ONE YEAR TENURE

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 50, Issue 199, 5 June 1930, Page 3

ONE YEAR TENURE

HARBOUR CHAIRMAN. MR ARMSTRONG ELECTED. (Special to the “Guardian.”) CHRISTCHURCH, June 4. A peculiar position arose when Mr H T. Armstrong, M.P., was elected chairman of the Lyttelton Harboui Board to-day. . It has been the practice that the chairman should hold office for two years. Mr H. Holland. M.P., has held one year of office. The board to-d'ay departed from the practice and elected Mr Armstrong, the only member nominated. „ _ ~ In the first place, Mr F. E. Sutton moved that the board should confirm the principle that the board’s interests would be best conserved by any member occupying the position for only one year. He said that there were nine or ten members who had not had a chance to be chairman. Under the practice the position was an honorary one and a member who filled it tor only one year could say that he had been chairman of the Lyttelton Harbour Board. . . Mr H M Chrystall, who seconded the motion, said that the principle was a good one. , , ~ Mr Armstrong said! that there was an unwritten law that the chairman should have two years in office. Chairmen of some harbour boards seemed to he elected for life. The chairman of the Tranway Board was elected tor one year. He would not vote for the m< Mr Holland said that he had waited ten years before he was elected chaiiman. He had been asked to stand aside in the interests of a member who had not been a member for a week. He could only characterise Mr Sutton rose to a point of cider, saying that Mr Holland was mt) o - ducing matter apart from the motion. Mr Sutton gave an explanation of conversations with Mr Holland in regard to the chairmanship. . Mr Holland saicl that as chairman he had a right to know what was going on instead of having to pick up gossip around the town. He had waited tor, ten years and had not raised a linger to induce any member to vote for Inm. Mr R. Galbraith and he were elected at the same time, and had the same length of service as members. 4be speaker never had tried to push ins own interests. He had served'as a tjhvate member for ten years, and lie saw no reason why lie should not have too same term in the chair as his piedecessors 4iad had. . . , ~ “If my term of office is cut in hall, Mr Holland said, “I shall look upon is as a breach of faith, and an unfriendly act to me personally. ’ One year, Mr Holland said, was tot sufficiently long to enable the chan’iii'/ii to become thoroughly acquainted v-.lh details of the board’s affairs. A chairman gave better service m ms socyrd year than in his first year. J iie Auckland and Wellington Harbour Bcaids, which were held up us examples, had appointed their chairman for second terms. If it was a good thing ]<;r teem it surely should be a good thing lor Lyttelton. His immediate predecessor in the chair had been a memoer for eight years, and was elected shairman for two years. The speaker had sener. ten years and now it was sought to cut his term in the chair by half. He would only say that h-o would regard it as a very unfriendly act. He liad tried to behave fairly to all members. The motion that the chairman shorn 1 be appointed for only one year was carCaptain H. Munro nominated Mr Holland as chairman, but the nomination was not seconded. Mr Chrystall nominated Mr Armstrong, and Mr Sutton seconded this nomination. . . Mr Armstrong said that if Mr Holland were nominated, he would withdraw.

There were no other nominations, and Mr C. H. Clibborn, secretary, declared Mr Armstrong elected after a formal ballot, which Mr Clibborn said was necessary, although there was on.y one nomination. The honorarium was fixed at £2OO, the same as last year.

Returning thanks, Mr Armstrong said: “I am very grateful to the members. lam very much surprised to find myself in the chair. I cannot say that I am surprised at the decision to have a chairman for only one year, as I had heard about the proposal. “I am the only Labour member of the board present. I heard it said that although the chairmanship goes in accordance with length of service on the board, when my time came it would be doubtful if I were elected. I always have had the opinion that my being a representative of Labour on the board made no difference to the members. (Hear, Hear). “We are really a hoard of directors, elected, by the people we represent, to manage this big business concern and to make a success of it. As chairman, I shall try by all means in my power to do the best in the board’s interests, and to see that, as far as humanly nossible, absolute fair play is given to every member. I hope that, at the end Of tile year you will not regret, having placed me in this position.”