BOROUGH ELECTIONS.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 October 1915, Page 8

BOROUGH ELECTIONS.

TWO KQMIHAIHaiS FOR THE CONTEST FOB THE SEAT. Nominations close at noon to-day for j the Mayoralty, and the vacancy on the ] Borough Council. Up to last night, only two nominations had been received ■by the returning officer—Mr. C. H. Burgess, for the Mayoralty, arid Mr. F. E. Wilson, for the vacancy on the Council. The nomination of Mr. S. J. Smith for the Mayoralty will be made this morning, and a contest is promised for the Council, by the nomination of Mr. OF. H. Jackson, which, we understand, will be made to-day. There is no hint that there will be any further aspirants for office. Mr. Burgess was nominated by Messrs. Newton King and R. H. George, and Mr. Wilson was nominated by Messrs. W. N. 'Ewing, S. W. Shaw, F. C. Foote, W. F. Brooking, R, T. McQuade, and R. 0. Hughes. The elections for both offices will be held next Wednesday.

MR. STANLEY SMITH'S CANDIDATURE. ADDRESS TO THE RATEPAYERS. That burgesses of the borough of New Plymouth do not take much interest In ]oeal affairs was again in evidence last night by the poor attendance (less than fifty), at the Good Templar Hall, when Mr. Stanley Smith, who is one of the aspirants for the Mayoralty, placed Ms views before them. Mr. F. H. Jackson •was voted to the chair. Mr. Smith prefaced his remarks by expressing regret at the cause that had led to Mr. Wilson's retirement, and commenting on the expenditure of the loan money, he said that though money was voted for certain works, he would not support the expenditure unless the rateI payers obtained good value. He favored I works of a permanent nature. Because it had been voted, that was no reason why money should be wasted, and he gave several instances, where, he asserted, this had been done. The question of an adequate metal supply for the town was one to which he, with the last council, had given considerable attention, and it would be necessary for the present council to deal with this. The supply at Waiwakaiho was being rapidly depleted. There was no question (hat a good permanent supply could be obtained close to New Plymouth. If returned, this was a matter to which he I would give his immediate attention, as !.at present the price of metal and the I cost of haulage was beyond the means of the borough. On the present basis of i 135 yards per day, the difference between the cost of cartage by traction engine fj 6d per yard), and horse team (3s 3d), amounted to £6O per week. He consitoed that metal should be placed on the streets at 5s to 5s 6d per yard, whereas, it now cost 7s 6d or 8s 6d on the town side of Gover Street. He criticised the new intake at the Waiwakaiho, which he stated was supposed to have been finished last November. He, however, had not been satisfied, and had reported at the time that unless certain protective works were carried out, damage would result. This had proved the case. He had been appointed chairman of the Works Committee after the last Mayoral election, and he did not think that the ratepayers realised the amount of time that councillors put in, otherwise, instead of criticising, they would be grateful that men came forward to work to the best of their ability. He paid a tribute to the new council, and remarked that the different chairman of committees had a good grasp of the respective departments. He

agreed with Mr. Burgess that a young energetic man should be placed at the head of the Borough. Referring to his work as chairman of the Works Committee, he said that giving the time necessary to attend to the onerous duties entailed a considerable sacrifice—some days from 9 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. Three days weekly he had arranged to accompany the borough foreman on visits of inspection, and had also visited the water works weekly—all at his own expense. In fact, he had not spared himself, but had given his services at all times. His policy had been to be careful in small matters, as he believed that if the details of the works were supervised the finances would look after themselves. He enumerated a number of cases in which he had effected a saving to the ratepayers, instancing, among others, the deposit of the spoil from the tram way and road. Reverting again to the waterworks, he read a lengthy report that he had made to the Borough Council, and which had never been dealt with. The running of the trams, electric light, water supply and fire prevention, all depended on the stability of the tunnel at the waterworks, and this had never been exhaustively tested, though they were talking of running the trams next month. A considerable sum of money had also been expended in fencing at the waterworks, but fifty or sixty head of cattle still had access to the stream that supplied the town with water He also referred to matters in connection with the formation of the road along the tram route, and stated that he had the confidence of the Council in carrying out the work, which was finally placed in his department. He considered that it was a pity the channelling had been concreted along this route, as this was unnecessary in the case of a tarred macadam road. Referring to the tramway scheme, he stated that by transferring the cost of the substation to the electric light department, the loan would about see the work through. Regarding the appointment of electrical engineer; he favored the appointment of one man as tramway and electrical engineer, and at the proper time would move in that direction. He agreed to the present course for the time being, because he understood that the Town Glerk would be going to the front, and it was not advisable to have too many new men. The proposed schedule of tram fares he considered very reasonable. In the electric light department, the revenue had ,not been as satisfactory as might be expected. A committee had been appointed to revise! the charges, if necessary. The Council always looked into Departments not producing good results to find out, and, if possible, remedy the weak spot. Turning to finance, he stated that two loans had been raised while he had been on the Council, and the public debt of the borough, when all present loan was expended, would be £316,258. Of this only £BO,OOO or £90,000 would not be revenue producing. He favored only permanent works being erected out of loan money, all other work to be done out of general rates. Out of the last loan, non-permanent work, such as footpaths tarring and sanding, had been executed. The good work done by the various seaside committees was favorably commented on, and the different committees would always receive a sympathetic hearing. He had understood from the report in the paper, that Mr. Burgess had said that the Borough had no funds. He did not know whether this report was right or wrong, but he pointed out that there was £25,000, the great'er part of which would be expended within the next six months. Of the £42,000 loan there yet remained £13,000 to be .expended on works not .yet proceeded with. As the tram construction gave employment to a considerable number of men, it was deemed advisable to hold the other works over, lie favored systematic inspection of the borough for sanitary purposes, also considerable extension of the sewerage system, better accommodation for the office staff, etc. He considered that a better system should bo introduced so that works authorised could be carried out without undue delay. There wag ioo much work in hand at present for him to outline his future policy; but his would be a progressive one as required in a town of whose future he had great faith. If the advent of the trams did as much for this town as it had done elsewhere, the town had a bright future. Never before, he concluded, were the services of an energetic man at the head of affairs so necessary. He had never spared himself in looking after its interests in the past, and, if returned, would be stimulated to further efforts. Several, questions were asked and answered, and a vote of thanks to the chairman terminated the meeting.