The Wairarapa Daily. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1886. LAST NIGHT'S MEETING.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VIII, Issue 2427, 16 October 1886, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1886. LAST NIGHT'S MEETING.

Last night's meeting in the Theatre Royal was a disappointment to many. Some went with the idea that it would consist of a " wordy duello" between ex-Mayor Renall and Mayor Caselberg, in which the latter would suffer; this did not prove to be the case, as MrCaselberg held the platform for nearly three hours, and when after this protracted period, his antagonist got his chance he failod to secure a win. Others went with the impression that a representative meeting would discuss several leading publicquestions, and express an authoritative verdict thereon; these in their turn were also disappointed, Not a single resolution was passed in tho four-hours meeting, whiob practically consisted of two speeches. In the first one Mr Caselberg reviowed the' Borough administration for a peiiod of fivo years, taking a considerable number of municipal questions categorically, and explaining the views that he and his colleagues had held thereon, Mr Caselbeig's speech bb an epitome of municipal history during the period referred to may be regarded as a fair and impartial record, indicating a sound and satisfactory development of municipal government in the town, of .Masterton,'-H-is statement taken as a whole'jlMifies the seleotion the burgesses made when they ap-

pointed him to the mayoralty ; ami, it may he said to'be the first IhwI; ard tli'oro'ugli address ou municipal topics wbiek 11119 yet been placed before the public in Masterio'i. Mr Caselberg faithfully redeemed Ills promise by giving a full and fair account of his

stewardship. He possesses nmo ig other good qualities the virtue of straightforwardness : and, all who were present last evening coald not well fail to thoroughly understand the principles upon which he has administered the affairs of the town for the past five years, and his views on the several municipal questions which are now engaging the attention of the of the public. It has biien found in the majority of colonial municipalities that the work and responsibility of the mayoral office are so onerous that gooil men will not come forward as candidates to li 11 it unless there is some solatium in the shape of a salary-. In Masterton we can hardly as yet afford to pay an honorarium to our civic chief, and we may therefore consider ourselves fortunate in having secured without payment the services of a capable man like Mr Caselberg. It is, of course, an honor to be Mayor of Masterton, but we are not sure that the duties of the position do not cost the holder of it as much or more than the honor is worth, and that as a natural consequence in a debtor and creditor account between the town and the Mayor the former gets the profit and the latter the loss. We are not surprised, therefore, that Mr Caselberg should be reluctant to retain office or if he does consent to go in .for a third term that he should do so only as a matter of duty. Of course, in his case the question of honorarium has no weight, it only affects the issue now so far that it restricts the chance .of finding a competent successor to him if he declines to stand for another teim, We had hoped that the question of who is to be Mayor next year would have been arranged last evening, or at least the ground would have been cleared for settling this point. Unfortunately, nothing towaids this end was accomplished unless the controversy between Air Caselberg and Mr Eenall should result in both being nominated for office, and the bugesses giving at the ballot box the verdict which was not expressed at last night's meeting.