TAKAPUNA ROUSED.

Auckland Star, Volume 246, Issue 246, 16 October 1926, Page 16

TAKAPUNA ROUSED.

TRAMWAY PURCHASE QUESTION. INTENSE PUBLIC INTEREST. COUNCIL'S SUPPORT OF PROPOSAL. The campaign to decide whether Takapuna is to have a municipally controlled tramway and ferry service moves on apace. In central Takapuna last evening the Mayor and councillors' meeting drew another packed house to the Foresters' Hail, the Mayor of Devonport (Mr. T. Lawmntl presiding. Prior to the business of the meeting Mr. A. Harris, M.P., took the platform and said that in misreading the council's manifesto at a public meeting at Belmont on the previous evening he had made i statement that reflected on the Mayoi and councillors. He now considered i: his duty to withdraw that statement in » public manner. (Applause.) "In our discussion we want to avoid (til personalities and ill-feeling" opened the Mayor of Takapuna (Mr. J. D Jdorison). "Before I start I wish to asl those councillors who are not in favoui «f the purchase, Messrs. Suckling, Mat thews, and Williamson, two of whom '. Bee in the audience, to come on to th platform. I will take it as an affron if they do not come." Mr. J. W. Williamson: I am sorry, bu I must decline your invitation. Mr. G. H. Matthews: If I come on t< your platform I will appear to favou the purchase. (Cries of "Yes" and "Xo" and "Be broadminded.") "All right, then," said Mr. Morison "Also I want to clear the air in referenci to Mr. Seaman's report. At the opposi tion party's meeting on Tuesday nigh' I stated that I was not aware that i lette rhad been received from Mr. Sea man protesting that he had been mis represented. At that time I understood Mr. Gould referred to a recenl letter. As a matter of fact the lettei was received in August. I would as! Mr. Seaman to accept my explanation Mr. Seaman's report was then read those clauses not in favour of the pur chase being cheered from the back oJ the hall. Again Mr. Lamont appealed to tht audience for fair play. "A Business Proposition." In detailing the negotiations leading ■up to the present position Mr. Morisoi said that he thought the majority of th< residents wanted the system electrified It was well known that both trams anc buses could not be run at a profit, anc everything hinged on monopoly. Hi challenged anyone to show that thi reports of the experts if not wholh favourable, were unfavourable to th purchase. "I say the price is low," h. said. (Cries of "Hear, hear.") The righ of running the steamer to Bayswate was alone worth £100,000 to the dis trict. (Applause.) The valuations o both the tramways and ferries were low and the matter should be considered a a business proposition. Was the borough going to receivi power from the Waitemata Power Boarc at the borough boundary or was i' going to send money to America to paj for benzine? If the council did no purchase it was quite possible thai German money would take the systen up. f (Uproar.) "Well, my time i; nearly up " (Laughter.) Mr. Morison (smiling): I know what youl mean, but if you return as good « council, excepting myself, you will nol regret it. A: Yoke: Aren't they lovely. Concluding, Mr. Morison said there had been a lot of "mud slinging" with talk about people getting a "cut" oul of the purchase. Reading his newspapei on the ferry recently he had heard his part in the matter referred to as a "rotten business," out of which he "was getting £5000. These wild insinuations indicated there was something wrong with Takapuna, an influence at work sowing vicious seeds. . A Wild Demonstration. At this stage the meeting was in disorder, those on the platform beino conn t.<>A ~" * A 1

element at the back of the hall. Again Mr. Lamont appealed to the inter-

rupters to "play cricket." "To say that the council met after midnight behind closed doors and conspired to do something improper is

absolute slander," finished Mr. Morison. On taking his seat the Mayor was loudly cheered. Wild cheers for Mr. Gould followed.

Mr. C. Mackley quoted from the experts' reports, expressing the opinion that in the first year the system would not show a loss and after that would show a substantial profit. By investing their money in the system the ratepayers would be investing it in a profitproducing concern. The City Council had purchased their system at a peak price, hut Takapuna's offer was 10/ in the £. Was it not a fact thit under the present conditions, getting a seat in a bus was "a race for the swift and the strong." (Applause and laughter.) Mr. P. E. N. Gaudin said that he wished to make it quite clear that he did not regard the question from a parochial point of view. As a councillor he had sat under every Mayor since Takapuna was constituted a borough, and they had all favoured electrification of the scheme. In support of his contention he read a number of letters from previous mayors to the tramway company, favouring electrification. "The system was worth nothing without a monopoly brtt with a monopoly was a payable proposition. "My advit-e to yon is to dig your toes in, clench your teeth, and hol<i that monopoly," he said. Appeal for Fair Play.

-A rowdy demonstration wa3 made when Mr. R, H. Greville ro3e to speak, j a section of the audience stamping! loudly. After the chairman had made an unsuccessful appeal for British fair play, Mr. Harris went on to the platform and explained that the incident of the previous evening's meeting was now forgotten. The meeting then became quieter. Mr. Greville said that the Barry's Point echeme would cost a tremendous amount of money, as beneath the mud of the channel was blue papa rock which would have to be blasted out. Also the increased length of the ferry _ journey would mean an increased time in travelling, sea transit being slower than land transit. Mr. A. Slinger, borough engineer, also supported the purchase. "Question time" was a lively period, and a three hours' meeting concluded with a vote to the chairman, but without a resolution on the proposed purchase,

WHO IS TO VOTE ? TAKAPUNA POLL DIFFICULTY. As it is not clear who should be allowed to vote at the forthcoming poll on the matter of the Takapuna Borough Council buying out the Takapuna tramways, the matter was taken before ,the Supreme Court yesterday afternoon. The Tranrways Act specifies that the people to vote on such a question should be ratepayers only. Later came the Municipal Corporations Act Amendment Act ot 1921, which altered matters to the extent of giving "electors" (residential qualification) the right to vote on all matters except where a rate was concerned. His Honor Mr. Justice Herdman was on the Bench, and there was a strong array of counsel, Mr. Finlay and Mr. Lowrie for the Takapuna Borough Council- Mr. Meredith, the AttorneyGeneral, Mr. Leary, the Takapuna TraniCompany, Mr. Gould, the Takapuna Ratepayers' Association Mr. Northcroft, the Milford Ratepayers' Association, 'and Mr. Greville the Bayswater Ratepayers' Association. Mr. Finlav, who appeared for the nominal plaintiffs in the action, the Borough Council, argued that the law gave all electors the right to vote. Mr. Meredith took up the stand that ratepayers only should be allowed to vote. After hearing all the counsel, his Honor reserved his judgment. During argument the judge asked what the position would be supposing the poll to purchase the trams was carried— would there be another poll on the question of raising the money V Mr Finlay replied that even if the nrst poll were carried it would still be necessary to have a second poll on the question of raising a loan to pay for the trams, and in that case ratepayers only would be allowed to vote.