ELECTION OF MAYOR. THE NOMINATION.

West Coast Times, Issue 643, 16 October 1867, Page 2

ELECTION OF MAYOR. THE NOMINATION.

The nomination of candidates for the office of Mayor of the Town of Hokitika; took place^ yesterday at noon, at the Council Chambers, Eevell street. - The Mayoe (J. A. Bonar, Esq.) called' upon the Town Clerk to read the nominations that had been received. The Towjf Cleek then read the following nominations :—": — " C. E. Button— Proposed by A. W. Gilles, seconded by J. M'Beth. C. E. Button— Proposed .by. A. W. Gilles, seconded by S. Boyle. Evan Prosser — Proposed by J. Hall, seconded by J. Casey. William Shaw — Proposed by E. Eeeves, seconded by J. E. Anderson. The Mayor said — That more than one Candidate having been proposed, he should adjourn the present meeting to the 21st October, when* a poll would be taken, commencing at 9 o'clock in tho morning, and closing at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. He might mention that the Act provided that the election should take place on the 20fch, but as that day fell this year on a Sunday, according to the provisions of the Act, the poll would be taken on the following day. At the close of the poll he would endeavor, if possible, to make the same evening. He should now be very glad to hear the addresses of the candidates and their friends.

Mr_ Gilles said— That he had very great "pleasure in nominating Mr Button as their future Mayor. It had been stated that Mr Button, being a solicitor, he was not a fitting person to fill the office of Mayor, but he (Mr Gilles) would ask them to look at Duuedin, where John Hyde Harris, a solicitor, had so ably filled the office of Mayor. Let them look at Tasmania, and let them go back to the greatest country in the world, " Old England," and there they would find that solicitors had filled tho office of Mayor, not only with credit to themselves, but to tho satisfaction of the citizens. They must not expect to get such another Mayor as the gentleman who was about to vacate the office, for he was a man often thousand, but he (Mr Gilles) trustod that they would elect the next best man, and that was his friend Mr Button. If they did so, he believed tbat at the expiration of his term of office, Mr Button would go away from them as Mr Bonar had done, viz., bearing the respect and esteem of all. He begged to nominate Mr Button.

Mr J. M'Beth had great pleasure in coming forward to second tho nomination of Mr Button, and he (Mr M'Beth) could not let the opportunity slip without saying a few words in favor of that gentleman, and giving his reasons for supporting him. He would have" had much more pleasure in supporting some gentleman of the old Council, but it was very well known that lie had taken an active part in opposing the old Council, and as such lie was sorry that ho could not support those gentlemen belonging to ifc who were candidates for the office of Mayor, and he might go farther and say ifc was a matter of regret with him that he could not do so Mr Shaw for instance was a gentleman well qualified to fill the office of Mayor, but that gentleman's principles as shewn by his actions in the late Council, were such as he (Mr M'Beth cxild not approve of. He believed that the only duty of the Council was to collect the rates— that was to regulate the mode of collection, so that it might fall equally on all property, and the Council had also to expend the money so collected in such a manner that all classes should be benefitted. It had been stated that it was necessary to spend the money in some permanent works, to be undertaken one at a time, and to leave the outlying districts untouched. Now, he (Mr M'Beth) believed if large and expensive works were undertaken they ought to be executed by the Provincial Government or the General Government, and, his reason for supporting Mr Button was because that gentleman endorsed those views. He wished to give his reason for supporting Mr Button, and he had mucli pleasure iv supporting him. Mr Burros' said that in aspiring to the high office, which, in a few days, was to be conferred upon one of the candidates, he wished to state, that afc first he felt very great diffidence in coming forward in public at all, and when he was first asked to stand for the Council, he, with one or two friends, waited upon their, worthy chairman to induce him to stand again, but that gentleman declined to do so. He quite agreed with the remarks that had fallen from Mr Gilles with respect to Mr Bonar, and should he (Mr Button) be elected and at the expiration of twelvemonths he retired from office with less than the respect Mr Bonar did, he (Mr Button) should be perfectly satisfied ; and he was certain that they could not estimate too highly the services Mr Bonar had rendored. Mr Bonar as the first Mayor of Hokitika, had shown himself fully qualified for the duties of the office, and he (Mr Button) hoped, that should he be enabled to step into that gentleman's shoes, that he should fill the office as worthily as Mr Bonar had done. He (Mr Button) aspired* to the office of mayor for two reasons. First — because he considered his professional knowledge qualified him to hll the office worthily, and with credit to himself, and to the satisfaction of the citizens.- He would put it to them as men of common sense whether a person who had been educated for the study of the law, the practice of which required a certain amount of care and caution, he would put it to them whether such a person was not best fitted to control and direct the proceedings of an assembly like the Council. He would admit that, as a councillor, he might possibly not be able to do so much good as if he filled the office of mayor. He said this unreservedly, and he did not think there was a man in the community who would ever say that he was in the habit of speaking what lie did not mean ; possibly he might at times speak inadvertently, and if he thus wounded the feelings of others, he felt sorry for it ; but still he would always maintain that he was not in the habit of speaking what he did not mean. Now with respect to his qualification for the office of mayor, they had j seen it stated in the papers, at least in one paper, that a lawyer was not so well qualified as a commercial man, because ho did not understand the wants of the community, still he thought that in a place whore the duties were'to see that the votes of the Council were properly • recorded and to maintain order, his professional knowledge was quite sufficient for that 1

It had been, stated that if he were elected Mayor it would clash with the interests of his, clients ; that, however/ was not a question for the citizens, but for his clients,_and they,(the_citizens) might.de-, pend upon it that, should his clients find him neglecting their interests, he would be the. sufferer. .Jt had. been stated .also that, should ho be elected Mayor, he would be~a Justice of the Peacei and, as a Solicitor, he ought not ' to sit on "the Bench. Now the Mayor of Hokitika 'was not of necessity, a Justice of the Pead'e, and even supposing lie r ( Mr Button) was a Justice of the Peace, he should never interfere with judgments of Mr Fitzgerald, the Eesidcnt Magistrate, so long as that gentleman gave the satisfaction which he was now doing. In fact, there would be no need of his (Mr Button's) sitting on the Bench, as . the Eesident Magistrate had the power of two or three justices vested in hims?lf, and could quite do without assistance. Moreover-, il' the Eesident Magistrate should not be able to attend, there were plenty of Magistrates in the neighborhood of Hokitika to take his place. The second reason which.' he would give for tho hope of being elected as Mayor was, that having placed him at the head of the poll, he thought that he might fairly aspire to receiving a' higher post at their hands. He was wholly connected with the colonies, he was born and had been reared in, them, and, moreover, he had seen most of them, it was true that he had been only a short time with the citizens of Hokitika, but when he consi-. dered that notwithstanding the. short time he had been amongst them, at the late election they had placed him at the head of the poll, lie thmight it was only natural for him to aspire to receive a higher dignity at their hands, and he trusted- that, should he receive it, he would go "out of; office with the same honor as the, lafco Mayor had done.

Mr Peossee said that as it was not expected the proposers of the candidates would bo present to address the electors, Mr Hall was not there to address' them on his (Mr Prosser's) behalf. Of course, he (Mr Prosser) did not intend to commence his address by. attempting to mako political capital out of their late worthy Mayor. Mr Button had told them that before the election of Councillors, he actually went to Mr Bonar to see whether he would stand for the office of Mayor or not, and finding that Mr Bonar would not do so, he determined to come forward himself. Now he (Mr Prosser) thought that the electoi s would hardly be satisfied with a gentleman who came forward with such transparent motives, viz., that he first went to Mr Bonar to see if that gentleman was going to stand before he determined to come forward himself. When, also, they took it into consideration that Mr Button was a gentleman without any practical experience in the working of Municipal Councils, they would think it much more desirable for the interests of the town that he should serve a year as a Councillor, and then elect him as Mayor, rather than elect Mm as Mayor at once. It was an honorable ambition to aspire to the office of a Municipal Councillor, and when a man had well and faithfully served that, then was ihe time to advance him higher by electing him as Mayor. He thought it desirable that the person chosen to that high office should have some previous experience — that he should not be an untried man, and he trusted that they would not do now as they had done in the case of Mr Moorhouse—elect an untried man merely on the faith of his promises. If they did so there would be no encouragement for persons hereafter to come forward to serve them. There was only one other candidate — Mr Shaw, and with reference to that gentleman, he would say tbat Mr Shaw's past services gave him an equal claim to the office with liirn (Mr Prosser). Should he be elected, it would bo his particular duty to inquire into the working of the various department^, and if ho found that a due economy had not been exercised he would do his utmost to reduce the expenses. Tliis would not be the duty of a Common Councillor, but he (Mr Prosser) conceived that it would form a most important part of the Mayor's duties. He would also endeavor to sec the various contracts carried out in their integrity, and would inspect the various public works as they were being carried on, so as to see that equal justice was done to all. Mr Button had admitted that ho was not a practical man, and upon tnat he grounded his claim to be elected as Mayor rather than to sit as Councillor. Now lie (Mr Prosser) thought that not being a practical man was no reeommendatiou for the Mayoralty. lie would say no more at present, as he purposed to meet the electors in various parts of the town ; but if they did elect him he would do his best to economise the incomo of the Council, so as to benefit the whole community.

Mr. E. Beeves said he had very great pleasure iv coming forward to nominate his friend Mr Shaw. He had known that gentleman for two years, and he could say that there never was a matter of public interest brought forward in which Mr Shaw was not amongst the foremost. Mr Shaw had done everything in his j>ower to forward the interests of the West Coast. - He was the largest employer of labor in Hokitika, and considering his great public services, he (Mr Eeeves) had great pleasure in nominating Mr Shaw for the office of Mayor.

Mi* J. E. Andebson said that he had much pleasure in seconding the nomination of his old friend Mr Shaw> wliom lie had known for the last ten yeava in Melbourne, Dunedin, and Hokilika. lie could assure them that there were very few people in the Council who brought forward such new ideas as Councillor Shaw. He (Mr Anderson) would not like to see a new chum, just come amongst them, ride over the old hands. What he meant to say was, that Messrs. Prosser and Shaw were tho only two who had auy claim to the candidates of the citizens. Mr Prosser was tho first man to represent them in'the Provincial Conn> cil, and Mr Shaw had flood against the present Superintendent to represent them in tho Provincial Council ; and he believed now that they would nmch rather have seen Mr Shaw in the Assembly than Mr Superintendent Moorhouse. Lie (Mr Anderson) supported Mr Shaw b? cause he believed him to be a fit and proper person to sit in the Mayor's chair. JS T o man knew better than Mr Shaw the routine of the business of the Council, aud he (Mr Anderson) thought that it would be improper to place a new chum there, who knew nothing about it. It was for these retwons that ne supported Mr Shaw,' aud

he (Mr Anderson) hoped tnat they would one and and all- take whafci h'e^had said into consideration, and vote for'Mr Shaw like men. - Mr Shaw said that he was in some hopes that this election would have gone 1 off quietly, but now he was afraid that it would nob go.off without a row.- (Laughtor.) He thought that he was the only Irishman coming forward, and he was given to understand that Messrs Button and Gillcs were Tasmanians, but now" he was prepared to prove that they Were genuine Irishmen. {Laughter.) He did not lenow to what country Mr M'Beth belonged ; he believed that gentleman claimed to be a Scotchman ; but he ""(Mr Shaw) also believed that he should tie able to prove that he was also a true foc-m Irishman. (Eenewed laughter.) With regard to Mr Button, ' he (Mr Shaw) would have been glad to have heard from that gentleman's proposer and seconder what were the .reasons.' which - induced thejn to adopt measures "calculated completely to subvert the ordinary system which prevailed' in the election of Municipal Councils. THe office of Mayor was conferred on Councillors as a just and "proper reward for their past exertions as members of the Council, and he (Mr Shaw) could see no -reason why this reasonable and equitable 1 practice should now be departed from* ilr Buttons proposer and seconder had promised to give particular reasons why that gentleman should be elected, but as those they had given were altogether opposite to the case, he (Mr Shaw) concluded that they must be Irishmen to the backbone. (Laughter). • • Mr GriLLES — I beg to say that I promised no such thing. I call upon Mr Shaw to establish his statements Mr Shaw — Mr Grilles commenced by stating that he would give as a reason why Mr Button should be elected Mayor — that he was a solicitor, and then Mr Gillcs' arguments went to prove that it was not desirable a solicitor should' be elected. Mr Gilles — I did not ; I will. — (Up. roar). The Matob — I tliink it undesirable that the candidate should be interrupted whilst speaking. If any gentleman thought himself to be misrepresented ho was ?at liberty to explain afterwards. . . • . Mr GiiitES again attempted, to Speak, but was met with repeated cries of "Chair, chair !"., • Mr Shaw — Did I not tell you there would be a row (Loud, laughter.) Ha thought before Mr Grilles got any further into a state of excitement he had 'better drop him, and so he would now take Mr Mr M'Beth in tow. The first reason Mr M'Beth gave for nominating Mr Button was, that he disapproved of the policy of the other candidates when in the late Council ; now did not' that prove him 'to be an Irishman. (Eenewed daughter.) He would now come to Mr Button. When that gentleman first announced himself, he did so like Cse3ar with" the motto " Yen?', vidi, vici." What was Mr Button ? . What did he give as- a reason 1 why he should be elected to the important office of mayor? . Why simply that he was a lawyer, and therefore he was better qualified for office than any other sort of man. Wow if that argument was correct, its natural consequence would be that lawyers should be placed in the Municipal chair every year. But he (Mr Shaw) denied the .soundness of the argument,- and whilst he was willing, to admit the talent and cleverness of Mr 'Button as a lawyer^ 'he would not admit that that was a-quallE-oation without others for tne'omcelof Mayor, or even for a seat in the Council',on the contrary, he was satisfied that they did not wish to see special pleading carried on in the council. „ The business $S. the Corporation was the raising of taxes and spending them in such .a way .as -to benefit the ratepayers, and without knowledge of this practical kind, why sho,uld v Mr Button for a moment think that he was fit to stand for Mayor merely, because he was a lawyer. He (Mr Shaw) had a great respect for Mr Button personally — he admired that gentleman's talent and ready wife ; and for those he (Mr Shaw) believed that he had been placed deservedly high upon the "poll. But, at the same time, he would state that ho (Mr Shaw) believed that many of the' friends who voted for him also voted for Mr Button, and that had a tendency to swell that gentleman's majority. Mr Button was not a tried man, but he..was '.a gentleman very pleasant to speak to, and therefore every one gave hi™ a.vot'e.'nHe (Mr Shaw) would mention a case in p?int,) which happened in Melbourne. At the time of the inauguration of the new constitution, five members had to be- elected to the Assembly. Now, there were nine candidates for the office, and- amongst them was the present; Chief Justice, Sir William Stawcll, who was then AttorneyGeneral, Mr Michie, who was also an eminent man, Mr J. T. Smith, MvHeales, and several others. Amongst the candidates was a Mr David Moore, who had lately arrived from Sydney— he was., only just known, but he was a pleasant- man,, and so every one gave him a vote, and thus" he was placed at the head of the poll over gentlemen, who from their great ability, were infinitely before him as being'worthy of that position. What bad Mr Button clone ? (A voice — " He takes an interest^ in the Literary Society.") And so;did/ he (Mr Shaw), for he had supported them liberally. He did hope that his friend* Mr Button would, at the close of thepoll at this election, have occasion to exclaim like ' Marc Anthony—" Oh ! what a : Mf was .there, my countrymen.'' "He '(Mr" Shaw) did sincerely hope that lie should receive the siipport of the ratepayers, but, if he did not receive that support, he trusted that the mantle of dignity would fall on Mr Prosser, for he was not an untried man, but had served them in the Council. He thought that the present proceedings showed a very unsound element existed in the community : it was an element which he had noticed ever "since he had set foot on this coast, and it was this, that if any man attempted to raise himself above the usual level, persons who were envious of him endeavored to put their heels upon him and crush him, and he could point to half 7 a-dozen persons on whom this had "been attempted." And he would say to Mr Button, if he wanted to succeed let him do nothing, or he would be served in a similar manner by the jjarty^who * now supported him.' Diiringliis (My Shaw's) ! tenuro of office he, had never left anything undone which he believed would .oe lor the benefit of the citizens. He had.7.iioi restricted.- himself*, solely to the perform^ ance"6f his municipal duties, bufc he Ti»d

induced the Council to travel beyond its sphere where he thought it would be for the benefit of the citizens. A month before it was carried in the Council he brought forward a motion whose object was to protect all occupiers of hind whootherwisewouldhavehadno protection in the event of their land being sold for securing compensation for the buildings they had. put up. Through the liberal conduct of the Goldfields Secretary they had succeeded in having those persons placed in the best position as regarded the tenure of their land. He (Mr Shaw) was the first to take notice of the injustice done by the Government to Westland in the old time, but when he saw Mr Moorhouse, he, in common with many others, was deceived by him, as he thought that gentleman to be friendly to Westland. • As time marched on they found that Mr Moorhouse, instead of being a friend, was adverse to Westland, and that he (Mr Shaw) supposed was the reason why Mr Moorhouse was burned in effigy the other night. But Mr Moorhouse's power with regard to Westland had departed, and the last kick that he had made at her was the last that he could make. Then, with regard to the question of Separation, he (Mr Shaw) would state that he originated that question, and he persevered in it, although he was deserted, in its first stages by Mr Prosser and others. He (Mr Shaw) might say that that measure never would have been carried had it not been for him, for, independent of devoting much of his time, he had expended upwards of LBO out of his own pocket in furtherance of that object. Were the citizens then about to turn round on him and elect a young untried man as Mayor over his head ? Whether he was elected Mayor or not would make very little difference to him, but this he would say, that he would oppose any salary being voted to the Mayor. Mr Bonar never had gone in for salary, and he (Mr Shaw) would certainly oppose any being voted to a future Mayor, In conclusion, he would say to them in giving their votes, " act according to your own consciences." He had never asked a person for a vote, for he felt that there was something undignified in canvassing persons for votes for the office of Mayor, but this he would say, that if they found one who had endeavored to serve them faithfully and well, they were bound to support Inm. If he was elected he would endeavour to do his duty, and if not elected, lie would do his duty as a citizen. Mr Baetlett being called for, camo forward, and said that, feeling that his and Mr Button's interest would clash, he had resigned in that gentleman's favor, and he hoped his friends would vote for Mr Button, and give him their support. With regard to what had been said about barristers being too much engaged to attend to public business, he (Mr Bartlett) could point to many eminent barristers at home who, after attending the Courts all day, went home, to dinner and thence to the House of Commons, where often they remained until morning. Mr Button — I ought to thank you for resigning in my favor, and I do so. Mr Gilles said that he should not have again troubled them had it not been for the remarks made by Mr Shaw. Had Mr Shaw the candor of an honest man. (Loud uproar.) Mr Shaw had stated that he (Mr Gilles) in his opening remarks had promised to give reasons why Mr Button should be elected. Now he (Mr Gilles) never made any such statement ; he had never in any way alluded to any such thing. He merely asked them to support Mr Button, and had stated that he doubted whether they would get a man like the last Mayor. Mr Shaw had no right to put words into his (Mr Gilles') mouth which he never uttered. There was another thing which he wished to notice. Mr Shaw had published, on a recent occasion that he was too unwell to "meet the citizens, and yet he came here that day and had made a longer speech than any one. The Mayor said that he must call Mr Gilles to order; he was not explaining, but entering upon new matter. Mr Shaw said that in reference to what had just been stated, he wished to stato that it was last night when he wrote that advertisement. He was then, and was still suffering from an attack of bronchitis; but feeling much better this morning, and the day being beautifully fine, lie had thought that not much harm would happen if he ventured out. On the motion of Mr Pbossee three cheers were given for his Worship the Mayor. The Mayor said he thanked the citizens for the kindly feeling they had shown towards him . He had accepted the office of Goldfields Secretary because he hoped thereby to be enabled to effect more good to Westland ; and when he did so, he determined to resign the office of Mayor, because he felt that he could not well hold the tyro offices. Ho thanked his fellowcitizens most heartily for their kindness towards him.. ■ . ;_

MrF. L. Claeke then came forward and thanked those electors who had voted for him at the late election. • He should have been present at the polling and also to have returned thanks at the declaration of the poll, but through the state of the bar he could not get ashore, having been detained in the roadstead. He thanked those who had voted for him, and, judging by the numbers who had voted for him in his absence, he believed that ho would have secured many more votes had he been present. The meeting then dispersed.