Untitled

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 4926, 6 January 1877, Page 2

In criticising any utterances of his Worship the Mayor, the New Zealand Times occupies a fair position. When Mr. Hutchison, a little more than twelve months ago, solicited the suffrages of the ratepayers, the columns of this journal offered a happy exception to the treatment he received from the local Press. Prom other quarters he was assailed with a virulence of abuse arid a vulgarity of tone that excited the most unmitigated disgust, and not a little helped his candidature. Having been elected, Mr. Hutchison was not lopg in finding out that those who had most opposed him were disposed to worship his success. In one direction this was particularly noticeable. Forarticles which literally .“ waddled ” along in clumsy abuse, there were substituted panegyrics that, metaphorically speaking, puffed and perspired with fulsome adulation. And now we notice that the Mayor is likely to be as much overrated as he was formerly underrated. This is not his fault. Our opinions'•6f that gentleman have not changed ; but that will not prevent our criticising"'his actions when they seem to demand criticism, as at the present time. In anything that may be said, However, it should be distinctly understood that there is no desire to impute any but the best of motives, and an honest desire to act for the best. At the City Council meeting on Thursday, in speaking to the motion regarding the by-laws of the city, Mr. Hutchison complained that the Corporation did not receive the co-opera-tion of the police in-giving effect to those by-laws, and in the course of his remarks gave it as his opinionHhat the city police should be largely under the control of the Council. It is not-proposed to enter on the subject of the Mayor’s complaint as to the neglect of the force to assist the Council, although we ‘feel convinced that past experience should be sufficient to make it certain that their co-operation in “maintaining good order in the city” will never be wanting. But with, regard to the latter statement we' have' a few words to say. In the first’- place Mr. Hutchison should have been aware, if he was not, that no good result would follow the, giving effect to his suggestion. Experience has shown that it is highly undesirable to place the police under the control of local bodies. Consequently the force is under one general head in Victoria and other places, whilst in our own colony the evils of admitting local control over the police became painfully apparent in Auckland, the result being that the force was taken over by the General Government. ' The particular objection (and a very grave one by the way) is that the force is subjected to local influences, which interfere with the proper performance of their duties. Nothing could be more objectionable than this, and yet the effect of the Mayor’s suggestion would be precisely what we have stated. Turning to another subject which the Mayor touched upon during the same meeting, we have occasion to differ with him again. In his report on the Fire Brigades Mr. Hutchison said; “I recommend that the captains of the two brigades should be appointed fire inspectors, in terms of clause 272, of the Municipal Corporation Act, 1876.” We have nothing to say against either of thq gentlemen mentioned by the Mayor, as fellow-citizens, and have every desire to accord them due praise for the manner in which they perform the duties pertaining to the voluntary positions they fill.; nevertheless, we may be pardoned for saying that there is a possibility .of finding two more eligible persons to occupy the highly responsible office of fire inspectors, and those moreover whose private avocations would not interfere with the proper fulfilment of the duties required of them. The Mayor’s report will be considered at the next meeting of the Council, and we trust that the suggestions to which reference has been' made here will receive the consideration which their importance deserves;