CITY COUNCIL.-This Day.

Auckland Star, Volume V, Issue 1513, 16 December 1874, Page 3

CITY COUNCIL.-This Day.

ELECTION OF MAYOR

A special meeting of the City Council was held this day at noon for the annual election of Mayor and other business. Present—H. Isaacs, Esq., Mayor (presiding), Councillors Prime, Brett, Daldy, Cosgrave, Macready, Hurst, Buchanan, and Holdship. ADOPTION OE ACCOUNTS. His Worship, in bringing forward the adoption of the accounts, said he was pleased to see the improvement which was manifested in the management of the affairs of the city. Mr Prime raised the question of whether a recommendation of the auditors that} a sum of £250 for collecting be disallowed, should be attended to or not. After some discussion, the subject was dismissed, the item being left as it was. viz., charged to the general account.—Councillor Daldy objected to the style of the accounts; he saw no necessity for such a statement. —The Mayor pointed out that the law compelled such a statement. A discussion took place in which the stated value of the city endowments (£20,000) was criticised. Cr. Holdship said it looked strange and unbusinesslike that when they had power to raise £50,000 and had only raised £20,000, the security should only be represented as £20,000. Mr Goldie was introduced and explained the extent to which the auditors had assisted at making out the accounts. Ultimately it was generally agreed that the matter should be left to be discussed by the Finance Committee. Cr. Brett proposed and Cr. Buchanan seconded the adoption of the accounts. This was carried unanimously after Cr. Daldy had pronounced a well earned eulogy on the improvement effected under the mayoralty of Cr. Isaacs. mayor's salary. On the motion of Cr. Hurst, the salary of the Mayor for the ensuing year was fixed at the same amount as last year. THE ELECTION MAYOR. The next business was the election of Mayor for the ensuing year. On the'&'reduction of the business, Councillor C-Sgruve rose, and after stating that it was th '_, custom in all well-regulated community : to elect as Mayor the senior Councillor, proposed Councillor Prime for that office. He was sure that no gentleman was better qualified for the post. If he was not suitable for the office he ought to be, for be had been well primed by the Town Clerk (laughter).— Councillor Holdship, after paying a

tribute to the merits of Mayor Isaacs, seconded Councillor Prime's nomination. Ihey had seen from past experience of that gentleman's career as a Councillor that whatever he took in hand was done thoroughly, and they might have every confidence his new duties would be efficiently discharged. — Mayor Isaacs said before vacating his seat he should like to say a few words. He was very sorry he could not give more of his time to the city affairs, more especially as he had been asked to fill the office of Mayor a second time. He had to thank the Councillors for the assistance they had given him during his term of office. He should not have been able to get through his duties as satisfactorily as he had done without the co-operation he had met with from all. Although it was not always beneficial that all the members of a public body should be of one opinion, he thought the Councillors !of Auckland did good by working together, and no one who occupied the position of Mayor could fail to do his work well owing to their assistance. In conclusion, he thanked the ratepayers for the honor they had done him in having twice elected him to the Council. He should be shortly, as they knew, retiring from public life, but he should not do so without first giving his best attention to the affairs of the city. He trusted to see an influential citizen elected to his seat in the Council. He was quite sure no one, however high in position, need be ashamed to sit at that table. He had much pleasure now in making way for his successor, Mayor Prime (Cheers) After the new mayor had taken his seat, Councillor Isaacs said he had intended to allude to the complaints against the officers of the Corporation. He thought the system more to blame than the officers. They laboured under great difficulties, but he was confident that when any particular duty had to be done, it was well done. Mayor Prime thanked the Board for placing him in the position they had. It had always been his desire to do his duty to the citizens, and was proud to feel he had succeeded. If they (the Board) gave him their co-operation he was sure he should get through the work all right, and when it became time for him to resign he had no doubt he should be able to do it with the reflection that the affairs of the city had not suffered in his hands. Before sitting down the Mayor paid a graceful tribute to the merits of his predecessor. The Council here adjourned.