THE MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 289, 29 April 1913, Page 4

THE MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS.

-N'ot as much interest as one would have expected is being taken in the municipal elections, to be decided to-morrow. For the twelve vacancies on the Council there are fourteen nominations, and out of the material offering a very good Council should be formed. The borough will not suffer by the selection of any twelve of the fourteen. There are 110 "tickets" and no distinct line of cleavage between the candidates, who apparently only desire to carry out, in the best interests of the ratepayers, the important proposals that have been lately sanctioned, and to serve, to the best of their ability, in the administration of the town's affairs. Some of them have served us before, and have rendered the borough valuable service. There are others with special qualifications, whose election would: be, a decided advantage to the town. For the Mayoralty two gentlemen bffer their services—Mr. G. W. Browne, the present Mayor, and Mr. J. S. Medley, who opposed Mr. Browne on the last occasion. The situation this year is not an ordinary one, and it is one that calls for a quite exceptional administrative equipment. The Council requires a capable, energetic and experienced man to control its destinies for the next few years, and excellent citizens as both candidates are in their respective spheres, we doubt if either possesses these three qualifications in conjunction. Mr. Browne, the retiring Mayor, has, during the last two years, been permitted a good deal of latitude by an indulgent Council, and there are no" very grave breaches of either judgment of administration to be urged against him. He' has; in fact, done a lot of excellent work, and, with the aid of the Council, has put through, with the approval of the ratepayers, several important schemes for the betterment of our municipal welfare. He has spared neither his time nor his personal labor in supervising the work pertaining to the. borough, but it is urged against him, and not without good reason, that he attempts to do too much—to be, in fact, the Pooh-Bah of our municipal life, Mayor, tax-collector, nuisance inspector, town clerk, engineer, day laborer and general inspector at one and the same time., He is at the beck and call of every citizen in the town, and there are not found wanting those who are only too reaTly to take advantage of his accommodating nature. This is not the strong man we want at the moment. Unfortunately we are not faced with an embarrassment of riches when it comes to,the matter of selection, for it is doubtful if his opponent is any better suited for the position. Mr. Medley, a comparatively new man in the municipal arena, scored very well at the last election, and we wore hr hopes that, encouraged by the' compara-' tively heavy vote he received on that occasion, he would, before the coming contest, actively associate himself with, public movements. That' he has not done so has caused some disappointment to his friends, and given rise to the feeling that his outlook in regard to municipal politics is no more serious than his outlook on life generally. Mr. Medley is a cheerful, optimistic soul, who can be depended upon never to worry himself to death, and there is just the fear that he would regard the responsibilities of the office tlinJt he covets too lightly, just as Mr. Browne accepts them too heavily. As for Mr. Medley's programme, that matters little, for his powers among a body of thirteen would necessarily be limited. We must say, however, that now the town has declared for overhead tramways no good purpose can-come from waiting until the results of the Edison storage battery cars are. ascertained, and if they are satisfactory to jonsult the ratepayers upon the question of substituting them for the overhead system. For weal or woe, the die is cast in favor of the overhead system, and, we say, waste no time in giving effect to the wishes of those who are footing the bill. In regard to altering the system of rating, the time for the consideration of which Mr. Medley declares has arrived, that is a question which may be fully considered at a later period. The matter of selecting the Mayor for the forthcoming term is one resting entirely with the burgesses. For ourselves, we are thankful we have an exceptionally capable Town Clerk and an efficient staff, and that there is every prospect of the election of a Council which will prove a strong and able advisory body to the head of the municipality in the administration of the important schemes to which weaarte t committed.