The Daily News FRIDAY, MAY 8, 1903. THE MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 111, 8 May 1903, Page 2

The Daily News FRIDAY, MAY 8, 1903. THE MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS.

Owing to the next mecti> g of tl e Borough Cbuncil falling on Monda) evening next the bnormity 6? a new Council, sitting under the old Mayor, presents itself. The Municipal Corporations Act, 1900, provid s tha 1 ; an election of a Mayor shall take piaca o the last Wednesday in April ia tverj year and that the Mayor so tltc'ed shall come into office on the second Wednesday in May. On tho othei hand it is provided that the election of Councillors shall take place en the Ibb' Wednesday in April in every second year and that every Councillor shell come into office on the day of his election. Thus, although the poll for .Vhyor and Cmncillors takes place on che game day, the Cmneillots come into jffico at once and the Mayor not until i fortnight afterwards. This appiars o be a very ridiculous state of affairs nd tha l*w should certainly be altered jo that the new Mayor and Councillors ome in o office on the same day. It jtrtaioly h not at all sati factory to either the retiring Mayor cr Councillors to mee; between the day of election and the instahtion of the new M*yor. Where the Mayor is re-elected this *noma!y docs not seem so apparent ss he old Mayor can appoint his commit tees and proceed vt ith the business in the ordinary way, but wh a a Dew Mayor is elected it certainly is hardly right for the Council to prjeeed with ousiness in which the lewly-elected Mayor may be greatly interested out from which he is excluded. This very difficulty cropped up in Auckland the other day. According to the prtf.s reports, the business wab promptly dtalt with, the only matter discussed at any length beiDg the distribution of committee work. When this matter was reached the Mayor pointed out that the Council had cow seven committees in all, the business of four of them not beiDg veiy great. He suggested that the work would be more satisfactorily dealt with by dividing the Council into three committees and distributing all the work of the Council among thesa three. Th-j Mayor ■hin provided to give his views of the sy=tem to be adopted, thus, on the eve cf bis leaving tho chair, making a radical change in the whole policy of the Council. This was promptly protested against, and it was very properly urged that it was right and prope-, and, indeed, only an act of courtesy to the incoming Mayor to leave the question of committee appointments over till the Mayor was installed. The retiring Mayor disclaimed any discourtesy to bis successor, hut claimed that the business of a large and important city j corporation could not stand sill. After considerable discussion it wis decided' to make temporary appointments till! the nexb meeting of the Council, It ! will easily be seen that if a Mayor] wished to do so, and had a majority to i support him, he could easily make | things veiy unpleasant for his successor. I We certainly think the Coutcii tluuld take notion in iko way of gcdtiog an amendment of the Act providing for the Mayor and Councillors coining i i o < office on thd same date. 1 ■ '— i