COUNTY COUNCIL ELECTIONS.

Temuka Leader, Volume I, Issue 96, 16 November 1878, Page 2

COUNTY COUNCIL ELECTIONS.

TEMtIKA RIDING. At 12 o’clock on Thursday (nbmp five-and-twonty persons b ing present) Mr W. Wills, the Returning Officer for the Riding, declared the result of the polling of the previous day as follows. At (he different polling places (Temuka, Winchester,- Waitohi and JRangitata Island), the votes given to K. F. Gray were 77, 21, 0,

and 1; to J. Mendelson, 76, 20, 20, and 7;toT. O. Rayncr, 80, 3,5, and 6 ;to J. Talbot, 57, 14 49 and 0 ; to A. Wilson, 126, 12, 20, and 10. The lota’s are :—-

Messrs Wilson and Mendelson were therefore declared"duly elected. The Returning Officer -Luted that four voting papers had been improperly marked at Temuka. and two at Winchester These mistakes did not, however, affect the relative positions of the candidates. Mr Wilson returned thanks as follows ; —•Mr Returning Officer and brother.electors, 1 beg to return my most sincere thanks for the honor you have done me in placing me at the head of the poll. I take it as an evidence that the riding d' sires to see the Counties Aci brought into force, and as an evidence that you are ratified with my conduct jo the past, and that I will do my hast for the' county in tire future. I shall now find a greater obl’g d’on than ever upon me to devote my time to the interests of the comity. Hitherto, in local matters, we have had to look only to Temuka ; now we have not simply the good of Temuka, hut the good of an extensive county to look after, and tins 1 shall carefully keep in 1 imv. My colleague. Mr Mendelson, Ins stated that he could not work with me. I should like to make a few remarks upon this statement. I have been eight or ten times returned as a member of the School Commiitee, and I have nrver had the least rli-agreement with my fello vcammittcemen ; and I am proud to say that the school at the present time is in. as flourishing a condition as it ever was-. I have been a member of the Park Commission for nearly seven years, and I think my colleagues would assure you that we have got on together most harmoniously As a member of the Agricultural Association, of which I was one of the promoters, I have been returned five times as a committee-man and its t’easurer, and I have never had one word of disagreement with any other nierab r. The | roceeclings of the Milford Harbour Committee, of which I have the honor to be Chairman, have always boon characterised by unity and good f 'eling. I make the-e statements to give force to the suggestion i now make, namely, that ;t was perhaps as much Mr Mende’sous fault as my own that we cou d not agree logeth r. [Hear, hear.] The bans of our disagreement was that while I was for bringing the Counties Act into force. Mr Mendelson strongly opposed it. He has now, he admits, got Ids eyes opened to their error of his former ways, and, therefore, it may be that the grounds of dis .grecmeiit being removed, we may agree better in future. We had a sufficient cause for disagre 'merit, therefore Mr Men le'son should not have cli rged me with being an obr-tructioi.ist whom no one cin work with. Again, I thank you, gentlemen, for the honor jmu have done me.

Mr Mende'son said—Mr Returning' Officer and gentlemen ; I am extremely obliged to yon for the honor you have done me in e'ecting "ip to a seat in tlie Comity Council. At the same time I feel a good deal disappointed at the result of tlrs election. You haw known me for many years, and I ha k■ •<i for a givatsr sham of support from the townspeople. Had it not been for t'-e support I rec -iv d from the country I s' ould have been at the bottom of ti e poll. I understand tha* it has be-n said of me. ‘‘Don’t vote for linn ; he is likely to remove— ” what I udi not mention. But refer to the minutes of the Connci’s proceedings, and see what I have aheady done about this matter. I am charged with being a d'inhtfii 1 clnu-acter ; and with 1 eing disloyal to Temuha ; with being a character to be looked upon with the very gnatest suspicion. It is stated that I In d previously opiiosed the harbor works at Yilford. ' That was the last nail in my coffin. These statements arc mistakes, and I should like to set myse’f right before yon. The Ti narii H-rhor B aid hal LIOO.OOO in hand, while Milford had no funds whatever. B licvlng that the whole of South Can'f rb iry should have a voice in the expenditure of the money in the hands of the Harbor Board, and that the harbor should be made in the best place, I suggested tint the whole foreshore, from the Waitiki to the Rmgitata, should be placed in the hands of the Bear'd, and that they should spend the money where it woidd he best f-pent. If this bad been done the plans for Milford would have come into competition with those for Tirnavu, and if Mil ord is half as good as it i- reported to be the whole of the funds available for harbors in South Canterbury would I ave been expended upon It. Mr Hayhnrst. however, engaged Mr Johnston to orepare plans tor Milford independently. Before they were eompleted, I asked what could be done when they were completed. It was said, “We’ll get a resolution of the House of Representatives that will enable us to carry them out.” I said that that was impossible, and suggested adjourning' the matter until we could see Mr Wakefield. When we saw him he advised us to leave the matter to him, as he might be able to get a grant of land ; if we did not .ve would get nothing. 1 was quite agreeable to this. The Harbor Committee got the plans, and siid, “Wo will have a harbour for ourselves,” huh they were in no better pos'tion than ever. With reference to the statements of Mr "Wilson respecting our former disagreement, you will remember that the last tinm I sought election to the County Council I told yon clearly that I did not think the district justified in having two forms of local government. At a later slave, at a meeting in the Volunteer Hall, Mr Wilson put it before yon that that it was of vital importance to bring the Act into operation. I am on the other hand showed that passing the resolution would serve no purpose, for under the Financial Arrangements Act the County Council could get no real work to do until June, 1879, I remarked that there was ample time to discuss the advisability of bringing the Act into force before the next—-that is this present e l ecfion. At the late nomi- " nation I explained my present views on ' the subject. I thank you for the confidence yon place in me, and .should I not he able to work in harmony with ray colleague, I shall certainly retire from tlm Council. Mr Talbot said : I cannot say that I am dissatisfied with the result of the election

for I am sure that any two ‘ f llj e< :ill ' ' dates will do their best for the I was prevented ‘ y ■ circa hr t nces truin doing much to secure my re urn, ■ tnerwise the result might have b< - eu dift rent, as lam not far behind, t/ me say t,.at i came forward to please Mr I’osllethwaite, but I did nothing of the s< rt ; I came forward to give efiect to my own opinions.I am opposed to bringing die Art into force, but when I see so many in favor of adopting it, I think there must be i-onie-thing in it. I have no doubt it will be adopted now, since a majority of the Council are in favor of it- it is found beneficial, I may myse’f join in and help to work it. Xdo not think that we shall reap so many advantages from its adoption as are expected. If I could see how great works—such as bridges—could be carried out under present arrangements I ehou'd be more de-idedty opposed to a change, for we are working very well as we are ; but I do not sec that we can get on much longer without some change. I heartily thank those who voted for me at the election. Mr Gray said : I thank you very numb for the manner in which you have supported me in this my first appearance in the political arena. I am much obliged to those electors who voted for me, and also those who did nut vote for me, for I am sure they voted tor others with the good intention ot‘ doing the best for the county. I trust that the gentlemen who have been returned will be united in their aims,- and throwing all petty jealousy to the wdnds, work well and truly for the benefit oi the whole county. Mr Gray criticised at some length the attitude of Mr Mendelson towards the Milford Harbor, and concluded by again thanking the electors for their support. Dr .Rayner in a humorous speech deplored his defeat, but he looked back on his numerous victories in the past and was consoled. His pluck had nut deserted him, but it seemed the electors wanted new* blood in tln ir local bodies. They were right. This new i flood, properly purified by the Health Officer, would enable tlrm to run a sound and strong course. He begged to thank the electors who had supported him. A vote of thanks to the Returning Officer, proposed by Dr Riyncr am! seconded by Mr Wilson, terminated the proceedings. BAUK'APVKA MUTKO. A poll was taken on Wednesday, the 13th instant, for the return of one member for the Eaukapuka Riding for the County Conn il, noth the following result —Mr Richard Alfred Barker, 74 ; Mr Thomas Hardcastle, 10G. The voting at each booth was as under : Hardcastle. Barker.

Majority for Mr Hard castle, ;;2. Ever since it hrs been known that Mr Hardcastle was coming forward to oppose Mr Barker, the latter has been (he favorim, and up to tire time of d< e'aring the poll it was thought that Mr Barker would go in with fl.yii g colours ; but the decimation of tire poll turned the tables altogether, and cast quite a gloom over the countenances of some persons present, who could not understand it at ah. Mr Hardcastlereturned thanks to those ratepayers who had conferred the In nor upon him of making him their lepresentative in tin* County Coumil, and trusted that they would have no reason to regret tpe course of action they had taken in the mattf r.

Mr Barker also thanked the few gentlemen that had voted lor him, st, ting that it w- s scarcely’ to be expe ted that one living out ide the district con'd stand against a local man. A vote of thanks to the Returning Officer brought the meeting to a close.

A. WPstm ... ... 168 J. iljiuUaim ... 123 J. T.)b<jt ... ... 120 K. F. Giav... ... 99 T. 0. Ravner ... 94

Geraldine ... 74 52 Waihi Bush 26 7 Kakaliu 6 15 Totals ... ... 106 74