THE MAYORALTY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9076, 28 April 1908, Page 5

THE MAYORALTY.

MR HOLLINGS' ADDRESS.

Three was a crowded audience at the Town Hall last evening, when Mr P. L. Hollings gave his second address in connection with the Mayoralty contest. Mr C. E. Banieli occpied the chair. Mr Holiings, in opening, thanked the chairman for presiding on .such 1 an occasion, and the public for at- | tending in such large numbers. J3e apologised for not being able to bring a large bodyguard on the stage, including the Borough solicitors, but said in explanation that he f©ugntliiE battles alone, and was not afraid to do so. He rather enjoyed fcuch campaigns as were now being conducted, and he hoped they all did. However, he scorned to criticise the private ! life or character of opponents, but I held that it was the prerogative of any candidate to deal with the public work accomplished by his opponents, and the speaker was himself ready to submit to such a process. Coming to the noints at issue, Mr Rollings • said he would first deal with the water and drainage schemes. From what the Mayor had said it was apparent that the ratepayers were face to face with a loan of £IO,OOO for .water and £30,000 for drainage extension and improvements. He (proposed to deal with the two scheme separately. There was no doubt the water scheme was defective. The flesson of last summer had shown that conclusively, and it was imperative that the system should be put on a better footing. There should not, however, be any tinkering with it, and ( hio policy, .if elected, would bo to make it a? serviceable as possible. The town wanted a thoroughly efficient ifire pressure and a domestic ; and general supply that would be of the fu'liest benefit to rtepaayers. THE ONE WEAKNESS

in Mr Laing-Meason's report was that it did not supply an ample fire 'service—one whch could be relied upon absolutely to tide over a season such as last summer without difficulty. What really was wanted in this connection was a Borough Engineer who was a permanent official of the municipality. He should be a man who knew local conditions thoroughly, and therefore one who had experience of them, and such a man, and he only : could give the Borough a satisfactory service. ("Hear! Hear!" and applause.) Until the Council was prepared to say to the ratepayers they possessed A COMPETENT PERMANENT • ENGINEER, they would be better advised co leave the scheme alone. It was all very well for one Councillor to say he knew this, and another to say he knew that, and the Mayor to say "I'm a practical man, and I think so and so, and that such and such should be done." The Borough wanted a thoroughly competent, qualified, practical man, with a reputation at stake, who could give tlie town what it really needed. (Applause.) It was unfortunate that Messrs Lang-Meason and Dobson were not in accord regarding the wa*".er schema. In fact they were uti many points diametrically opposed. What, therefore, was to be done? It wa3 manifestly unfair to come to the ratepayers, on the eve of a municipal election, and ask them '-0 act on such reports. unquestionably was the preferable course was for the Council to get the Engineer first, and when he had been here sufficiently long to be acquainted with the details to put the matter before the ratepayers, and ask them if they desired the'work to be put in hand. Until that was done it would only be THROWING MONEY AWAY, and the same mistakes would be made again as had been in the past. He thought, moreover, it would be a splendid bit of business on the part of the Borough to adopt his suggestion regarding the appointment of a permanent engineer. If the combined water and drainage schemes were to cost £40,000 an engineer's commission on the supervision of this would be, at 5 per cent—the customary fee —£2,000 alone. Therefore a permanent engineer would save the Borough five years of his salary in this alone, and in addition would have in hand all the other important but lesser works in progress in the Borough. The same remarks applied to the drainage as to the water supply proposals. £30,000 was too much to spend without making further inquiries, and it was feasible that only a man thorougnly conversant with the position could supervise such a scheme. Yet, so far as he (the speaker) was aware, the Mayor had not yet even suggested the appointment of a Borough Engineer, and was apparently commencing the business at the wrong end. The Palmerston North Borough Council paid its engineer £SOO, and it was he who carried through the Borough's important water and drainage work, and saved the town thousands of pounds. Other towns had been equally business-like, and though he was not prepared to say what salary should be paid by the Masterton Council he at least believed in paying a man what he was worth. (Hear! Hear!) The speaker affirmed that if he were elected he would have no hesitation in bringing the question of procuring a competent engineer before the Council. He thought it quite unfair to expect one man to carry out two such widely different tasks as Town Clerk and Borough Engineer, where the former involved financial and clerical work, and the latter questions of engineering and outside matters. An experienced engineer would find plenty to do in Masterton outside, and could devote the whole of his time to his duties. It was said that A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE WAS A DANGEROUS THING,

and the Mayor did not justify his claim that the matter being left safely in his hands. Perhaps he was a first-rate builder, and all that, but the work required to be done demanded the services of a first class man and an expert who would satisfy the whole Council, and not one man of imperfect ideas. MUNICIPAL BUIDLINGS. 'Mr Rollings then dealt with the Mayor's proposal to expend the sum of £IO,OOO on a municipal building. "What on earth," he asked, "does the Mayor want with a municipal building?" The present Town Hall belonging to the people was surely elegant enough to suit the town for a long time to come, and if not tha

j people must be very hard to please. Napier Town Hall was not either half so good or half so safe. And then the office accommodation at present was sufficient for its purposes for many years. But the Council, of course, must have a beautiful new chamber to air their eloquence in, at a cost of £10,000! (Laughter.) And this

GREAT "WHITE ELEPHANT" was going to be erected while there were ratepayers in different parts of the Borough, wading in the winter through mud, and slush, and unable to get redress. Surely the Council and the Borough were already heavily enough saddled with loans with out another .one of £IO,OOO being added on. The whole scheme was, he declared, nothing but A SOP TO THE BUILDING TRADE.

.(Loud laughter). He had forgotten, however, that there were three builders in the Council. A voice: And there will soon be four!) Yes, there might be four by-and-by. It was suggested, moreover, to spend the profits of the Gasworks on this proposed municipal building. Was that the only or the best means open for expending this money, some £2,000 a year 9 Why not reduce the price of gas? If the Borough was making the large amount of £2,000 a year out of the Gasworks surey that was the best evidence tint the consumers were paying too much for their gas. (Hear! Hear! and applause.) If reducing the price of gas did not suit, why not reduce the amount of the Borough overdraft 7 Or as another alternative, why not spend the money in making decent roads and footpaths for those who have not got them at the present time. No, the Mayor must have his big'white elephant of a municipal building even if it took the £2.000 a year profit from the Gasworks to pay for it. COMPLETION OF LOAN WORKS.

Coming to further questions of policy, Mr Hollings said he would, if returned, endeavour to forward the completion of the works not yet finished included under the £25,0C0 loan schedule, works which should, he eontendad, have been completed long ago. Referring to Kuripuni and Makora Streets, he said they should have long ago been out of hand, and NO SATISFACTORY EXPLANATION

had so far been made why they were not. What made the matter worse was that interest was being paid on the loan money all this time, and the claims for compensation were increasing in amount all the time. Mr Hollings then dwelt with the financial position of the Borough. He asked his audience if they knew that already they were indebted to the extent of £90,000 on the psecial loan account. In addition to this there was the proposal to borrow £40,000 for water and drainage, and the Mayor proposed a municipal building scheme to cost another £IO,OOO. Add to this the Bomugh overdraft of £7,000 (in round figures), and the Borough's TOTAL INDEBTEDNESS WOULD BE £147,000. This was a pretty serious state.of affairs, and an enorrmus increase in rates was inevitable. He contended that the whole of the financial position required recasting on a different basis. It was of paramount importance that proper accounts should be kept so that the ratepayers could be shown clearly how the finances stood. It was only essential that a sinking fund should be provided for in the estimates, for the liquidation of the overdraft. The framing of the estimates was also a matter to which a belter system than was present in vogue might be applied. The Council should take care that all work to be carried out during the year was included in the estimates, and when once the latter were framed they should not be departed from for any one. The Council had not been altogether to blame in the past, as when the estiumates were completed and the year's work commenced, someone invariably came along with an "urgent work," and Councillors were pestered till it was done. Regarding the Fire Brigade, Mr Hollings said it was certainly an institution worthy of hearty support, and this fact he never attempted to deny. It was the Council he attacked for loosely framing its estimates under this head, an estimate which was £2OO short of the mark. The same remarks applied to the Mayor's statements with regard to Hospitals and Charitable Aid. The speaker here took the opportunity to state that he had been

GROSSLY MISREPRESENTED and injured by professed supporters of the present Mayor it) reference to his object in contesting the seat and his position as a resident of Lansdowne. He said that it had been rumoured that he had an axe to grind, and that his present object was to benefit Lansdowne. He gave an emphatic contradiction to the rumour, and contended, as he awlays had done, that Lansdowne should join the Borough, and until it did it should receive no concessiou or benefit from the Borough. Lansdowne had its own water and drainrage scheme in hand, and he was a keen supporter of it, and therefore he failed to see how his election could benefit Lansdowne much. He thought that was A COMPLETE ANSWER to these unwarranted statements. He contended that it was only a question of time when Lansdowne would be joined with the borough, and the solution of the northern approach queston would inevitably follow. Another matter on which he had been grossly misrepresented was in connection with he municipal office staff. It had been suggested that he sought election with the object of putitng Mr Brown back as Town Clerk. Such ar. assertion was a deliberatte and mischievous falsehood, as he had made no pi'omise to anyone in regard to the matter. He had raised his voice on behalf of Mr Brown because the latter had been unjustly treated. He had an entirey open mind on the question, but believed, as a matter _ of fact that Mr Brown had not the slightest intention of applying to be reinstated, having become so disgusted with his treatment by the Council. Mr Hollings then referred to the question of purchasing and converting THE A. AND P. SHOWGROUNDS into a public recreation ground. He said that as soon as he had learnt that this property was likely to be ; disposed of he at once took steps to i ascertain on what terms it could be | procured by the municipality for a

recreation ground. He thought people should look ahead, and it was farpreferable for the grounds in question to be converted into a fine,, healthy recreation ground than to be; cut up into building sections. However, it was a question entirely for* the people, but he would not hesitate to place it before themi The interest would probably be: about £3OO per year. The speaker said that whatever the result of the election, he was gratified that so much interest had been' aroused in it, and said the ratepayers* had received a deeper insight into, municipal matters th«an for a long: time previously. The Mayor appeared to resent criticism, but the speaker's policy must necessarily be one of criticism. The Mayor should, moreover, court criticism—it was the best thing he could have: if he were on safe ground, ana if did not like it he shoulJ not enterpublic life. It was very nice for his. opponent to come forward and throw out certain challenges as he did on Thursday, with a rigmarole of hackneyed slang phrases, enabling anyone to recognise the authorship very? easily. (Laughter.) These tactics: did not throw dust in the eyes of theratepayers, but had the reverse effect. He desired to know what the Mayor thought he (the speaker) saw in Mr Coradine to be jealous of? (Loud laughter.) Did the Mayor regard his present position as a birthright, so that every other aspirant for the position v/as personally jealous? Regarding the Mayor'sstatement that "Figures were things, with which people could be tied into knots." Mr Hollings said his opponent had

TIED HIMSELF INTO A KNOT which he would find it hard to undo. The statement in his printed balancesheet were totally inconsistent with, his statement at his public meeting. The balance-sheet said the expenditure was £9,207, but on Thursday Mr Coradine said it was £7,526 only. Obviously the former was correct. Then the Mayor wanted to assert that instead of receiving £7,290 he had only got £6,182. Assuming this to be true:, it made the expenditure infinitely worse, as it threw it another thousard pounds to the bad. The next point dealt with by Mr Hollings was in reference to Mr Coradine's statement that he (Mr Hollings) went £I,OOO to the bad the year he was Mayor.

MR CORADINE NEGLECTED TO MENTION

that the Government subsidy on rates and on the Coronation Celebration Fund did not come in that yesr as it should have, but until the year following, when it went to reduce the overdraft. Anyhow, were it is Mr Coradine stated, it did not justify him going £2,000 to the bad. The speaker then refered at length to the Mayor's remarks on the question of the public works done during the year. He contended that the Mayor took full credit for not only the erection of the public baths, but also other works included under the loan schedule, when they were entirely due to the EFFORTS OF CR EWINGTON. He it was who piloted the loan through, and was responsible for the works, and not to the Mayor. (Applause.) And the Mayor also had taken credit fcr doing certain works as though done out of general revenue, when as a matter of fact they wete done out of loan mo-ey. The Mayor denied that he • received £l2,ooounder the loan schedule when he took office. He evidently foryot —though the speaker di 1 not-—Shat in April last the balance-sheet showed that £12,140 was left to be taken up. Why did not the Mayor as a professedly business-like man bring down a statement at his meeting showing the new works carried out by him, what each co3t, and what remained to be dine under the loan schedule. He might also have* brought down a statement showing how the £9,207 of general revenue had been expended. When the Mayor forgot about the mud of last winter he forgot also how the magistrate—at the request of the Borough solicitor, too—had reduced the fines on a number of cyclists who used the footpaths from 5s to. Is, to mark bis disapproval of the' muddy state of the thoroughfares. (Applause.) The increase of office expenses and the payment of £l5O retiring allowance to Mr Dobsori were also quoted by Mr Hollings in answer to the Mayor's challenge to prove extravagance, also the lengthy advertisement announcing the election. Then the Finance Committee in July last counselled economy/and were actually threatened with a notice asking them to resign if they dared to suggest economy. The Mayor defied the speaker to point out a single unfinished work, but that was an easy challenge, as no new work had been taken in hand to leave unfinished. (Laughter.) The charges of procrastination were also returned to by the speaker, who said that the Mayor had failed to act, even when one of his own men, Cr Pauling, had moved in the direction of placing the water and drainage scheme before the public. He also referred at length to the Mayor's treatment of Mr Brown, declaring that to this day Mr Brown was ignorant of why he was dismissed, and if the Mayor did not wish to tell the public, surely he could tell Mr Brown. (Hear! Hear!) The Mayor had said "he" did it in the public interests, yet Cr Yarr was the one who, on the eve of the election, when it was impossible to reply, proposed to explain why "he" did it. He challenged Cr Yarr (who wats present) to come on the platform there and then and make his charges so that the speaker could deny them. (This invitation was received with a storm of applause.) There may have been abundant reasons for Mr Brown's dismissal, but why had they not been advanced? Referring to the Mayor's statements that he (the speaker) had belittled the work of the Borough staff, Mr Hollings denied such, and said that his contention had been, and was, that it was impossible for adequate supervision to be had under existing arrangement, aiTi hereferred to a

BUNGLE AT YATES' ESTATE, where he said a road was .literally "suspended in the air" through wrong levela having been supplied, Mr Hollings closed his speech with a few general remarks, and resumed his seat amidst prolonged applause. A number of questions were asked and answered, and on the motion of Mr E. Feist, seconded by Mr E. McEwen, a hearty vote of thanks was accorded Mr Hollings by acclamation.