MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3175, 28 April 1909, Page 5

MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS.

ADDRESSES AT KURIPUNI. There was a crowded audience at the Kuripuni Hall, last evening, to listen to the addresses given by Cr Yarr, who is seeking re-election in the Council, and the Mayor (Mr P. L. Hollings), and Cr Hunter, who are contesting the Mayoralty, the result of which will be decided to-day. Th chair was occupied by Mr J. G. Mackay, oi Kuripuni. who introduced the speakers, and explained the order in which the addresses would be delivered. Cr Yarr was the first tn speak, and he was treated to a most attentive and practically uninterrupted hearing. It was thought by many that the meeting would be a model of quietness, but as subsequent events proved a section of the audience were only "holding-back"*for the Mayoral candidates.: addresses were punctuated;?, by^'frequent;; interruptions, laughter would follow some witty interjection made by one of theXaudience. The audience, 4;. however, noisy" oughly enjoyed themselves. isC,-*C

CR YARR.

Cr Yarr's remarks were mainly on the lines of the] address delivered by him in the Town Hall, on Saturday night last. He referred to the rejection of the £I,OOO contingency fund which, offathe estimates t of last £year. against his wishes and the Mayor's, and explained the advantage of having such a fund for the accomplishment of urgent works. The statement that an unauthorised payment of£2s had been made in connection with the waterworks was emphatically denied by the speaker, as a resolution had been passed by the Council, which resolution he seconded himself, that the extra work be effected. He had been accused by the evening paper in Masterton of being a workers' candidate, and as such was very willing to drag the last drop of blood from the' ratepayers. In answer to this statement he would say that he was not ashamed to accept the position of the workers' candidate. He would rather be the workman's candidate than the candidate of the paper making the statement. He considered that Kuripuni street waR a most excellent work, and had been done at a reasonable cost, in spite of what some people said. Various matters of interest were touched upon, and Cr Yarr, in his concluding remarks, said that it did not matter who was returned as Mayor, if either of them had a proposal to make, in what he considered was the best interests of the town, that proposal would receive his whole hearted support. (Applause).

CR HUNTER said that he had intended confining his remarks to himself, but he would like to reply to one or two observations made by Cr Yarr. Regarding that gentleman's remarks about the authorisation of tb* £25 for the water works, what the speaker had said was that there was no record that the amount had been authorised. Why did not Cr Yarr produce the minute book to substantiate his statement? He was going to ask the Mayor to be a -man for once. Would the Mayor that night try and leave the speaker alone, and instead endeavour to pull his arguments to pieces. (Cheers and a voice: "Read your policy, John"). The speaker, in outlining his policy, said he considered a 2d rate would be quite sufficient for the coming year. There was no necessity, as the Mayor desired to do, to construct footpaths out of loan money. If some of the numerous "leaks" were stopped, more footpaths could be built, and if elected he would make a point of stopping the leaks. After referring to the water rate, the speaker passed on to the loan money, and asked what had they got as value for the expenditure. He accused the Mayor of neglect of duty. Why had not a statement of the year's work been placed on the table? The Mayor should have seen that it was done. The speatcer wanted to tell them what had become of the loan money, but had been blocked from getting the information. The year was over, and the statement was not available. It was not the speaker's business to prepare the statement. If eltcted he would keep a strict scrutiny on the expenditure as he considered it highly necessary. He was not going to ask for loans to make footpaths. It had been said that Cr Ewington and the speaker were the only dissatisfied Councillors, but this waas a mistake. There were others dissatisfield, but they were only keeping quiet for the sake of peace. (Roars of laughter.) He had appealed to the Mayor time after time to set the Councillors an example, but it was hopeless. In conclusion, Cr Hunter said he would be pleased to hear His Worship's address. He thanked those present, and said it was one of the best election meetings he had ever had the pleasure of addressing. (Applause). MR ROLLINGS. The Mayor, in his opening remarks, said the audience after hearing Cr Hunter, would now have some idea of what the speaker and the Councillors had had to put up with during the last twelve months. He

denied calling Cr Hunter an "obstructionist," and said the term was purely an invention of that gentleman. If Gr Hunter was so satisfied with hia rate reduction scheme, why did not he move an amendment last year to have it altered. Regarding Kuripuni street twelve months ago the speaker had told the residents of Kuripuni that tnere interests would be respected, and he had kept his promise. (Applause). It was due to his efforts that the street had been formed. He had made it his business to do tha work and had done it. After referring to the .£I,OOO contingency fund the speaker said he was not ashamed of his policy during the past year. There had not been a single complaint regarding the Council's work until three days before the election, and then he was charged with neglect. The speaker quoted figuures to show that he had attended 37 meetings to Cr Hunter's 30. Where did the negect come in? Cr Hunter had neglected his duties in trotting round the country on general election business. (At this stage, Cr Hunter rose to I make an explanation. The Chairman rose also, and the scene resembled that of the night before at the Town Hall. AH remarks, however, for a time were drowned by the yells from the back of the building.) Continuing, Mr Hollings indignantly denied that he had neglected his duty, and said the tactics of Cr Hunter were most unjust ones. The speaker agreed with Cr Yarr that there were not better streets in th whole of New Zealand than in Masterton. (Applause.) Cr Hunter had given no assistance in the drainage proposal. The whole success of the drainage was due to the Engineer and no one else. He had given Cr Hunter far more latitude in the Council meetings than anyone else, and it could not be said that ne had failed to give fair play. The Mayor then outlined the policy he proposed to pursue if elected, and in doing so referred to the necessity of draining the undrained portion of the town. He was prepared to keep the rates down as low as possible, but he was not going to be a party to a policy of stagnation and starvation. He believed the water rate could be reduced, and remarked that Cr Hunter had not attempted to explain how it was to be done. This concluded the meeting.