The Manawatu Times. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23,1878.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 10, 27 November 1878, Page 2

The Manawatu Times. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23,1878.

T?his. members; of the. t).e^ Cpup.ty. j ; Cospcjl: take, theiir seats, to r d;ay for*, the* first" tirajß, ajjd; ope^ of- their, first a,cts j ; x?ill be. the eleeiion q£ a chairman, to I preside, o^cr. the, deliberations, of : the, Co]aii.e.ii&r.th,e; h.e^t Ijhrepy.'ea.r.''. It is j but ju^ii to, Riippose. that Goujwillora. who, were, eteotedj vpheji ( " the. County, system yra,s T %si; instituicjl,, and have, i^ii-ntemiiPjiedJy. cdntmn^cl niejn r j bers a^lL throttsjh thp fiarsfi scssipn, "^itt possess, superior;' claim? o,Tcrv ijhfiij.lpss. j experienced confrereAi : -tk\w;a.ya -provid- ( in^ that they,, liiive the i)ey^ f ssAry q.uaUft- i ci^ionsi.for.the.ofS^e,. Acting, then] upon ' ; thts. inference, OoiwcUlprs %ovx>pxt, ' j Ltktojj, Isoojp»Tßpw, ands' ;CAj^tt, miy : bp. Ve| aside m m^kin^. a. • chov.e, for althoagh, the, fjr sjh-naiqedL has.done good- servlee.'duf»ji&. .'his' ferjn of- op**e,'" ht?i membership. : Beiihpr,d^te,«! ba,ck fco "tihe, first sjitiflg;. of - ;- --; Coji,nci^ nprvdob^ it r to.tb.e la.sK \fhjte;tbe. : rena^ji.cfer,.-- wffi. tjie.^ceptipn;. pf-C6\ui.-.cfS6feRQ.cKSTB.oTr, vho.; -^qft 3>rcße>!k at : .bu,t .^hijee.' sitt,u?ftfi--ha.T y e. n*>. eiperience. ■ a,t q^ol^e v6r.^fif ; oftthe She H«t, thjß^efpre be ngjrjb^ei d^-n. ! to. Couhci^prs. Mric^Biirt/B, HAtcoajTiß, if»p& \fprirt. 9P, eq,ijiali Jootiiijg. Ip, the ; 1 TOj*^t/^ t oJ-e;i^^riepcpi-tJi!B):8^1e ;bi^e .^b^.^«A^^n\ iKj?, mjes^Qja oft e|ipife3i^y, ifi? feme, i^the\o>d^i':%ri^tep . abpr£» '^c jfee^at' Coiin?]^|(p^ jjf xrt e^ry Viiy, jtli©, ' B^w^ ; «l<sfe^; ;

conduct during his late term of office has been duly recognised and acknowledged by every member of the Council, m addition to which he possesses a calm deliberation, combined with de. termincd firmness, which are both invaluable qualifications m a chairman, while his innate conscientiousness would not allow him to give a judgment, no matter how beneficial to his views, which!in his opinion was not based upon rule, precedent, or equity. Mr Haloombe would fill the office with honor to himself and justice to the Council, but Mr Haloombb's position m the Feilding Corporation necessitates a lengthened absence from the district during the Session of Parliament, and upon that ground it would be inadvisable that he should be chosen as Chairman. Next comes Councillor Gower, and although we have every respect for, and a high opinion of, that gentleman's integrity, we think ho is scarcely made of the stuff to fit him for a Chairman, Councillor Goweb is indecision itself, and Councillor Gowbe is accredited with an inclination to bo verbose— 'two qualifications which would totally unfit the possessor for the position of Chairman. The last name to be considered is that of Councillor Sanson, and we take it that even by his own utterance he would be the wrong man to be president of the Council. In a recent speech Councillor Sanson acknowledged that a sense of his own unfitness, and a high estimate of the late ChairiUan, had weighed irith him m refusing the offer of the vacant chair on a former occasion, and we feel convinced that with Councillor Macabthub m the field, his modesty will a second time prevail, and he will not allow himself to be nominated. Weighing, then, all these considerations, there can be no doubt that the choice of the majority will fail upon the senior member for Manchester Hiding, and he it will be who will be called upon to preside over the Council for the next three years—^a choice* which we have little doubt, will be hearty,y endorsed by the electors from one end of the County to the other. It is just possible that after the settlement of the chairmanship, the locale of the future ofi\ce will crop up, and here we must pay a deserved meod of praise to the members for Awahou, Oroua, and Kawa I£awa Kid ings for their forbearance m not pressing the matter at the. ]#st sitting. The question, of the expenditure of three hundred pounds upon permanent offices m Foxton was brought up» and with a commendable. copsideraLiion and discretion withdrawn, to. be decided by the new member.su %t wa^ and has been aljfe through, the opinion of m,osfc people, a^ad not a few of the Councill-or«, that a mistake waa made at the outset m making Foxton, the county town. More than one Councillor has stated so. i publicly,, a,nd consequently if; it be a4- --; mitted that a e-rror was made, there is no. earthly reason why it should be perpotuated. We have no dp^bt the question of the removal of the County offtces to- Palmerston will come up for discussion, and if so we trust to see it argued m a c^tm, fair^ impartial spirit, such as the action of the Southern niejnbers. deserve.. Palmei'ston, from its • position, vx the County is- decidedly the most central place of meeting, from which Councillors; wcg.ld be able to have along day of- meeting, and return, to their homes at night, instead of at present breaking i,ai;o t^-p days.. From Foxton to, tl«.e northern boundary of the Coutxty. is. forty-four miles, whil-c Palmers.ton ia exactly Midway between the two, beside T>,e««g more accessible to : Sanspn, tli^n, thaj; township, is ito Foxton. But it is, upt only m the matter of convenien.eing County Gounciliors that Pa.lnierston possesses, advnatages. As the. centi?^. of the. County i.t is within easy h,aii of- coaiira,etor^,. aind- all these having business with the County offices. The greatest objection which could be u,rged against its. removaj. — '.that of bein-g a borough^— is certai»ly one which should have the strongest weight m its, fiivop. We. knpw that tl'io. |iir^vate opi«n.WßS of ; Bw'si of the ' members of t^e Couocil are decidedly m fjavor. of Palmers.ton, but of course private, opinions, an.d political actions do not always run iv the. same, grooxe. To ' ewt- own knowledge frye out of the nine CouHoiliors have before now expressed themselves m favor of Palmer^ ' ton, still it is more than likely that when it comes, to a question of "yes" or "no," they will not be.found on the same side.