The New Zealand Times (PUBLISHED DAILY). TUESDAY, MAY 13, 1879.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5653, 13 May 1879, Page 2

The New Zealand Times (PUBLISHED DAILY). TUESDAY, MAY 13, 1879.

At a time when the office of Mayor of the city has been suddenly left vacant, and when the names of several candidates are in the mouths of their respective supporters, it may be opportune to consider what special qualifications are required in the person of an aspirant to the office, in order to render him thoroughly well fitted for the post. As the position is pre-emi-nently one of trust, the first and most essential qualification of a Mayor is that he should be trustworthy,—not only in the narrow sense as applied to clerks and cashiers, but in the wider application of the term, which implies a large-minded disregard of all selfish personal feelings when a subject is under discussion which affects the whole community, including the personal interests of the Mayor along with the rest. His character must be such that, even when his actions least meet with public approval, his enemies would be ashamed to impute mean motives to him. It would be generally better for a Mayor to be a man of independent means, because the tongues of those who are ever ready to assign a selfish motive for every act are thereby silenced, and the office holder is in a great measure placed above suspicion. There may be and doubtless are some few men in any community whose character for uprightness is unassailable, even though they have never been so far favored by fortune as to be able to disregard monetary considerations ; we do not therefore regard a mere want of money as an insuperable objection to a candidate for the office under consideration. It is nevertheless a serious disadvantage ; the position of chief citizen entails upon the holder many duties, the full discharge of which are seriously hampered by a scarcity of money, not the least drawback being the heavy demands upon his time.: a man of small means has seldom sufficient leisure to satisfy the demands upon it both of public and of private business. His name is also expected to head the list of subscrip ■ tions for charitable objects or for festive entertainments, and the salary attached ; to the office in Wellington is certainly not such as to enable the Mayor to exercise the generous liberality which he is expected to dispense out of the annual vote of the Council. A needy man of great strength of character and supreme tact and judgment might wield the mace successfully in spite of his narrow means, but it cannot be denied that he would be utterly -unable to dispense either the generous hospitality or the free-handed liberality which is inseparable from the popular conception of what the chief civic . dignitiry ought to be. , In Council the duties of a Mayor are such as to require mental abilities and social qualities of a very high class. He ought, above all things, to be firm and dignified ; commanding the respect of his by his judgment, prudence, and sagacity, as well as by his high per- ; sonal merit. Good judgment is required to suppress, without giving offence, the unruly,- and .to reprove those whose tongues are prone to fault-finding and to idle criticism, rather than to, practical suggestions of a preferable course for adoption. Perfect tact is needed by the Mayor as the guide and ruler of debate ; the power of his influence should be felt ratherthan seen ; to fulfil thoroughly his duties as* chairman requires a discretion. so rare as to. be rather hoped for than expected. It is essential that ho should be prepared to. give to each of his councillors ample time to express their thoughts arid to lay their suggestions fully before the Council, but at the same time to discourage asj much as possible the wearisome word : spinning of those whoso chief delight appears to consist in listening to the sweet music of their own voices- A worthy candidate for the Mayorship should be so honest as to be above suspicion, commanding the respect of his fellow-councillors, both by the soundness of his judgment and by the courtesy which he extends to all with whom ho comes in contact: able and willing to show his love for the city, whose first citizen he claims 1 to be, 'by deeds of liberality when his charity is appealed to, and: by an earnest and,painstaking attention to the manifold and wearisome duties attached to his office; and, lastly, at ail times willing to discharge worthily and carefully the important trrists confided to his care. Such men are rare in any community, and the post is one for which but few can claim the necessary qualifications.

Up to the time of writing there is but one candidate for. the honor, Mr. G. Hunter ; but the ex-Mayor, Mr. Hutchison, is locked upon ns certain to contest the seat with him, or with anyone else who may yet come forward. It is not our present intention to state how nearly, in our opinion, either candidate approaches the ideally high standard of excellence which we have defined as necessary to a really good Mayor, but to those who are doubtful how to vote we do not hesitate to make a modest, but practical, suggestion : it is, to exercise the same care in selecting the holder of a public trust as they would do in respect to a private one. If a man desires to commit a private trust of considerable importance into the hands of some one who is a stranger to him, he first enquires among his friends as to the character of those two or three persons whose fame and repute recommend them to him for the office. Having satisfied himself •as to the personal character and public reputation of those who ho considers suitable, he next proceeds to find out whether the man whom he prefers will undertake the duty, and if he finds the man of his choice willing, he forthwith recommends that man for the appointment. This is the course which we would urge upon the city electors ; let them take the same pains to find out the qualifications of the several candidates for the Mayorship, into whose hands the citizens propose to confide a highly important public trust, as they would do if the appointment affected the private fortunes of themselves or of their own families. Let them seek information from those whose word they can rely upon, and whose judgment is , unbiassed by partisanship' or personal feeling. - r If tiio electors would for once undertake to adopt this course, and to disregard those who appeal to class-pre-judices and inflame political animosities, we should be content to stand silently on one side, and calmly abide the result. The charge, nowadays, most commonly preferred against governing bodies of all grades is that of “log-rolling.” Wellington wants a Mayor who could be implicitly relied on to repress firmly and decisively any attempts at official. logrolling.