CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE

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

CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE

“A ONE MAN SHOW.” Councillor Frost: “The Mayor states that ho did not draft the resolution as it appeared in the report. To that my answer is that his memory must be failing, for I can assure you he did so in the presence of at least two councillors and the town clerk. The second statement is that I was in a difficulty as to the form in which to put the matter, and went to him to put the clause into proper literary form. This, I can assure yen, I will not accept as a lapse of memory, because it is intended as an insult; and as such I accept it. It is too ludicrous to feel very serious over, as I am fully certain that no man holding the position of Mayor of this city (if ho is a gentleman, and, a Mayor should bo a gentleman) would expose his ignorance by attempting to belittle his councillors by insulting them as ho, did by passing such remarks, even though

they were true. But as they are a deliberate fabrication, I will be content to let them drop at that, and let those citizens who know me judge as to whether it would be common-sense for mo to go to the likes of him tor advice as to what he terms putting it into literary form.’ The position was that no member of tho reserves committee (and I doubt if any member of the council) can by any means understand why, and on what grounds, he ruled the clause out of order on a former occasion. Ho could not explain it himself. Ho simply ruled it out with the air of an autocrat and the usual capital ‘l.’ “ I will now tell you what did happen. I said to him: ‘As you took upon yourself at the last meeting or th© council to rule this in th 6 report out of order, X wish you would just say what you consider out of order, so that there will be no further trouble when the report. is brought down again to the council.’ This he did without demur, and the literary form, as lie called it, is exactly his own wording. I would also liko to add that ho sat at the table during the timo the resolution was put to the committee, and I explained that the wording of the clause was that of the Mayor. The clause was then put, and ho never uttered one word against it, so you can imagine my surprise when he ruled it out of order when it came before tho council, and made some incoherent remarks about the London County Council standing orders. . "If such rulings aro allowed to go on without ..objection, it simply means tho council is to be run by the Mayor. Any matter that is favourable to him ho will allow to proceed, and anything he is not favourable to .he will rule out—a real one-man show. * If this is a sample of the class of 1 boss ’ rule that the Mayor’s party seek election on in April next, wall, Heaven help the city that comes into their hands. He will, with his self-opinion-ated literary form, offer his services to Victoria College as a professor and an instructor of business men. Perhaps the Mayor will also explain why he has flouted and defied the resolution of the council, passed four weeks ago, to hold a special meeting to dispose of the many notices of motion on tho order paper; or is it that he is holding these over so as to try and compel me as an individual councillor to give notice of motion, which would be placed at the bottom of the report, so that it would not be able to be reached at ordinary meetings this side of the elections?”