THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 1907. THE MUNICIPAL ELECTION MEETINGS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8407, 23 April 1907, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 1907. THE MUNICIPAL ELECTION MEETINGS.

Despite counter attractions there were good attendances last evening at the meetings held in the Foresters' Hall and in the Exchange Buildings, the audience at the former meeting place being exceptionally good. The meeting in the Exchange Building was somewhat slow, Mr McEwen, one of the candidates for thu Mayoralty, and Messrs Temple, Morris and Ewington making speeches in support of the administration of the retiring Borough Council. The speakers, no doubt, did their duty in rendering an account of their stewardship to the burgesses, but the meeting could hardly be described as a phenomenal success. It, unfortunately, "clashed" with Mr Coradine's meeting, which went off remarkably well, and was really of an enthusiastic character. It was only natural that Mr Coradine should have had something to say in regard to the manner in which Municipal

affairs have been administered during the past twelve months, and he is to be congratulated upon the trenchant and able style in which he went about his task. As we have said before, we consider that, on the whole, the administration of the retiring - Council has been of a creditable character, but it was not Mr Coradine's business to make "excuses" for what he contended were defects, and, certainly, no one can charge him with having done anything of the kind. lie described the Borough Council as being "a mutual admiration society," and twitted them with the fact that though their revenue had exceeded their estimate by £2OO, still the overdraft of the General Account had increased, roughly, by £2,000. In the course of his address Mr Coradine made a strong point of the fact that the chief quality required in a Maor was administrative capacity, and we agree with the contention. In emphasising the fact we have referred to, Mr Coradine, of course, inferred that he considered he would, if elected to the position to which he aspires, prove a good administrator, and we are, also, of the same opinion. At the conclusion of Mr Coradine's speech, Messrs W. Pragnell, A. Haughey and J. Yarr addressed the meeting, and were all well received, their speeches, although necessarily brief, being pithy in charactar. Mr Yarr seemed to make an exceptionally good impression.