kept running rather than leave it idle. If it was much cheaper from Mangahao, they should close up the station at once. He deprecated the council’s failure to see in the first place that there were ample-sized gus mains from the new gas works. “The price of gas and coke should be reduced to a minimum,” he commented when concluding his remarks in this connection. He deemed the abattoirs efficient.

Continuing, he expressed the opinion that at present the council need not spend much money on reserves of which there were ample for some years to come. In conclusion, he stated: “If I am returned to the council I will keep a careful watch on expenditure. The town has got to the stage when economy must be practised and there should be no need to raise the rates for the next few years.” Questions w r ere invited, but none were asked, and on the "motion of Mr P. Duncalf the speaker was accorded a vote of thanks, carried by acclamation.

CRITICISM OF COUNCIL.

BY MR JORGENSEN, Mr A. O. Jorgensen, also a candidate for municipal honours, opened his campaign in the Municipal Hall last evening, when he 6poke to about 30 people. Mr A. D. Campbell presided. At the outset Mr Jorgensen stated that he did not have any axe to grind in standing for the council, but was merely placing at the disposal of tho ratepayers his knowledge of Palmerston North over a period of 14 years’ residence, tho last seven or eight of which had been spent as a ratepayer. He represented no faction, ticket or party, and his object in putting himself forward for election was to help to the best of his ability the conducting of the business of Palmerston North.

While he appreciated the satisfactory balance shown by the present council over the past yeaj - , he considered some of the figures misleading. The Mayor, in a statement made recently, had dotailed the general account as standing at £2300 in credit. A balance like that might show economical working, but it meant that the town had been deprived of some works to which it was justly entitled. The speaker protested against such balances when loan moneys could be utilised to the ratepayers’ advantage. The ratepayers had recently rejected the whole of soven loan proposals placed before them, although . many of .the works were recognised as being necessary, thereby showing that they had' no confidence in the council. Prior to that poll the Mayor had stated that Palmerston North was the lowest rated town in the Dominion. However, the speaker’s rates had increased 50 per cent, during the last five years, and if this state of affairs continued Palmerston North would soon become the highest rated town in the Dominion.

ill referring to the engineering department of the borough, Mr 'Jorgensen stated that he was at a disadvantage in getting information, and had to depend more on his own observations. However, figures which ho had secured from the town clerk the fact that during I lie year 1919 to 1920 115218 had been spent on tho upkeep of roads and streets, while for the financial year just closed 117389 had been spent for such purposes, an increase of 41.6 per cent. In tho year first quoted 55 hands had been employed, while last year tho number had gone up to 97. Salaries had increased during the live years quoted from 111025 to 111972, an increase of 92.4 per cent. When these increases were considered in proportion t<o the results achieved, ho thought it logical to assume that a considerable sum had been wasted in overhead expenses. In the figures that he had quoted could ho found some reason why the rates had increased so much in the last, five years. If returned, the speaker would see to it that there was a general stock-taking in that department. Mr Jorgensen directed criticism at the work on the Hokowhitu lagoon, stating that the loan of £IOOO should not have been raised, as they might as well try to drain the river itself. In referring to the tar-seaiing of thoroughfares, the speaker stated that he had seen several streets prepared and the completion delayed, with adverse results. He objected to the recent decision of tho Borough Council to supply water to the Railway Department, as he could not see how the borough could afford to sell water at the .rate of Is per 1000 gallons when many quarters of tho town were at prosent short of supply—particularly in the vicinity of tho hospital. If returned to the council, he would see that the people who were at present short would not bo inconvenienced any more. Turning to setverago matters, the speaker stated that some time ago the surn of £2OOO had bona spent qu an outfall

sower from the septic tank. The work, alleged the speaker, was one of tho blunders of the council. If this was the class of undertaking that predominated in tho general sewerage policy of the council, tho ratepayers required a change. If returned, the speaker would see that all ratepayers got a fair deal. In conclusion, he deplored the leasing of the Opera House buildings to a private company, asserting that it was wrong that the only hall which belonged to the ratepayers should be let and the people made dependent on the goodwill and convenience of an outside private company.

Mr Jorgensen was accorded a vote of thanks.

LABOUR ADDRESSES. The Labour candidates for the council spoke in Feathorston street last night. In dealing with their platform each speaker stressed the fact that in municipal enterprises the main consideration should be for service on the one hand and impartiality on the other. At the conclusion questions were asked and answered.