COUNCILLORS DISAGREE.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 April 1921, Page 5

COUNCILLORS DISAGREE.

INGLEWOOD COUNTY INCIDENT. CHAIRMAN ASKED TO RESIGN. At the last meeting of the Inglewood County Council a petition signed by 19 ratepayers in the west riding was presented to the chairman (Cr. A. Corkill) asking him to resign his position as a member of the council in order that he might offer himself for re-election, and so gain an expression of opinion from the ratepayers as to his actions since the first meeting of the council. The petition expressed the opinion that he had lost the confidence of the ratepayers and that his action in regard to the clerk, as evidenced by newspaper reports, showed that he had allowed personal differences to over-ride matters concerning the general and beneficial interests of the ratepayers. Further, the petitioners were of the opinion that no real progress would be made by the council' with the chairman at the table, either as chairman or councillor. The petition concluded by regretting the necessity for the condition of affairs that necessitated the request being made, a request which he would doubtless recognise as one which any community had a right to make. The chairman promised to consider the matter, and at yesterday’s meeting, just prior to the conclusion of the business, he referred to it, stating that on perusing the signatures it had struck him as strange that of those who had signed there were more than half that he did not know at all and only two or three that he had ever spoken to. He could not understand why they had signed the petition, so he had made it his business to interview a few and find out. It appeared to him that Or. Simpson was the moving spirit in the matter. One of the arguments used to induce people to sign was that the clerk was going to sue the council for £lOOO, and it was therefore better “to push the chairman out.” Cr. Simpson: The person who told you that told a d—— lie! “THE MAN IN THE MUD” The chairman, continuing, said that another argument was that he was. “against the man in the mud” and that he had stated; “Let the man in the mud stay there.” A lot of capital had been made out of that, and it was said that a man who took that stand was not fit to be chairman. He reminded them that when Crs. Simpson and Hunter had brought forward their proposal to raise a loan to give every settler in the county a metalled road, he had pointed out that a§..one half of the settlers had already raised loans to metal their roads, that system having been in vogue since the commencement, it would be useless to place such a loan before the ratepayers, as it would not be carried, and that the people now on the mud roads would have to raise loans as others had done. If they did not there would be nothing for them but to stop in the mud. From these facts, he said, it would be easily seen that these people had been wilfully misled by Cr. Simpson and a few of his friends. He had heard it mentioned that there was someone else behind Cr. Simpson. The chairman said that he had always taken his part ift the affairs of the district and considered the whole business contemptible and cowardly. Cr. Simpson had sat at the table for years with the speaker and had made no charge against him. Cr. Simpson had not put his own name to the petition, but had apparently gone round the

country and done his level best to create unrest and discontent among the ratepayers. Cr. Simpson claimed to be r socialist and the speaker was looked upon as a capitalist, which he was not, and he would like to know what Cr. Simpson had done as a socialist to help his fellow men. The speaker had always done his best for- his fellow men and was one of a few who had guaranteed £lOO,OOO which was lent out to help the struggling settlers. He would ask Cr. Simpson whether he had done this. He would also ask: Was he using anv of that money which some of his neighbors more in need should have? NOT RESIGNING. It appeared that Cr. Simpson’s socialism was to get what he could for hiiilself and “to the devil with the other fellow!” He had sat beside Cr. Simpson on the council for years and did not look upon him as one of the brightest men at the table; in fact, the sooner the ratepayers called on him to r esign and send some one ?t there with a little more business ability the better for themselves. If Cr. Simpson could name any one outside the soldiers who had made greater sacrifices for the district during the last four years than the speaker he would willingly resign his seat that night in his favor. He did not believe the petition represented the feelings of the ratepayers, who had been misled over the matter. Moreover, as chairman of the council, he had the three other ridings to consider as well as this one. Since last meeting dozens of ratepayers had told him to take no notice of the petition and that if hfe

wanted a petition to ask him to continue in the council they could get as may signatures as he wished. However, he had no intention of taking notice of petitions, and had no inter 4 on of resigning. If the settlers did not know the most useful man for them he did. Cr. Simpson said that the chairman’s remarks were nothing more or less than spiteful vituperation. The chairman stated that he (Cr. Simpson) went round the district canvassing This the speaker characterised as a d lie. He. had not gone round the district, nor had he authorised any one to do so, and he asked the chairman to state who had told him. This the chairman declined to do. Continuing, Cr. Simpson said that lie would give the history of the petition from “A to Z.” Some members of the council considered this would take too long. CR. SIMPSON’S STATEMENT. Cr. Simpson, however, pointed out that he wished to remove an injustice. The chairman had indulged in personalities in referring to him, whereas the petition referred to Mr. Corkill in his position as chairman of the council and not as a private individual, and he appealed to councillors to give him an opportunity to place the position before them. Fourteen ratepayers came to him and asked him to write letters to the papers dealing with the chairman’s action, but he stated that he could not do this as he sat at the council table with the chairman. They said that something should be done and that the chairman should be made to resign. He

said that if the matter was put that way the only course would be by petition, but he did not suppose the chairman would resign. He had never taken the petition round and had never asked any man to sign it or to go round with it. The persons who told the chairman he had gone round with the petition yyere d liars, and he would tell them so if the chairman would give him their names.

Continuing, Cr. Simpson said that th“e » chairman had no right to mention personal matters, such as his claiming to be a socialist. The chairman had said that if the ratepayers did not like to help themseves they could stay in the mud, as far as he was concerned. Ratepayers could see this in the newspaper reports. The chairman: What evidence is a newspaper report? Continuing, Cr. Simpson said that he was not present at the meeting when the main roads were declared and the Eginont Road and Lepper Road were included as main roads. Ratepayers had said to him that this was because the chairman lived on them. The chairman: Half of those who signed the petition came from that road. Cr. Simpson said that he agreed that it was not right that those road? should be included. Durham and Dudley Roads running from the Junction io the Mountain Road had better claims for inclusion. Again Cr. Simpson asked the chairman to inform him who had told him that, he said the clerk was going to sue the council for £lOOO. The chairman declined to inform Cr. Simpson who his informant wtftj, remarking that there were half a dozen of them. This discussion then