THE CREDIT OF MASTERTON

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10484, 22 November 1911, Page 5

THE CREDIT OF MASTERTON

ALLEGED MALICIOUS STATEMENTS. RESOLUTION BY BOROIftSH COUNCIL. ' Councillor Temple moved at last night's meeting of the Mastcrtou Borough C'"".ncil: — "Th: l .. ,jii.s Council, emphatically protestagainst tho unfair and maiicious attempt. l ; made by a section of the public, vide tho Evening Post advertisement, under date November 2nd, to damage the credit of our town, such statements being contrary to fact, a-nd, further, we aie satisfied that the business people recognise that financialy and commerciaJly Masterton never, held a firmer position."

The Mayor said he would take the motion, if Cr Temple confined Ids remarks to it, and did not bring im tilie qaustion of m No-license and License. He 'did not wish any party feeliaig lf> ,be created. Continuing, Cr Temple said:.— "In dealing with this motion, 1 wish to confine my rema.ks as fains possible to' the paragraph referring to the 'Condition of Masterton, where it assarts 'that the people of Maisterton ilia ye absolutely lost confidence and faith in their .own town. This is amply proved by the fact that thiey have time after time rejected all loams pi'oposed by their Borough Goutnwid for town improvements in the way of drainage, etc., as they recognised .that since Noiicense was carried and the of Borough revenue caused by it, the rates are quite unbearable without increasing them.' A more unfair and malicious statement it would be hard to unearth.. I maintain these statements are contrary to fact. Have.our people lest confidence in (the town ? * Facts prove otherwise. The capital value of Masterton for •the year ending March 31st, 190S, was £r,059,350; /for the year ending March 31st, 1911, £1,081,830, an increase of £22,450. Again, building permits issued for the year ending 31st December, 1908,' totaied £13,324. To the 3rd November, 1911 (10 •months) the total permits issued total! £17,620, an increase of £3704, and two mlonths still ito go to complete the year. Now we come to what fn a measure might be termed luxuries. In 1908, 13 motor cans and 13 motor eyefes were registered, approximate value £5850. To November 3rd A .1911 (10 months), two months to 'complete the year, we find 45 motor cars and 50 motor cycles registered, approximate vaiue £20,000, the total now registered being 102 cars, 96 motor cycles of the approximate value of about £46,000, and yet we. are -toM that the Masterton district is practically on the verge of bankruptcy. Turning to the gasworks account, which to niy mind is- a very. good indication that our peopk? have not lost confidence in the town, it will! be found that for j the year ending March, 31st 1910, 25;i39,40b" cubic feet of gas

-.vas manufactured- The total' inoome foa* that year was £8966 18s 2d. For the year ending March 31st 1911, 2,215,600 cufbic feet of gas wia.s manufactured, total income £9899 14 s 7d ; totaj inoreasein gas mami[falt:ttured, 1,076,100 cubic feet arid £yo2 16s' ; ><t increase in revenue. For the six- month's ending September 30th, 1911, the gas manufaotured was 15,364,200 feet, and the total' revenue for the same period £5756 15s 4d, an increase in gas manufactured for the six months, of 882,800 feet. If the returns keep up as' wei for the next .six months, our total) revenue will exceed that of 1911 by £I6OO. These returns should give our detractors food for thought * They are taken from the Council's books', and ,cannot be contradicted. Then as, to itifoe statement tha,t loans hjave ibeein rejected time after time, two Loans' have certainly. been placed before the people since 1908, one for' rthe extension of drainage, and' the other foa- tlhe proposed new street connecting Chapel l Street with. Queem Stree't. Hie former loaoi was only ;a lialf hearted proposal, and coming before the people just as. itlrey wene recovering from the tirade depression ;of 1908. Personally I think ttoey dfd a wise thing at (the time in rejecting tWe loan. Tlhe new street was never taken seriously, and the ; result was fully expected, mien a& to rates ibeing /unbearable, 2£d in the £ is riot a heavy rate, and speaking from memory, with the exception tof two other towns* our rates are the lowest in the Dominion* Our gas undertaking is worth between £45,000 and £50,000, the ratepayers for years having paid a rate, but now, sShows substantial' profit on the lowest charges) of any inland town' m the Dominion. We have a cleans well kept town, in spite of the fact that we have k>,st £240 a year in license fees. Our rates have never been advanlced. According to the census returns of 1906, our population was 5026, Lansdowme athjoui 300. This suburb should be indud'ed rigdiftly dn the Masterton re'turaJsv In 1911 Masterton was returned a,t 5182 iLansdowne about 750, total populatikm 5932, an increase over 1906 of

606 inhabitants. We admit that in 1908, six months before the hotels •were closed, with other towns we lost population, many of our people •seeking fresh fields., yet we have more than held our own, and shown a. fair imcrease, and I am satisfied, in spite -of what oi.r detractors may siay, Masterton wid continue to liold •its own -v\irtii other towns in the Dominion."

I Or Fjivingtcm seconded the motion. j He considered it was the duty of the | Council l to defend the town. Or ! Ewington quoted, figures to siliow the decrease on the amount circulated by the OharkaJMe AM Committee j and the increase in deposits at the Post Office Savings Bank. Cr Donald, in supporting the motion, stated that the'question of license or iio-flicenise did not- enter into the phase of the resolution at alt. The onatter he-fore the Council was that a. pertain, person or sect, by advertisement, was making certain statements that in. the Council's opinion were likely to undermine the commercial stability of Masterton, and render it a place to be avoided to live in o,r to do business in. "i'ou, with others, .Mr Mayor," continued Or Donald; "have taken up the sitting on the hedge attitude, consid'aring .the matter would be better left alone, and that the lies will react on those who made them. This attitude I cannot assumt It is frequently saidi that: the work which devolves on a,Borough Council is in alii respects a. business: concern and that we require business men .to to that business-. Very well, then. We IhaiVe before, us certain statements and insinuations like the one read by O Temple. Are we, as business; men, to rest under this sting and not even resent and refute such I worthless insinuations?" Or Don- j aid said>thot the puL&e of commerce in any conraniiinity vras> felt in the opnttentnient and satisfaction that prevailed among• the people generally, and "the general' opinion was that the town was in a healthy commercial' condition. ' Business., he r;did, was good, artisans of all deaeriptiphsi are in demand, hubour as plentiful!, the- supply not equal! to the demand. Trade in every lime was improving,, men in all branches of the building trade were wanted, new buildings were being erected, and business premises, had been improved. Settlers in every ( part of the district were buildlimg, adding to or improving 'their homesteads, all going to prove, that the people had every confidence .in the district. To denounce and defeat the tactics these advertisers should' be the aim and' object of every citizen of ■this comimunjty who has the good of their town at heart.; Statistics prove anything, anid were- not alwaysl to he relied upon, hut, one cannot get away from statements made by accredited ibuis'iness men. Cr Donald them read a' number of statements from business men to the effect that business had improved, and was stiMi improving; Statements like those oiled, continued the speaker, were to be had from the great majority of the busineos; men of this community, statements. that did) not bear Out-.the! argument that the people had! lost; confidence.' and faith in their town. To say that these adveiiisemenlts were misleading and contemptible untruths was< to put it miWJy, and they deserve the' steveresit condemnation from the representatives of (the citizenls of Masterton.. Cr Hoar said he was another of those who were going to support the motion, and' when he looked at the "pack of lies'' contained ini the advertisement it made him ol the more determined. He thought the matter should be taken seriously, and lie referred to the statement that the Caledonian Society had made a Hofiis of £6l, while the reverse was the case. He podnJted out that photographs l of empty ; shops were pubMhed," arid' many.of these were "now occupied amd the tenants ( doing good business". In. conW ckiision; Or Hoar said • that . 'he was in entire sympathy with the motion, and he" hoped the. whole Coiuicil would protest. ~',. Cf.' O'Leary also suppoited the motion. He denied that St. Patrick's Club had collapsed as a result of NoLicense. He stated that his. business during the past two years had increased 25 per cent over the last, twelve years. Or Elliott said he had much pleasure in supporting the motion. He thought it was much needed and called for. In "his opinion Masterton had never been in a.better position. It was the Council's, business to let outsiders know the true position. Cr Pragnell said that there was very little more to say in support of the motion in addition to what had already been said. He had been in Masterton for thirty years, and had seen the town grow and seen ups and downs. The cause of a few shops being empty was that."during the boom time a large number of business men had come to the town, and they had to be catered for. When the loan money was all expended a lot of people left the town. Although there were"

empty houses in the town, 1* would )»e found that they were mostly houses 'which was no£ good enough for the respectable workers of Masterton. Cr. Pragnell said he was proud of Ma?terton, and it was one of the ide. ■„ towns of the Dominion. (Hear, hear./ The only trade that had suffered wa.the "bung hole trade." Cr. Candy said he was not opposed to the motion, but he thought there was no need for it.- He though'. the resolution would do atf little goo'i as the advertisement did harm.

The Mayor said lie did not think » discussion of this kind could do any good. Ho stated that an effective reply -codld- be' given to all the arguments raised. There were plenty of figure> which: <wu Id be quoted in support of licenses. He had no objection to. the resolution,, but he was sure, after it <frai) carri&dV iilie position would be un- . altered. Cr. O'Leaty asked the Mayor if ho considered' flhat ft would be right to let such a tiling: pais®. The Mayor 'said uwt when the matt' ter was reduced to statietir-s it- would never be tlirashcd out. tet if the question was from the moral aspect, tho liquor party did not have » leg to stand on. He* Hoped fhe Cotureillors f«?It they hod tlic IVrrsiness pecpie with them, because last part of the motion spoke for i'lva business people of the town. . Cr. Temple said that all' the Councillors 'liaid made their -erruirfe iin order' to protect the town. The motion, on being put to themeeting, was carried unanimously.