ATTITUDE OF COUNCILLORS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8361, 22 February 1913, Page 2

ATTITUDE OF COUNCILLORS

THURSDAY .NIGHT’S PROCEEDINGS. THE "NO-CONFIDENCE” VOTE. The abrupt termination of Thursday night’s City Council meeting, through a motion for adjournment being carried against tho Mayor, who had ruled that Councillor Frost could not, by way of a clause in tho reserves committeea’s report, amend a previous decision of the council on the same question without tho usual seven, days’ notice, has given rise to considerable feeling amongst councillors. Tho subject was freely discussed in the city yesterday. A nnmber of councillors, interviewed by a “New Zealand Times” reporter, expressed the views set forth below: AN UNDIGNIFIED PROCEEDING. Councillor Fletcher; “I regret very much the undignified attitude taken by some councillors in breaking up the meeting as they did. The carrying of the motion for adjournment was practically a vote of no confidence in the ruling of the Mayor. Personally, I thorughly agree with the Mayor’s ruling, on the same ground that I took up at a previous meeting, when I objected to the rescinding. of a resolution already standing in the council's book without tho proper notice. I hold very strongly to tho view that a motion once placed on the records of any public .body should not bo over-ridden on a catch division without duo notice to members that it is being brought on again. If this can be done, then the door will bo opened to all sorts of corruption and anyone can get behind an affirmed decision in an improper way. If the Mayor had not moved his motion I certainly should have moved it myself, in view of the council’s previous decision on the question. It was only a side way to revoke that decision. It is a very simple matter to put such a motion, as Councillor Frost had embodied in his clause, in a proper form on the order paper. The whole thing was illegal, in my opinion, and in contravention of the standing orders of any decent public body in existence. Otherwise, all kinds of surprises could be sprung upon the council. In .any .case,, the whole situation could have been met, if a majority of the councillors, for their own particular reasons, desired to protest, by an adjournment for five or ten minutes, instead of rushing away and hanging up tho business of the council.” VERBAL NOTICE. Councillor Fitzgerald: ‘Tho Mayor was wrong. I have a distinct recollection that at tho previous meeting Councillor Frost gave verbal notice to move that this particular motion .be rescinded. I am chairman of tho outlying districts committee, and at our meeting Councillor Frost submitted a resolution which he handed to ' the Mayor for approval or alteration, and the Mayor handed it back shortly afterwards, saying it was all right.’ Councillor Frost didn’t follow this up_ by formally putting his notice in writing; it was understood that he bad given notice. I voted against the Mayor’s action on Thursday night because 1 thought he was : embarrassing Councillor Frost,' and I supported the adjournment as an indication that the time had arrived when the new -standing orders should bo circulated amongst councillors. I took it that the clause would have been dealt with on its merits.’ 1 "DISTINCTLY RIGHT.” Councillor Hindmarsh: 1 100111000117, the Mayor was right. Seven days', notice is required to rescind a previous motion, in' order to give councillors a chance of considering it. The Mayor’s action was in accordance with the standing orders, and the same procedure has always been followed by the council.” 5 WHAT. CAUSED THE CRISIS. ' Tho opinion of Councillor Barber was that the crisis would nut have been arrived at on this particular question had it not been for previous rulings by the Mayor on a number of other matters. There had been a good deal of dissatisfaction in this respect among the members of tho council and they used the occasion to show their disapproval of the general atti-tude-of the Mayor towards them. Personally, he had never sat under a Mayor so discourteous and domineering to members of the council. He diQ not think that political feeling had affected the vote in any way. OBVIOUSLY CORRECT. “There can be no shadow of doubt that the Mayor’s ruling was absolutely right,” declared Councillor Atkinson. He regarded tho position as be; ihg most, unfortunate, because it was really impossible for cdnncillors to say anything at tho time upon thd main question, no discussion upon the Mayor’s ruling being allowed. He had not discussed the incident with anyone since the meeting, but he knew that the thing which made the majority of. the council feel so sore was that tho Mayoi* had been consulted beforehand by Councillor Frost in regard to the motion. The protest was, therefore, not so much against Mr McLaren's ruling, which was obviously correct, but against his not haying explained earlier to Councillor Frost that-' ho would have to rule the recommendation ont of order. It was felt that the Mayor, having been specially consulted by Councillor Frost respecting tho terms of tho recommendation, ought to have explained to him, as soon as be decided upon it. that he would have to rule in the way he did. Doubtless the Mayor himself did not realise that the proposal was out of order at the time he was consulted by Councillor Frost, and if a majority of tho council had seen this in all probability the incident would have been avoided. Councillor Atkinson also said he did not think that political feeling had come into the thing in any shape.