THE MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 284, 23 April 1913, Page 8

THE MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS.

INVOKING PUBLIC INTEREST. v li AX EMTHUSIASTIC MEETING. h - \\ There was an attendance of about a p hundred at the meeting called by Mr. I 1" W .Browne (Mayor), to discuss muni- ' > eipal matters last evening. The meeting I Was held at the Borough Council Cham- , 1. burs and was marked by some enthus- ! t. iasm. : p The 'Mayor, in his opening remarks, took occasion to disclaim what had ap- li peared in the Taranaki Daily News that li morning, to the effect that he had called L the meeting in order to advocate his r own candidature; This was not so. He t had called them together so that they could discuss their own affairs and pro- ■ mote their own interests. (Applause).' Another matter to which he would like ' to refer was. in connection with the re- I cent valuation. It had been said that * the Valuer ihad received 'instructions i J from the late Council. As some of the ' ' Councillors would be standing for re-1 1 election, and he was desirous of giving |' them a fair field, he would say that iu I £ no shape or form whatever had the | 1 Council approached the Valuer, who had been given an entirely free hand. ' The object of the present meeting was, j 1 he re-iterated, to infuse a little life into * the apathy of municipal affairs at a ' time when the Council would be called ,' upon to decide important matters in- J volving the expenditure of very large 1 sums in carrying out the projects recently authorised by the ratepayers in ' the streets and tram loan. Then, again, their attention would be taken up by 1 other important matters, one of which I was almost as important as the raising and expenditure of the loan moneys, viz., ' the revision of the by-laws to fit the ' creation of the Greater New Plymouth. These by-laws would, he said, provide a 1 committee of the incoming Council for 1 a considerable time and much thought. Many gentlemen, he continued, had been 1 approached and asked to stand at the forthcoming election, but showed great 1 diffidence in public matters. He irapres- . sed on them that twelve Councillors were needed, and these Councillors would be | trustees of their funds for two years. 1 Their District Account now reached 1 something like £28,000 per annum, so that all would recognise that they required good business men at the present juncture to guide their destinies. Of the new loan £II,BOO was to be laid out in extension of the water scheme. That would recoup all the charges. Then the balance had to be expended in the street loan. Regarding the expenditure of £55,000 on the trams, he stated that in the past the Tramways Committee had consisted of the whole Council, and he hoped that would be the case with the next Council, so that when the trams were installed .every Councillor would be answerable for seeing that they got the best for their money. He was afraid that the apathy might have lasted till the very last moment, and possibly lead to trouble and disaster in the future, so he had called them together to discuss their affairs and if necessary set up a committee to wait on suitable men and ' endeavour to get them to come forward and serve their town and country. It' g was necessary to act at once, as the poll J. closed at noon on Wednesday (to-day). ( Of the present Council he stated that j Crs. Kibbv, Jackson, Buttimore, Clarke. Wilson, Hartnell, and Mannix were wjllr 'ing to come forward and serve another term. Messrs. Geo. Tabor and A. u Clarke had also been nominated, and lie r asked those present to use their earnest r endeavors to put in a good strong Council to guide the destinies of the town. „ for no matter who was Mayor, he would require' a good Council'behind him. 5 Mr. C .Carter thought the Mayor Was j to be commended for calling this public meeting, though it was a pity fie had not seen clear to call it 'earlier. He emphasised that the incoming Council had. very serious responsibilities to face. The had been very success- ! t fill in' forming Greater New Plymouth j anil in getting the loans through, but now the most important work had to be done. First, the money had to be raised. I secondly, it had to be expended, and , thirdly tTie ratepayers had to foot the . f bill. Therefore, it was incumbent on them to assist in putting into office the, J very best men they could secure. Good men were willing'to come forward if ap- j proaehed. It did not do for Councillors to be too thin-skinned. They need not ' be afraid of press criticism, because the press did not criticise the whole Council, but only a small minority. It was, lie 1 said, well to remember that: the burgesses 1 were faced with a serious position. Gen- j frill rates were Is Id, special Is 6d, water (ill—a totfl of 3s Id. With the instalTa- s tion of tlif trams there would be an- 1 . oilier 7 4-lod. and the streets and'water loan meant nn additional 5 7-10 d. The J question of the installation of the elec-' • trie trams was an open one. but he hoped >' it would lie a "-citer success than was anticipated. (Applause). The e'xper- :* ienee of other places was that, the in- 1 stnllation of the trams increased' the population, and' we here had' many in- ' '- diieements to offer people to come and' •settle. f s Mr.'SR. C. HitgTies said that if the Press had criticised the Council the mem- i liers present should each stand up and show cause why they should not be con- , viewed. The Mayor: "We are in the Council . to do our best for the people. When we know that we. are doing \iiat is right, [ press criticism falls over our shoulders." ].. rcpl v to a question from Mr. W. A. J ® Collis, the Mayor stated that twelve candidates were required and that each I burgess could vote for either one or * twelve as he pleased. 1 i Considerable doubt was expressed as ® 1 In whether this was so. and the Mayor 'j undertook to get an opinion on the mat- ' ter, and inform burgesses through the ; Press. ; 'VIr. F. C. J. Bellringer congratulated ' the Councillors upon the results of their " work. Thev had done their level best. s 1 Kogarding Press criticism lie thought the , 1 Press should give a lead in oublic matters. Personally he welcomed the Press comment, and was pleased the Press was w iking up to its responsibilities. Divert- s iii«' from the subject for a moment, he s said that the Harbor Board should be r told that, they must liave direct rcsHts, \ Tliey were depending largely on the liar- ( bor. The people of the district ,v er> looking to New Plymouth for a lend. "Wo must -wake up, if we wish to maintain our premier position." He hoped ] that this meeting would stimulate the j people here to realise the responsibili- . ties they owed, not only to themselves j

;it lo the people outside. In conclus-} m, lie hoped that candidates would come J mvard of their own volition, as one s iliinfecr was worth six pressed men. *• Air. A .Clarke (Vogeltown) said' he 1 ;id o;;lv been here a few months, but J c recognised thai New Plymouth should alee up. He believed in- progress and' regressive men should be placed on- the orongh Council. It was a disgrace to >w Plymouth that men did not eome irward without being sought after No iwn in New Zealand was better off lian New I'lvmouth, with its different übli'c services.. Air. ('. 'aitcr said he fell; certain that ut for'this meeting there would have ecn difficulty in getting a full' Council, ut with the spirit displayed at the leeting, a good Council' should easily e obtained!.. NOMINATION FOE CQirXCIXORR. Nominations for Councillors were then | aken in the room, and including, those ireviously nominated, tire candidates uggested were:—Messrs .0. Tabor, ]•'. I .Jackson, .1. Kibby, J. T. Mannix, A. /larko, «T .liuttimore, Ilartnell, Wilson, L 11 .Johnson, J. Clarke, G.. Fraser, W. lealey, N. T. Maunder, and! W. Amburv. nd Messrs. J J). Sole and W. A. Collis vill give their reply this morning. Messrs .F. C. J. Bellringer and E. C. Griffiths were nominated, but could not iccept nomination as they were intersted in contracts with the Borough, the ormer stating that it was most iniquitius that a contract of £10) per year hould disenfranchise a man from enterng municipal polities. Mr. C. Carter declined nomination belause he was demoting the whole of the ime he could snare from his business to lie interests of the Petroleum Com>any. Mr. 11 .Cock, in declining nomination, mlogised the work of the Mayor and .'ouncilloi'H. Looking round the room, le said, he was pleased t® see such a 1 ine attendance. Most of those present i vere hard workers. Where, he asked, | vere the people who had made their i noney here? It was wonderful how ;hey hung back and would not assist in mblic life. , Mr. W. Ambury thought that the Vlayor should also consent to be nominited for the Council, so that the jurgesses could retain his services either is Mayor or Councillor. The Mayor, however,,declined, stating that if he took up that attitude he would be too weak to occupy the position as Mavor. Messrs. Jus, McLeod, C. Carter. F. ,T. Eustace, K. C. Griffiths, F. E. Wilson and R. Cock were appointed a nomination committee. Mr. Jas .McLeod said that whilst he believed in criticism, he was of opinion that perhaps there was too much criticism and not enough credit given when credit was deserved. The mere fact

thiit the present Council luvd formed Greater Xew Plymouth, amalgamating districts that were not too conciliatory, and also carried the tram loan by an overwhelming majority proved that thev I had the confidence of tTie majority of I the ratepayers. He therefore moved:—j That this meeting of citizens and rate- ■ payers desires to express its appreciation I to the Mayor and Councillors, whose I term of office is now expiring, for valued I services rendered to the community dur- , ing the past term. Great demands have been made upon their time and energy in connection with the Greater New Plymouth scheme, and also in the carrying : out of the important proposals for the installation of electric trams and Borough improvements. The recent pub- 1 lished returns disclose a deejp interest in Borough matters, as well as a most faithful attendance to pnWie duty, and claim recognition from citizens and rate-1 payers alike. This meeting, therefore,! tenders to them its best thanks and be- I speaks a continued interest in all mat- { ters affecting the welfare of the town, j The resolution was l seconded by Mr. j R .Cock and carried unanimously. In support, Mr. E. C. Griffiths said ' that he thought that the Press was one of the best Councillors they had. A lot had been said about apathy, but the Pm - s was the one live factor in the town. A public man should be prepared to be criticised. The Press could applaud when necessary. [ Reverting to other Borough matters, : Mr. R. C. Hughes complained that year ! after year, the money voted for tarring . the streets was not expended, and lie alleg '(1 that the street's were going back. Then, again, there' had been along discussion over trams, between the "overhead system"' and the Edisoa Storage battery.. The, overhead system had been adopted, but now the storage battery was getting a trial in Gi'sbome, and if it proved a success he hoped the incoming Council won't* not be afraid to eonsi'd'er its adoption here. In reply, the. Mayor said that the vote for tarring the streets had been xpended each you - , indeed, it had been overspent. The Council had been progressive, and i had bought a tar sprayer, which enabled twice the work to be done for the same j money. Thov had also imported a , water-cart, which was a vast improve- . ment. and a grader, which proved n , great labor saver in the outskirts. ! A votft of than'ss to the Mayor termin- j ated the meeting. i i