RESIGNATIONS IN E.P.S.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 14 October 1942, Page 3

RESIGNATIONS IN E.P.S.

TELEGRAM TO PRIME MINISTER CIIIIISTC 111 IU II MASS >1 l'.r.Tl N< • Christchurch, Oct. IT A resolution asking the Govcrn- | inent to remove the present system of control of the K.P.S. through regional commissioners was carried j bv a meeting of 500 metropolitan j E.P.S. workers last evening, when a ; meeting was called to consider the ' resignation of tho organising com J mittee. Confidence was expressed j in the organising committee, which ; consists of Messrs W. Machin (chairman), M. E. Lyons, W. C. I Mac Gibbon, and W. 11. E. Flint. I The following resolution was car- | ried: That this mass meeting of E-P.S. workers in the Christchurch Metropolitan Area, having heard! j the recital of events by the or- j j ganising committee leading to their l , j resignation, concurs in the view I that the present dominance by the j regional commissioner system is | | inimical to efficiency. It expresses thanks to the organising committee for the work they have accomplished and its entire confidence, in the committee, and urges them to continue their work contingent: upon the Government removing: the present system of control. It was then decided to telegraph | trie resolution to the IVi me Minister (the Rt. Hon- P. Fraser) and ask for J urgent action. The Mayor (Mr E. H. Andrews),! as chairman of the central committee and chief warden, presided. He j explained that the regional comm is-j sioner system in New Zealand was copied from the English system,! though lie did not think the commis-I sioners in England had the full pow-l j ers over civil authorities that were j exercised in New Zealand- In any j | case, the circumstances of England, a densely-populated country in the centre of hostilities, were different' from those of New Zealand. He received orders from the Regional Commissioner (Colonel W. T. Churchward). COMMITTEE'S WORK PRAISED Mr Andrews said he had been told when he selected the organising committee that lie had chosen some who were not popular. His reply was that popularity-seeking men had ruined too many projects. He had ; wanted men of proved organising ability and he had got them. They) had done a wonderful work, ard it j would be disastrous if their services; were lost. Mr Machin said earlier troubles! of the Metropolitan E.P.S. had been ! over such things as emergency petrol, conflicting transport, instructions, confusion in lighting control, and difficulties with large Government departments which considered they should be a law unto themselves. These they regarded as the teething troubles, which they would soon get over. They had tried to make the new ! system with a regional com missionj er work, but they had not succeeded, jMr Machin told the meeting. He described an interview with the Regional Commissioner and said that, ; when they asked if instructions he ' gave them could be discussed, the reply was given: “No. Those are my instructions. You must csrry j them out.” Mr Machin alleged that an attempt had been made behind the backs of i thc organising committee bv Government officials to alter the membership of the fire-unit committee. :He said other Wellington officials had approached subordinate officers of the E.P.S. to get them to form favourable opinions on some disputed questions. They did not want to attack the person who held the office of Regional Commissioner, which was the focus of privileged sections. MANAGEMENT FROM WELLINGTON Mr Lyons said some Government officials believed that the E.P.S. in Christchurch could best be managed from Wellington. He thought the regional commissioner system was devised to increase centralisation. When a man was a corporal or sergeant in the Army and found ho! could not carry on in the job he went to his commanding officer and asked to revert to the ranks. That was what the organising committee was doing. Since the committee had begun meeting there had never been a note of dissension, and there had never been a vote, said Mr Mac Gibbon. They had sat down under the direction of Mr Machin and reasoned things out. “Mr Machin does not got a penny and neither do the rest of us,” said the Mayor, when a questioner asked il there were any truth in a rumour that Mr Machin received £6OO a year. A questioner asked if there were dissatisfaction in other cities. The | Mayor said the police had prevented | 1 he holding of a meeting in Duntdin, I tie knew that there was dissatisfaction about fire-watching in Wellington. I Mr M. le Cren then moved the i j resolution. Mr G. S. A. Bill cl iIT said that if the motion were passed they would have condemned Colonel Churchward unheard. No doubt everything that had been said was correct, but Colonel Churchward was entitled to be heard. “Colonel Churchward ns Colonel Churchward can be left out of the discussion altogether,” said Mr Lyons. “We are against the system ; of anyone having the right to give , orders in this way to the Mayor.” Replying to another speaker, the , Mayor said politics had never entered into the E.P.S. Mr C. H. Clibborn moved an amendment expressing confidence in j ■ the Chief Warden and the organising committee, and pledging person-j nel to continue working under their j , control. Several speakers suggested! . that the issues were not clearly 1 enough stated in the amendment. It : i was lost by a large majoriy on the! . voices, and the motion was then car-! ; I'ied, with only one or two dissen-i ■ tient voices.