THE MAYOR'S RETIREMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, 23 October 1919, Page 6

THE MAYOR'S RETIREMENT.

, A VALEDICTORY GATHERING. . Tuesday night's meeting of the Borough Council marked the final work of Mr. C. H. Burgess in his capacity as Mayor of the town, and he and Mrs. Burgess were entertained to supper by the council at the Kia Ora Tea rooms. In addition to the sitting councillors there were also present a number of ex-councillors, who had served under Mr. Burgess, as well as the heads of the various departments of the borough and several representative citizens. Mr. W. A. Collis (Deputy Mayor) presided. Cr. J. W. Hayden, on behalf of the present council, and Mr. G. W. Browne and Mr. F. E. Wilson, for the excouncillors, spoke in terms of appreciation of the work of Mr Burgess as Mayor, and of that of both Mayor and Mayoress in the interests of the town and iii connection with patriotic work in particular. They also expressed regret at their retirement from office. Mr.. F. T. Bellringer, on behalf of the council's staff, joined in the appreciation of Mr and Mrs Burgess' work ami the fine services they had rendered to the town. He hoped they would fully enjoy the retirement they had so well,earned, though he regretted their depnHihv : the offices they had so well i'^ el , The relations between the Mayor and" the members of the staff had right through been of a most cordial character. The .great feature of Mr Burgess'administra-tion-had been the support he had given to the council's officers and his ready consideration of their recommendations, which, if he approved of, he did not hesitate to back up in the council. In that way he had greatly encouraged the officers and added to the harmony with which the work had been carried on. That feature also had been the means of greatly improving the administration of the affairs of the borough. Mr. Burgess' time had always been at the disposal of the officers, who, because of his unfailing courtesy towards them, had never hestitated to take advantage of his services. Mr. Bellringer also referred to the work done by Mm. Burgess, and said the Mayor and Mayoress had held office in the four most difficult years he had ever known in his 19 years of municipal service, He concluded by offering the staff's best wishes to the retiring Mayor and Mayoress. Messrs W. H. Cook (engineer), R. H. Bartley (electrical engineer and tramways manager), and R. Day (inspector) also spoke for their respective departments.

PRESENTATION TO MAYOR. Cr. Collis said in farewelling Mr. Burgess the councillors felt they could not let him go out of office without offering some tangible expression of appreciation of both his and Mrs. Burgess' public work. The councillors had not always seen eye to eye with the Mayor, "but they realised that whatever he had done had been with the best interests of the borough in view, and that also applied equally to the work of Mrs. Burgess. He then presented to Mr. Burgess a handsomely worked and framed illuminated address expressive of the very sincere appreciation of the council of 'the work of the Mayor and Mayoress, and extending to them the very best of good wishes for their future happiness. " Following is the text of the address presented:— To Charles Hayward Burgess, Esq, [ M.8.E., Mayor of the Borough of New ' Plymouth. Dear Sir, We the undersigned members, exmembers, and officials of the New Plymouth Borough Council desire to take this opportunity on the eve of your' vacating the Mayoral chair to convey to you our most sincere regret at your retirement and to place on record our appreciation of the manner in whicli you have discharged the responsible and onerous duties attaching to your office. During the four years you have occupied the Mayoral chair you have displayed a whole-hearted devotion to the .effective performance of your duties. The task which confronted you as Mayor of the capital town of the province during the war period was no light one, hut you most willingly and ungrudgingly responded to the unceasing demands made upon you. The energy and zeal which you displayed in the many places of war work ftnd the ability with which you administered the duties entrusted' to yon in this connection were such as to earn our warmest admiration. In the discharge of your civic duties you have at all times maintained and upheld the dignity of your office and it has always been your aim to faithfully, zealously, and impartially guard the interests of the ratepayers and residents of the borough as a whole. To the many problems and involved questions appertaining to civic affairs you have 'brought to bear a matured judgment and a zeal and energy beyond all praise. Your work has been of an invaluable nature and this will become more and more apparent as years go by. Whilst presiding over the deliberations of the council and in your dealings with the officers you have always, displayed the utmost courtesy and impartiality and our relations have always been marked by the most cordial good-will. In the duties of your office you have been most ably supported by the Mayoress, whose constant and continued selfsacrificing efforts in all branches of war work have been such as to commnad the ; admiration, respect, and esteem of the whole community. " In conclusion we desire to express our warmest wi=hos for the continued happiness, good health, and prosperity of yourself and Mrs. Bnr«ess. and we trust that though not officially associated with the civic administration, the benefit of your presence, knowledge, and counsel, may Ion? continue toi be available for the public good. Dated this 21st dav of October, 1019 The address was signed by the members of the present council, ex-councillors who had served under Mr. Burgess, and the borough officers. The Mayor's health was then drunk, t» the accompaniment of musical honors and cheers. The Mayor was warmly applauded on rising to respond. He expressed warm appreciation of the kind things said about Mrs. Burgess and himself. Anything lie had done was with the object of advancing the best interests of the borough. He agreed that it would not have been ! good had they all seen eve to eye on all questions. He recognised also that the Mayor did not possess aS> '•Jie brains of the council, and he had allies allowed councillors the opportunity f expressing their opinions on the matfei' , that came up for consideration. In to the staff, he had acted towards his officers as he had towards the council. The i wine l ! asd the town had to depend

largely upon its officers, and if they had not good officers good mayors and councillors could not do much. New Plymouth had been very well favored in its officers.' His four years of office had been hard years, but he recognised they had been hard for the council and for the officers. Things, however, had now improved, else he would not have felt justified in resigning at" the present juncture. If he had not always pleased the coifncil, he had done his best, and had given the councillors every; chance. If they did not get such chances to express their views it would not be much good having a council. Air. Burgess also expressed appreciation of the courtesy extended to him by both councillors and the borough staff, and it was something to be grateful for that at the end of four years such an address should be presented to him, He regretted leaving the council, but he had not taken the ! step without duo consideration. He remarked that any differences there might have been between them at the council table had been forgotten as soon as they got outside, and he thought if men could not take little "brushings up" they should not be on public bodies. He again thanked the council very heartily on behalf of Mrs Burgess and himself for their kind expressions, and assured them they would not cease to- take an interest in the affairs of the town. In reference to the support given by the "chairmen of the committees, Mr Burgess said that when the hydro-electric scheme was completed the town would perhaps know how much it owed to Cr. Clarke for the work he had done in that connection. (Applause.)

WORK OF MAYORESS. Cr. Clarke, who proposed the health of the Mayoress, said they had purposely refrained from joining the Mayor and Mayoress in the same toast, because they felt Mrs. Burgess' work was far too important not to receive separate acknowledgement. It had been an exceptional work, and was more than work for the community—it was Empire work, and he was glad the Empire had recognised it. (Applause.). He was, quite sure the town would not, for a long time at all events, get such another Mayoress as Mrs. Burgess had been. The best appreciation of her work had been among the boys in the trenches when they received the parcels she sent out so regularly every month. Cr. Clarke also spoke of the, appreciation of the boys and the mothers for the consistent way in which Mr and Mrs. Burgess had farewelled each draft of men that left for camp. The town could ill afford to lose such services as Mrs. Burgess had been able to render. Mrs. Burgess, in a very neat and telling reply, after acknowledging kind things spoken, said that, after all, she was only one of the many women who had worked as she had doiie. The others merely wanted a leader. She would be glad now of. the opportunity to sit down quietly and think out all that had been done. She especially mentioned the work of the women in the epidemic, which came, she 1 said, as a last straw on top of all the other work. It was something to be devoutly thankful for that when the epidemic was over the war also was over. She expressed the thanks of the women for the help received from the men, without which they would not have been able to carry on as they did. Messrs J. W. Penn and T. C. List also spoke of the. splendid services rendered to the borough by both Mayor and Mayoress, and expressed regret at their retirement from oiHce. Mr. List proposed the toast of the chairman, which-was heartily honored, Mr. Collis, in his reply, stressing the importance of the duty of citizenship A very pleasant function was brought to a conclusion by the singing of the National Anthem.