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Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 14110, 1 August 1911, Page 6

The citizens, we think, will very generally approve the course which was taken last night by the City Council in electing Mr J. J. Dougall as Mayor of the city in succession to the late Mr T. E. Taylor. Mr Dougall has had a good tleai of experience in local government, and has shown himsell' possessed of a £oad sound judgment. Wo have no doubt, he will discharge the duties of his important office with tact, ability, and impartiality, and that he will fully justify tho confidence that the members of the City Council and through them tho citizens, have reposed in him.

Some objection was taken by the Labour inemoers of the- City Council to what one of them termed the undemocratic method provided by the law for filling the vacancy caused by the death of a mayor during his term of office. The arrangement by which the members of tho Council themselves elect a mayor tor the rest of the term appears, however, to bo fraired in tho .general interest, since it obviates the .necessity for a poll of the whole city, and enables the work of municipal government to be carried on with as little interruption as possible. At Home the Town Council always elects the mayor, and the system works well. Wβ always understood that the Labour Party

endorsed the principles of the elective executive—the selection of the Premier and his colle-iE" cs b ? the el ected representatives of the people—and as this method of filling «P a vacant mayoralty is on the same lines 'the Labour protest seems somewhat illogical. Tho city has had one keen and vigorous contest f OT the mayoralty this year and even if, in the event of tho course advocated by the Labour councillors being possible, another one had taken place, it is extremely improbable that- Christchurch would'have got a better mayor than Mr Dougall promises to make.

Tho election of Councillor Dougall as Mayor leaves a vacancy in the representation of tho Central Ward on the Council, and we are glad to see that Mr H. D. Acland, of tho legal firm of Wilding and Acland. has announced his candidaturo for the seat. It will be remembered that Mr Acland was a candidate at the biennial municipal elections last April, and the support he then received was ample warrant for his decision to offer his services on this occasion. Coming out as an independent candidate just a week before the election, he' polled over 2000 votes. Mr Aeland has done good service ns a member of the Boned .of Governors of Canterbury College and if elected ho will bring to the work of the City Couucil the earnestness' and practical oomnionsense that he has' shown in other matters.

As will bo seen by a telegram in this issue, the House will this evening authorise the Speaker to issue the writ for the by-election for the Christchurch North scat. The writ, it is said, will be returnable within twenty-ono days, and as tho possibility of a second ballot being necessary must bo taken into account, the election may take place within a fortnight after the issue of tho writ. The Legislature Amendment Act provides that tho writ shall be returnable "within" twenty-eight days, not "after" that period, and presumably it is within tho discretion of tho Government to decide as to hpw much timo shall be allowed to candidates to make the acquaintance of the electors before polling day- In this case, tho timo seems unnecessarily brief. At the by-election in Auckland last year, boforo tho extension of the time for tho return of a writ from twenty-ono to. twenty-eight days, there was an interval of threo full weeks between the issue of the writ and the date of the poll.

Tho very short timo that will elapso boforo the poll is taken need not in the least dismay. Mr Hall's supporters. It only means that no time must be lost in getting to., work. Electors who, in spite of tho electoral census, have not yet enrolled themselves, should do so at Once, as the rolls may close with the issue of the writ to-morrow ovening, and it would be well if all electors were to satisfy themselves that they have.been duly enrolled. A meeting of Mr Hall's supporters is to bo held tomorrow" night, at a time and place to b© announced in tho papers to-morrow morning, and we hope that there will bo a> good attendance of those who are prepared to assist in making his candidature a success.

Wo publish in this issue a Jengthy letter from an anti-militarist correspondent. It would be easy to reply to the points he raisee, but we prefer to lot tho article wo print by tho Rev. Mr Sarginson answer tho fallacies of our correspondent. Our anti-militarist, anti-registration, antidefonco friends are rather apfc to talk as if they had a monopoly , of the Christian at least, as if those who opposed their particular view did not possess them. Mr Sarginson's clear and forcible arguments dispose of the idea that Christianity and a desire for peace aro restricted to those who protest against compulsory military training, and regard preparation! for defence as utterly wrong. As he says: —"The man who is too good a Christian to take his share with his fellowcitizone in preparing for the defence of his country, should be too good a Christian to loaf on the courage and devotion of others if trouble comes along."