RESIGNATION OF PARNELL COUNCILLORS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIII, Issue 110, 10 May 1902, Page 3

RESIGNATION OF PARNELL COUNCILLORS.

(To the Editor.)

Sir, —I despise anonymous writers of the class to which "One In Favour of the Loan" belongs, who, under the cloak of a norn de plume, impute petty and dishonourable motives to those who differ from the views they take of a situation. If my critic will refer to the Auckland "Star" of September 13th, 1899, at which date I was a candidate for re-election, he will there find over my signature the following, "My motto has always been progress, and a determination te make Parnell second to none as a residential suburb. In addition to a system of improved drainage I shall, if returned, use all my endeavours to secure a plentiful aud cheaper water supply for the borough." So much for my policy and principles: under the first category I place the permanent construction of the roads, and under the second the completion of the drainage system. I hold that every ratepayer who, by his adverse vote, obstructs or delays such a work as drainage is guilty of wilfully jeopardising the lives of his fellow-crea-tures, and every death that occurs in Parnell from defective drainage hereafter will, iv my opinion, lie at (he door of those people. As to my silence at the meeting called for the purpose of placing the loan proposals before the ratepayers, apart from the fact that mv policy and principles are well known to every intelligent resident in the borough, the whole position was clearly and concisely placed before the meeting by His Worship the Mayor, and required no further comment from those of us who supported the proposals. Those burgesses who did speak indulged mainly in a tirade of abuse against the engineer, ami were answered as they deserved to be by the Mayor. The engineer has merited all through his connection with the Council, and still enjoys, the fullest confidence of the whole of the members.- When the aforementioned meeting opened, out Of 78G ratepayers whose names are on the roll, the farce commenced with an audience of, roughly, say. 30 persons, several of whom seemed by their actions to think the whole business a huge joke, and of no serious importance. I then decided that if questions of such vital moment commanded no more solid attention than the meeting- indicated evinced, ami were treated with such apathy by the vast majority of ratepayers. I could with a clear conscience acquit myself o% any further responsibility. T believe,'had a representative meeting of men. alive to their privileges and duty, and prepared to discuss the proposals intelligently and impartially, attended that meeting, the programme would have been carried easily and the Mayor induced to retain oflice for another year. He has devoted an immense amount of time and thought to all the affairs of the borough during his term of office, and no decision in connection with any matter has been arrived at without mature deliberation, in which his advice aud counsel has been invaluable. May I be pardoned for indulging in a little pronhesyin"' to the effect that unless the spirit of apathy in respect to both general aud municipal politics that pervades the community o-ives place to a sturdy interest on the part of the intelligent and enlightened section of tbe community the day is not far distant when we shall see r. regime of political professionalism, with all its attendant curses of bribery and corruption, such as is sapping the life-blood of America. —I am, etc.. 11. C. TEWSLEY.