NOMINATION" OF MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCILLORS.

Southland Times, Issue 1604, 12 July 1872, Page 2

NOMINATION" OF MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCILLORS.

The nomination of candidates for the office of Mayor, and four seat in the Town Council, vacant by the retirement of Councillors G-arthwaite, Pratt, Blackwood, and J aggers, took place yesterday, in the Council Hall, Kelvin street, at noon. Councillor Eoss, having been appointed by the Council to preside on the occasion, took his seat precisely at twelve o'clock, and opened the proceedings by explaining the object for which the citizens had been called together — the election of a Mayor for the next twelve months, four members of the Town Council, and two gentlemen to serve as auditors. The law provided that nominations in writing should be placed in the hands of the Town Clerk, and the Clerk would now read the nominations which had been received, beginning with those for the office of Mayor. Tbe Town Clerk then opened the envelopes containing the nomination papers. Only one nomination for Mayor had been sent in, containing the name of William Wood, Esq., proposed by Robert Duncau Yule, and seconded by Thomas Morell Macdonald. Mr Wood was therefore declared duly elected, and the announcement was received with applause. Seven nominations had been received for Councillors, viz. — Mr Pratt, proposed by Bernhard Ekensteen, and seconded by James Blacklock ; Mr Jaggers, proposed by John Hare, and seconded by William Barham ; Mr Blackwood, proposed by Richard Powell, and seconded by George Saunders ; Mr J. H. Smith, proposed by William Horatio Hall, and seconded by Henry Mayo ; Mr Porter, proposed by Thomas Perkins, and seconded by James Walker Bain ; Mr Garth waite, proposed by Joseph Stock, and seconded by William John Moffett ; and Mr Osborne, proposed by James Walker Bain, and seconded by Thomas Perkins. Five gentlemen were proposed as auditors, viz. — Mr Macrorie, proposed by J. Kingsland, and seconded by J. H. Smith ; Mr Trew, proposed by W. H. Hall, and seconded by D. L. Matheson ; Mr Nutter, proposed by J. W. Bain, and seconded by E. D. Butts ; Mr Perkins, proposed by J. W. Mitchell, and seconded. by L. Hume ; and Mr Flemington, proposed by D. Hunter, and seconded by A. Thomson. Councillor Ross then stated that the nominations for Councillors and Auditors being in excess of the number to be appointed, it would be necessary .to hold a poll, which would take place in the Council Hall, on the Ist August, between the houra of 9 and 4 o'clock. Any of the gentlemen present were now at liberty to address the meeting. The Mayor, who was received with applause, came forward, and in a few appropriate sentences thanked the citizens for the honor they had done him in electing him a second time. After referring to the work which had been done during the past year, and the industry and impartiality which the members of the Council had brought to the discharge of their duties, His Worship entered at some length into an explanation of the circumstances connected with the Tay-streefc Reserve Fund, and explained the provisions of the Ordinance relating to the subject, by which it appeared that the money arising from this sale, or the proceeds of any reserve for recreation, was to be devoted to the improvement of the i land from which it was derived, and no

other purpose whatever. The Mayor further pointed out that while the Ordinance handed over absolutely to the control of the Corporation the reserves enumerated in the first schedule, being reserves for municipal purposes generally, the proceeds from which might be devoted to any object the Council saw fit, the reserves for recreation, named in the second schedule, viz., the Gardens Eeserve, the Town Belt, and the Public Park, were spoken of in a very different manner. By clause five of the Ordinance, and he wished to draw particular attention to the fact, the Superintendent was only authorised, but was not required, to hand over the management of these lands to the Corporation. It was left within his discretion whether he would do so or not ; he had not vet done so, and he might never do so. It would be well therefore that the Council should not defy the Superintendent, at least until he had actually transferred the lands to thsir care, for as matters stood he still bad the power to see that the provisions of the law for the allocation of these funds were complied with. The pro visions of the law were so plain as to require no consideration whatever. This money was placed in the hands of the Council for a certain purpose, in trust and to that purpose it ought to be appfied. If it were not so applied, it would certainly be taken from them, and most deservedly. He made these remarks because of differences of opinion which had arisen on this subject. The ratepayers might be called upon to choose between candidates who took various views of their rights and duty in this matter, and it was well that they should be informed of the facts of the case. In other respects the Council had worked together harmoniously. About £1,500 had been spent in improvements, and he thought there was a very fair show of work for the amount. No attempt had been made to favor one part of the town more than another, but the interests of all had been studied as impartially as the means at their command permitted. If this question about the reserve fund were not settled, he feared differences might arise •which would prevent other questions being considered solely on their merits. In any case it would be his duty to carry out the law, and he hoped that the citizens would return men of intelligence and integrity, who would back him up in that course. Mr Pratt thought that the citizens generally were pretty well satisfied with what had been done last year, and he had no doubt they would have equal cause for satisfaction in the next. He described the proceeds of the Tay street sale as an unexpected addition to their resources, ■which had been materially increased by the careful manner in which the Council tad conducted the sale. The Education I Committee had applied for £400 of this money, but had been refused. Another proposal to deal with it had also been negatived. The only proposal that had been entertained as yet was a recommendation, which received the sanction of sis members of Council at a full meeting, that the cost of removing the enginehouse should be charged to the fund. This he thought reasonable, but as yet it was merely a recommendation, and if the opinion of the legal udviser of the Council was adverse to the legality of such a step, this recommendation conld be reversed. No attempt had been made to break the law, and no payment had been ordered from the fund on this account. With regard to the separate account business, it was thought unnecessary by a majority of the Council. The law did not require it. Their answer to the Superintendent's letter had been spoken of by the Southland Times as a boyish freak. He would tell them who voted for it — his friends Mr Jaggers, Mr Eoss, and Mr Blackwood. Were these gentlemen mere boya, indeed ? andfdid they not know how to keep accounts ? He thought they did, as well as most people. It would be the wisest course he thought to lay the money out at interest, and expend the income. And if so, why not lend it to the Corporation, to be expended in useful works ? "With their present revenue they would not have streets in twenty years, but this plan would enable them to anticipate a little, and apply the money to a useful purpose. Mr Jaggers said that the whole tenor of Mr Wood's speech had been that the Council desired to misappropriate this money of the reserve fund, but they had never done anything of the kind. He himself had proposed to lend £500 to the Education Board, but his proposal was negatived. The charge for the removal of the engine-house seemed to him quite fair. The great matter in dispute was the placing this money in a separate "bank account. There had been no sensible reason given for this course. The only reason given was that the fund might be encroached upon. The Southland Times had said their .answer to the Superintendent's letter was boyish, but the men that made that boyish answer passed more money through their books in one month than the whole of this money put together, and it was to be presumed that they knew how to keep accounts. If the -money were taken and spent on some useful purpose no great harm would be -done. It was open then for any citizen if he did not like the way it was spent to demand that the Council should restore the amount out of the ordinary revenue, and that was the worst that -could happen. If the citizens thought 3ie had done wrong they had it in their .power to keep him out, and if they thought he had done right, they had it in their power to put him in. Mr Blackwood, in coming before them ■for re-election, stated that he had taken much interest, and spent much time, in the Council since it started, and was prepared to do so again. He referred in detail 4o the improvements which had been anade, and adverted in forcible terms to the necessity for a thorough system of <

drainage. In event of illness breaking out in the town, he believed no one had any conception of the serious calamity which might be expected if the present state of matters was allowed to continue. The question of drainage ought to be the nr*t care of the new Council. The Council last year had Dot exceeded its means, and next year, with pnblicans' licenses and dog-tax they might expect a revenue of £2000, a sum which, properly applied, would do a great deal of good. In regard to the reserves account, he thought the Mayor's speech in bad taste. He had acted as canvasser, or electioneering agent, and brought a charge of dealing improperly with the money against the Council. The Mayor' wished to explain that he had not done so. Mr Blackwood — The whole tenor of his speech was to that effect, whereas nothing of the kind had b^en done. The Mayor was simply making a mountain out of a mole-hill, and drawing on his own fertile imagination. In reply to Mr M'lvor, Mr Blackwood stated that he was in favor of spending the money on all the reserves ; and in answer to Mr Osborne he stated that he did not think the £20 given for the plan of the gardens was lost. He could not tell why the Council had not divided the town into wards. They had had a great deal of work to do, the bye-laws especially taking a loug time. Mr Garthwaile stated, in opposition to Mr Blackwood's views, that the money derived from the reserves must, according to the law, be spent on the special reserve from which it was obtained. All that he thought ehould be done in the meantime was to straighten the creek, fence the reserve, chip the tussacs, and lay it down in grass, which would not cost more than £1,000. He would not object to Mr Pratt's idea of lending the money to the Corporation if it could legally be done. The gardens had the prior right to be attended to this year, and next year the town belt might have a turn, after the system of leasing with an improvement clause bad been tried. Mr Osborne said that if the nomination had passed without a contest, they would have appeared to endorse all that the Council had done, which he, for his part, was very far from doing. If they allowed the pool to continue stagnant, without stirring it up from time to time, matters would go on from bad to worse, and it was just possible that they might in time arrive at something like the condition of things which had been attained in New York. It was the first time he had appeared before them since he had compiled the original roll, and a question had been asked about that, which had not been answered. Another question might have heen asked — how much did it cost to audit the accounts ? Twelve guineas ! and that took three days, whereas the compiling of the roll occupied his time for four or five weeks, and for this one of the councillors wanted to pay him with fifteen pounds ! Amongst other doings of the Council which he disapproved, he would mention the excessive rate. He did not want to pay two shillings in the pound any more, for one thing. He thought the town ought to be divided into wards. There were no less than five councillors living in Tay-street, and though he would be the last to accuse those gentlemen of anything like partiality, he thought they could not be well acquainted with the circumstances of some of the remote parts of the town. He looked on this change as a most important one, and trusted that the new Council would carry it into effect at once. He did not approve of the moving of the fire-engine house. The allotments on which it stood should have been reserved, and the building kept where it was. In reference to the appointment of fire inspectors, he thought the appointment of Mr Fox was very suitable, but with regard to the compliment paid to Mr M'Culloch,in his appointment, he thought that from the distance at which that gentleman resided, houses might be burned down before the necessary authority to pull down buildings conld be obtained. With regard to the Superintendent's letter about the separate account for the Tay-street money, the Superintendent was right — there could be no doubt about that. It was the proper course to take, and the Council should have adopted his suggestion, and not replied to his letter in the manner which they did. Eespecting the plan of the gardens, the Town Surveyor had £25 per annum as surveyor of reserves. Why could he not have been requested to prepare a plain plan, and the prisoners set at once to level the ground ? He considered the reserve would soon have assumed a very different appearance, and little cost would have been incurred. He objected to the systeaa which he saw the Council had employed to a large extent, of getting work done by day labor. Everything should be done as far as i possible by contract ; but if day labor was to be employed, it was right that the ratepayers themselves should have the preference, if any of them desired to go on the works as laborers. For his own part, he did not much care about being elected, but would serve them to the best of his ability if he were. His great idea was economy, and the reduction of the present excessive rate. Mr W. H. Hall, for Mr Smith, apologised for his absence. Mr Smith's views in the main were the same as Mr Pratt's. He would like to borrow the reserve money for the use of the Corporation, and [ go on with the simple childish majority j in making useful works. A vote of thanks to Councillor Eoss, the presiding officer, closed the proceedings.