A WELL-DESERVED COMPLIMENT.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 13908, 6 December 1910, Page 6

A WELL-DESERVED COMPLIMENT.

The Tramway Board did the right thing yesterday in recording their appreciation of the efforts made by the Hon. Mr W r igram and Mr T. M. Wilford, whilo the Tramways Bill was being dealt with in Parliament- to preserve the rights of municipalities in regard to tramway matters. It is not fhe fault of these two gentlemen that the Bill eventually became law in a shape which, despite mitigating amendments, renders it one of the blots on tne legislation of the session. Mr Wilford, in particular, made a long and stubborn fight against this encroachment on the people's rights and privileges, and it is significant that he received no assistance from members whose support, as Mr Booth said, the Christchurch Tramway Board might reasonably have expected. We do not know—and it is fruitless to speculate on the point—to what extent Mr Wilford's championship of the people's liberties was due to his occupancy of the Mayoralty of Wellington, but it is at least noteworthy that the two strongest opponents of the measure were men with an inside knowledge of municipal work. Mr Wigram did excellent service for Christchurch in the Mayoral chair, and we believe Mr Wilford is doing good work in the same position in Wellington. The fact that municipal politics provides an cxcelient training for the wider field of Parliament is an additional reason why only the best men available should be chosen for the work of city government.