PRONOUNCED SUCCESS OF THE HAMILTON BOROUGH LOAN.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2139, 25 March 1886, Page 2

PRONOUNCED SUCCESS OF THE HAMILTON BOROUGH LOAN.

The polling ye«terdiy to determine whether or not a loan of £6000 should be raised for the pur{M>fie of erectine public buildings and for effecting certain necessary improvements in the domain reserve* ot Hamilton, resulted iv r. unanimous vote in the affirmative. When the question wa* first mooted it was asserted that one li.il f tho number of ratepayers on the roll, not one half the vote-, would bo required, and that as it would not be possible to get this number the proposals would not be carried. This *iew was incorrect, but nevertheless a majority of burgesses as well as a majority of votes was obtained at the IK>ll taken at the Council Chambers yesterday. Of the 179 votes polled by 137 ratepayers, one wa« informal, and one was against the proposal, but the individual who cast the latter came forward afterwards and said he had done so in error, so that the vote was absolutely unanimnu*. The circumstance is probably unique in the annals of localgorerning bodies in New Zealand. The committee of councillors and burgesses appointed for the purpose have worked with the most untiring ical for several days past, and yesterday their energy wan conspicuous. A number of buggies, waggons and traps were placed at their disposal, and as voters were conveyed to the poll and back, they suffered little inconvenience. But, indeed, a most praiseworthy desire to carry the loan waR evinced by all the burgesses, and the enthusiasm apparent throughout the day culminated in vociferous applause when the remit was made known to them. The poll opened at 9a. n>, and before 10 o'clock, 45 votes had been recorded ; at noon the state of the poll was 107, and thence up till 6 o'clock, when the poll closed, the number steadily grew until at the hour it stood, as we have said, at 179, a result unexpected even by the more sanguine. The number of votes actually required was only 121, being one more than half the total number of burgesses on the roll, but it was felt that the majority ought to be as large as possible, and hence, though it was known the proposal had been carried early in the afternoon, the efforts of the committee were not suffered to relax in the •lightest degree. A number of absentees were got in, and two property owners, residents of Auckland, Messrs 6. P. Pierce and L. D. Nathan, made a special journey to record their votes. Shortly after six o'clock a crowd began to gather about the doors of the Council Chambers, and when, at half-past six, the Returning Officer made his appearance a goodly number, including the Mayor and several of the Councillors, had assembled. Mr Gelling read the result as follows : — Total number of burgesses on the roll 240 Number of votes recorded in favour of the loan being raised 177 Against 1 Informal 1 179 The announcement was received with three ringing cheers, with, at the instance of Cr. Sandes, one cheer for the solitary gentleman who had had the pluck (!) to vote against the loan. When the applause had subsided, His Worship the Mayor mounted the steps of the Council Chambers, and addressed those present. He heartily congratulated the ratepayers of Hamilton on the step they had taken that day. They had shown not only their devotion to the town but their good sense and forethought in carrying the proposals by such a splendid majority. Their action would, ho could assure them, go far to place Hamilton in the premier position she was destined to occupy amongst her sister townships in this part of the colony. As many of them knew, he had made Waikato his home not because he was bound to remain here, but becanse in all bis travels he had never yet seen a place that could in his estimation equal it. He' had travelled over America, Australia and the Southern portion of New Zealand, and he was interested in many other places, but bis heart was in the Waikato. There were three primary interests in New Zealand ; there was the commercial interest, the agricultural interest and the mining interest. The first had been well looked after, but the second had been very much neglected in the past. It was a great mistake to coop up all these interests in one basket by the sea shore, (applause) and an important step in the direction of applying a remedy had been taken by the ratepayers of Hamilton that day. He could scarcely tell them how pleased with, and proud at the result he felt. That day would be a red letter day in the history of the Borough. (Loud applause). Three cheers were then given for the Mayor, who thanked the ratepayers for the honour, and cheers having been given for the returning officer, the assemblage dispersed.