POLLING DAY TO-MORROW.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 98, 28 April 1925, Page 9

POLLING DAY TO-MORROW.

HEAVY VOTING ANTICIPATED.

INTEREST IN CIVIC SQUARE SCHEME.

HOW AND WHERE TO VOTE

Polling will take place to-morrow for | the election of Mayors and councillors for the City of Auckland and the boroughs of Xevrmarket, Mt. Eden, >Dt. ; Albert. Takapuna. Devonport, Xortheote, BirkenheaJ. Onehunga and Avondale. There will be local body electioms * throughout the Dominion, but the i , elections for the authorities named are j , of most interest to Auckland. I , The Mayoralty. I For the Mayoralty of Auckland, which ' office has been held with distinction for I j the past ten years by Mr., and more i ' recently. Sir James, Gunson, there are | ' two candidates. Mr. George Baildon. \ ; deputy-Mayor, who has a long record | of service to the city—a record extending over 24 years —and Mr. Hajold Schmidt, a city chemist, a native of , ' Auckland, who has as yet had no experi-' ' ence of municipal life. Mr. Schmidt j unsuccessfully contested the mayoralty i of ML Eden against Mr. E. H. Potter j : at the last election. He is a strong | opponent of the civic square scheiuse, of i which Mr. Baildon is, of course, an earnest advocate The Ci+y Council. There are 44 candidates for the 21 seats on the City Council, of whom 15 are sitting members. The majority of names are those of persons who should be able to render good service to the city, and several of them are with experience on public or semi-public bodies. The Loan Proposals and the Civic Square. The loan proposals are that the city shall borrow the sum of £3400)00 for the construction of a civic centre, embracing new administrative offices and a new art gallery, and a further £12.000 for the building of a new library at Eemuera. There has been much discussion on these matters, and tho electors have been fully informed by the various addresses of the Mayor on the financial and other aspects of the scheme, which would undoubtedly be a magnificent improvement to the city, and one "which, as the Mayor points out, would be free of all encumbrance in 33 years as the result of the sinking fund it is proposed to provide. The scheme is receiving support from all sections. Speaking at Epsom last night, Sir James Gunson denied that the council had acted without authority in demolishing the buildings on the markets site, as be had forecasted the removaJ of these buildings in Ifll7, and on the erre of the last municipal elections had publicly stated that it was the poliery of the council to sweep away these old and insanitary buildings. He claimed that the administration was returned carrying a mandate on this matter, and that it was neither fair nor just to say that the council had acted without authority. He had received a numbea: of letters and telegrams from all parts of the Dominion congratulating the council on its enterprise. Support to the civic centre scheme was lent last night by Mr. Tom Bloodworth. Labour representative on the City Council, who expressed his strong conviction that it was in tie interests of all sections of the community that the electors should give consent to it. Some of the arguments against the scheme were not only fallacious but self-destructive, as, for instance, the argument that the land should be u.=ed for business sites. That was exactly what a large portion of the site was to be used for, -with the difference that it would be used for the conduct of the city's business, instead of being used for the conduct of private business. The pity did not own another suitable site in the vicinity, and if this was not utilised, the ground would, latter on, have to be purchased for that purpose. "I am concerned in this mostly on behalf of working men, 7, said Mr. Bloodworth, ''and to the working man it is not the amount of the rate he is called upon to pay which matters, so much as his ability to pay it." On an average dwelling rated at £70, be added, the extra interest rate the scheme would in<ur would amount to 14/7 a year, or 3|d a week, and against that there was likely to be a reduction in other ratos. "My point is that the erection of j these buildings will provide employment for a large number of men for two or three years. Further, for the city to undertake a large work such as this shows that people have confidence in their city, and private enterprise follows the lead set by local authorities, consequently working men are employed, and being employed are better able to pay the extra 3}d a week which they may be called upon to pay if these proposals are adopted, than they would be to pay the lower rate if they were not employed. ''I have no hesitation whatever in urging the ratepayers, and more particularly the working men and women ratepayers, to give their consent to the proposals on the grounds that the work which the scheme will provide would have a steadying effect upon unemployment generally, and, therefore, make it easier for our average householder ratepayer to pay the extra 34d a week, than would be the case if this agitation for retrenchment and economy wins the day, and our working man finds himself unemployed.' . Hours and Method of Polling. For all the elections the hours of polling win be from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.. and the various returning officers are emphatic in urging the electors to vote early. On entering the booth, the elector ■will give his name and be provided with his electoral number. At one table he will be handed ballot-papers for the mayoralty and council, and if he is a ratepayer, he will be supplied with a ballot-paper with which he may vote for or against the proposed loans. The franchise for the council is adult suffrage and the necessary residential qualification of three months in the city or borough and 12 months in New Zealand, but only ratepayers may vote in connection with the loan proposals. An elector may vote for any one or more candidates up to the number required (21), but he may not give more than one vote to any one candidate. He need only give one vote for one single candidate, but he may. if he v.-ishes. give one voR? to eacli of 21 candidates pr amj part of that number.

In \ THE CIVIC CENTRE. OPINION OF ARCHITECTS. "Believing that the proposals of the ~nd City Council for the creation }f a civic centre and the erection of a nunicipal building aad art gallery :hereupon. in association with the present Town Hall, are sound and in tiie best interests of the city, the committees of the Auckland Society of Arts and the Auckland branch of the New Zealand Institute of Architects urge the citizens to support the proposal at the poll on April 29," says a manifesto issued by bodies. "The committees are of opinion that the proposal is wise on the ground of civic efficiency, but, further, they arr convinced that a civic consciousness truly alert must feel the need of beauty as -trongly as it is cognisant of the need for efficiency. The Athenians had a saying that: 'To make our cities loved we must make our cities lovely.' No art can do more than architecture to make our cities lovely, and so assist to create a citizenship devoted to its service. The creation of the civic centre and the assembling there of the centres of the civic administration and public amenities is a step in city planning. City planning is an expression of the aspirations of humanity for beauty, order and truth. "In other parts of the world those aspirations are finding expression in the creation of such civic centres as i≤ proposed for our city to-day, and the committee confidently appeal to citizens to show that Auckianders are not behind other peoples in their appreciation of aesthetic values." For the committee of the Auckland Society of Arts, the signatories are H. E. Yaile (president) and N. T. 'U nyte (acting secretary), and for the committee of the Auckland (branch of the New Zealand Institute of Architects, F. L. Moodie (vice-chairman) and E. G. Le Petit (secretary). OTHER LOANS. The proposals for loans to be put to the ratepayers of Auckland and adjacent districts to-morrow embrace a total of three-quarters of a million sterling. The largest is that for the civic centre (4340,000), but a special loan of £200,000 is to be sought by the Waitemata Electric Power Board for the introduction of electric light and power into its district. Takapuna ratepayers are to be asked to vote for loans totalling £153,000, for sewerage and drainage works, the acquisition of land and plant therefor, advances to ratepayers for connect mr 5 with the service, the completion of Lake Road in concrete, the completion of portion of Victoria Road in bitumen, the construction of approaches.to the Wairau Bridge, the construction of a bridge, and the completion of the widening and construction of Marine Terrace. The Mount Albert Borough Council is asking its ratepayers to approve of loans totalling £37.00*0, of which £22,000 is for the improvement of the water supply. £8000 for stormwater drainage and £7000 for the erection of a fire station. Northcote proposes to borrow £11,000 for the completion of its drainage scheme, the loan to be secured by a special rate. The polling places for voting on the Waitemata Electric Power Board loan are as under:— 1. Chamber of Commerce (Heading Room) Swanson Street. 2. "Cpper Waiwera Hall. 3. Silverdale Hall. 4. YVainui Hall. o. Whangaparoa Hall. 6. Brown's Bay (Aitken's Store). 7. Albany. Coronation Hall. 8. East Coast Road, Takapuna (Mr. J. B. Penning's Residence). 0. Titirangi,'Bishops Kiosk. 10. New Lynn Town Board Office. 11. Greenhithe Hpll. 12. Glenfield Mission Hall. 13. Kaukapakapa Public Hall. 14. Makarau Ilall. 15. Helensville Town Board Office. 16. Riverhead Public Hall. 17. Kumeu Public Hall. 18. Waimauku Public Hall. 19. Woodhill Public Hall. 20. Taupaki Public Hall. 21. Parakai Hall. 22. HobsoDvllle Hall. 23. Brigham's Creek. Sinton's Store. [ 24. Waitakere Post Office Store. 20. Huapai. 2t5. Massey School. 27. Muriwai Post Office. 28. Swanson Public Hall. 29. Gratia Fruitgrowers' Hall. 30. Te Atatu Methodist Church. 31. Henderson Foresters' Hall. 32. Dairy Flat Post Office. 33. Glen Eden Town Board Office. 34. Bayswater. Feaver's Store. 35. Belmunt Presbyterian Hall. 36. Takapuna Council Chambers. 37. Milford Parish Hall. 3S. Birkenhead Borough Council Office. 39. Northeote Masonic Hall, Rodney Road. 40. Chelsea Post Office. 41. Birkdale Methodist Schoolroom. 42. Clark's Store, Hinemoa Street. 43. Whenuapai Hall. 44. Church of Christ (Bible Class Room), Ponsonby Road. 45. Epsom Library. 4G. Morningside, St. Enoch's Schoolroom. 47. Mount Eden United Evangelical Church, corner Valley and Mount Eden Roads. ONZHUNGA MAYORALTY. The Onehunga Mayoral election i= going to prove most interesting in view of the standing in the community of the three candidates. At the present time there is a shrewd move being made by the Reform party, organising strongly behind Mr. Lomas, but there are indications that there is likely to be a split owing to many followers having been closely allied to Mr. Cowell at the previous election. The move has been noticed in time by the members of tke Liberal and Labour parties and both of these are leaving no stone unturned to thwart this, as it is considered that the Reform organisation is only making this a trial of strength for the next general election. It is generally accepted that the combined votes of the Liberals and Labourites will go to Mr. E. Morton. MOUNT ROSKHX ROAD BOARD. The following -nominations have been received for the Mount Roskill Road Board, the election for which will take place on Saturday next (seven members required): Messrs. G. E. Tansley, E. J. Herd. Scarborough, J. J. Preston. E. Brewer (sitting members). L. A. Tozer, J. T. Thadderton. T. Denize. G. Honeybun, \Y. W. Kerr. H. J. Leahy, \V. H. Smith, T. Thatcher and T. Lomont.