LOAN POLLS.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17247, 10 September 1921, Page 13

LOAN POLLS.

MAYOR'S CAMPAIGN. MEETING AT LHTWOOD. Tho Mayor's campaign in connexion with tho loan proposals to he voted for on Thursday, was continued in the Rolleston street Hall, Linwood. last night, Cr. J. I{. Brunt presiding over a fair attendance. Tho chairman said he hopod the Mayor's enthusiasm in' addressing iuoetings in different parts of the town would wipo out the apathy that seemed to exist at present. Tho municipal buildings were a Uisgraeo to a city like C'hristchurch, and were quite inadequate. Ic was ilso a standing reproach that the city had no proper concert hall, and be hoped that the reproach would sooa be removed He considered the, town hall proposal to be the Jeast important of the three. Tho Mayor stated that before ho left home the Mayoress said to him that there wore four largo picture theatres in Cathedral square which were filled i-very night, and there was one theatre which the lessees preferred to keep «hut rather than ront it for less than £4O a night. The speaker stated that endeavours had been made to get tho theatro for- Mr C. K. Statham to speak in, but owing to the figure asked, tho theatre could not lie made uso of. Ho condemned the attitude taken up by a Christchurch newspaper, which advocated that the site for the proposed Town Hall should be where the Oxford Hotel now stood. Cr. J. A. Flesher stated that the city having got the property in Manchester street for, roughly £16,000. the Council would be foolish not to utilise it to the best possible advantage. He strongly supported the administrative and concert chamber proposals, and ridiculed the idea that the latter building, which would be situated at the rear of the administrative offices, was intended to tako the place of a Town Hall. He considered that the more land a municipality owned in a town the better. ! With regard to the Town Hall site facing Victoria Square, he considered that 1 this had not beon treated fairly by one j of the morning newspapers, which advocated another site. The early citizens of Christ-church had provided the ' beet site of the lot for a Town Hall, the site now occupied by the band rotunda in Victoria. Square. Cr3. H. F. Herbert, D. G. Sulhvan, M.P., and 11. Hunter also spoke. In moving a voto of thanks to the Mayor and the other speakers, Mr H. J. Otley urged the ratepayers to vote for the administrative offices ana concert hall proposals. Ho did not be- j iiev& in tho jurchas© of tho Victoria square site, The land was not wortn as much no*v as it was three years ngo, because at that time money cost only 4* and 5 per cent., whereas it now cost about 7 per cent. The best eite m Christ-church for a Town Hall vibA the site originally set aside for the pnrpose •--that on which tho band rotunda, now stood. A meeting of ratepayers of Sjweydon was hold in tho old Borough. Coun- • cii Chambers last night for the purpose of considering tho Spreydon Faris loan proposal and the city loan proposals. Threo members of the Ctastohurch Citv Council —Messrs A. Manhire, W. H. Winsor, and E. H. Andrews —were present and addressed the meeting. They and Mr R. Nairn stronglv urged the ratepayers to vote in favour of the loan poposal for the purchase of a block of land for a parkj and stated the case for the other loaxs.