Tramway Board Election.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17316, 30 November 1921, Page 6

Tramway Board Election.

The result of the Tramway Board election yesterday was the return of six of the eight members of the old Board ! and the substitution for two useful j members, Messrs J. AVood and T. H. ' Davey, of two citizens, Messrs Flesher | and Bcanland, who may be depended upon to give good service. Mr G. T. Booth deserved.lv headed the poll for the Central sub-district, and the Hon. John Barr scored a hollow victory over his two opponents, who between them polled only about two-thirds of the number of vote® recorded in favour of Mr Barr. In a field of thirteen candidates for the four seats allotted to' the Central sub-dis-trict, the four Labour candidates filled the sixth, seventh, ninth, and eleventh places and in each of the three other sub-districts which tliey contested the Labour candidate was defeated by a large majority. While we regard the result, generally speaking, aB satisfactory, inasmuch as it ensures continuance of the businesslike policy that on the whole has hitherto distinguished the Board's administration, there is one feature of the election with which we must express profound dissatisfaction. That is the smallness of the poll. The number of electors who took the trouble to record their votes is not yet available, but as there were some 43,000 names on the roll, it is obvious that only a small proportion of the electors performed their duty. There is no reason to supposOj as one of the Labour speakers said at the declaration of the poll, that one section of the voters was especially delinquent in this respect. There was a general slackness and indifference all round which is most deplorable, and which, unless remedied, may some day result in those who wish to see the city's business carried on properly on sound lines experiencing a most unpleasant awakening.