WELLINGTON MAYORALTY.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 17741, 18 April 1923, Page 9

WELLINGTON MAYORALTY.

QUESTION OF LOYALTY,

(SPECIAL TO "THE PBESS.")

WELLINGTON, April 17,

The contest for the Wellington Mayoralty between Mr R. A. Wright, M.P., the present Mayor; Mr Peter Praser, Labour M.P.; and Mr Len McKenzie, City Councillor and a local chemist, is beginning to excite interest. It is generally regarded that there will be a close contest between Mr Wright and the Labour nominee, with Mr McKenzie a poor last on the list. Pressure has been brought to get Mr McKenzie to stand down, so as to have a straight-out contest between Messrs Wright and Praser, but Mr McKenzie obstinately refuses to do so. The Civic League and others have attacked Mr Praser, somewhat unfairly, it would seem, on the ground that he had not been very attentive to his duties as a Councillor last year. The main reason for his absence from Council and committee meetings was that he himself was ill, and for a considerable time his wife was also seriously ill. Another phase of the attack relates to his loyalty, which is being called in question over his attitude at the time of the Prince of Wales's visit. The "New Zealand Times" to-day says: "The Mayor of Wellington must be conspicuous for his loyalty. The chief citizen who does the honours of the city, and welcomes distinguished visitors from other countries, receiving them on behalf of this great city of Wellington, the capital of 'God's own country,' must be a man of conspicuous loyalty. Is Mr Fraser's loyalty conspicuous? Is it conspicuous enough to receive princes of the Royal House or prominent foreign visitors and assure them of the loyalty of the citizens of this capital of a very important part of the King's Dominion? For answer to that question, search the city's records. You will find in them the City Council's address to the Prince of Wales on his recent visit here, the visit which found many chiefs of the Labour Party studiously. and determinedly absent from all the proceedings, some of them arguing violently against taking part in any proceedings of welcome. You will find, wo repeat, the Council's address, but you will not find the name of Councillor Peter Fraser among tho names of the City Fathers appended to that document. He has sought to explain that he had some reason to find fault with the terms of the address. There is no possible reason of terms, absolutely none, that could justify his refusal to sign that address. His name is not in the list of signatories. He must take the consequences. He cannot be chosen to express the loyalty of the citizens of Wellington on any occasion requiring the Mayor of the city to express loyalty with no uncertain sound. Surely the citizens of Wellington voting in this Mayoral contest do not want to vote themselves out of the British Empire. If so, let them sternly vote Peter Praser out of the Mayoralty.'' Whatever Mr Fraser may have to say in reply to this, his supporters evidently glory in the stand he took on the occasion of the Prince's visit. Numbers of them were present at Mr Wright's meeting last night, and .when the latter mentioned this subject, they applauded the attitude adopted by Mr Fraser. When Mr Wright mentioned the Prince of Wales he was told to "cut that out," and to give them something else. Mr Wright, however, said it was his meeting, and he would address it in liis own. way. He said Mr Fraser was the only Councillor who refused to sign that address of welcome. (Loud applause from the Fraserites.) There were three other Labour members on the Council, and they signed the address of welcome, as men, as gentlemen should do, but Mr Fraser was the only one who declined to sign it. What would Mr Fraser have done had he been Maypr? Sir John Luke did what was quite right and proper. He gave the Prince a Mayora} reception on behalf of the city. "I cannot conceive," added Mr Wright, "that Mr Fraser would have dene that if he would not sign the address of welcome —a very simple and homely thing. I am not c sure that if he had been Mayor he would have donned the Mayoral robes to "give that distinguished visitor a welcome. . He would have been embarrassed in the position. I leave it at that." x