PARNELL'S PROGRESS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 205, 27 August 1912, Page 9

PARNELL'S PROGRESS.

RATEPAYERS' ASSOCIATION FORMED. A merlins of Parnell ratepayers was ti;>ld last evening: in Knox Hall to consider a scheme for the formation of a ratepayers' association in the borough. Mr. C.E. Palnyr presided, a.nd there was an attendance of between id and 30. The chairman, in the course of his introductory remarks, said that tlie inertin" was the outcome of one held by n dozen or more ratepayers ii fortnifflii previously. It was generally felt tluil the affairs of the borough were not being satisfactorily carried out. This was scarcely a satisfactory remark for him (the speaker) to make, since lie had spent two and a-half years attending to the borough's affairs as a member of the Council. He had dune , his best in that position, but he had given it up in disgiist. A ratepayers' association, ho felt, I would do much to improve the tone of affairs, the more so as the Borough Council was proposing to raise a loan of £60.000, which was too bip a sum for | tie Council to play with. When he stood j as a candidate for the mayoralty ho was I quite prepared to go in for a loan, but lie felt that £30.000 would be amply sufficient. What was most needed in the borough was a greater interest in its | welfare on the part of the ratepayers. ! The election of officers of the associa-1 tion was then proceeded with. After ' some discussion Mr. C. B. Palmer was fleeted president, and the following committee was chosen : — Prof. Segar. Messrs TV. Johns. K. A. K.lfrecomJie, Iloughton, C.Brown. MetralfV. McLaren. Miller. J. gmythe. M. Liehtenstein, M. Puykel, and A Davis. The committee was given J pow?r to add to its number. Mr. (J. E. j Davis was elected honorary secretary. I In some subsequent discussion Mr. j Edgecombe said that personally he could not support the loan proposal so long j as the present Borough Council had the spending of the money. Parnell was in j danger of beinj,' "squeezed up' between j tfeeiry and tin- Harbour Board, and the i tfty would be only too glad to get hold ! oijts rates. What was needed was a 1 lire' Council which would get the neees- j ssrr improvements done practically ami ••Aeaply before Parnell was forced to join the city. He esteemed the Mayor (Mr. I'rigjfS) or a man, but. as a Mayor he was sadly lacking. T£ the association! ras ready to block the loan as at present j propose! he would give it his fullest support. Messrs G. ]•]. Davis and W. Johns emphasised that the association's aim was not to fight either the Council or the proposed loan, but to consider the borough! affairs and to assist the Council in every i My possible. Mr. Johns added that it was the association's duty to check the I Council when it went wrong. He. per-' sonallv did not agree with the loan pro- j posal, as it meant borrowing when the ! money market was tight and paying an I exorbitant rate of interest. In replying to a vote of thanks, the chairman remarked that in scanning the electoral roll of the borough for the purpose of sending out circulars he found it to be in a most extraordinary condition. It had been approved and passed by the Mayor and two councillors during the present year, but some ratepayers°werd on it three times over, and about a hundred, of the names belonged to persons )vho were dead. . A voice: I don't wonder at it. I spent six years trying to get on to it. Mr. Palmer went on to say that this W» a matter .about which the association mlprht be able to stir up the Council Mc also recommended that ratepayers ttßUld make it their business to attend Council meeting and so keep the counPors up to the mark.