VOTING WITHOUT THINKING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3188, 13 May 1909, Page 4

VOTING WITHOUT THINKING.

An instance of voting without thinking evidently occurred at the last meeting of the Masterton Borough Council, when the Mayor moved, in accordance with notice of motion, "That the Borough Engineer be instructed to prepare an estimate of the approximate cost of completely kerbing, channelling, pathing, and macadamising the whole of the central and arterial roads of the Borough, with the view of placing before the ratepayers a loan proposal to enable such works to be carried out." As the Mayor was careful to emphasise, his motion simply meant the obtaining from the Engineer of a report as to whether the scheme was advisable. His Worship, also, referred to the important fact that it is virtually impossible to construct new works out of revenue. To our mind, the j Council should have shown more confidence in the Mayor than to have straightway rejected his motion, which Was really little more than a request that a report should be prepared upon the general position of ways and means. We should certainly like to know upon what grounds the Councillors, who voted against the motion, opposed it. One Councillor remarked that it was a lot of work for nothing, and certainly the preparing of th f v report would maan a good deal of work for the Engineer, but Mr Mansfield has not created the impression in the community that he is afraid of hard work, and the report would, in any case, be valuable for purposes of reference. The raising of a loan, as suggested by the Mayor does not imply an extravagant move on the part of the Council. It seem 3to us that a loan proposal for certain purposes could be put forward, and that it would be desirable economy on tha part of the ratepayers to sanction it. We trudt that the Mayor will adhere to his expressed intention to brinjj the matter up again.