TITLE OF LORD MAYOR

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27924, 22 March 1956, Page 14

TITLE OF LORD MAYOR

CONFERMENT LEFT TO GOVERNMENT VIEWS OF MUNICIPAL ASSOCIATION (New Zcatana Press Association/ INVERCARGILL, March 21. “I hear some giggles, but personally I think that the title of Lord Mayor should be conferred on the mayors of cities which want that honour for their chief citizen.” said Mr N. H. Moss, president of the Municipal Association of New Zealand, al he association’s annual conference today. “If the people of Auckland, Wellington. Christchurch, apd Dunedin think that their cities have grown to a status which entitles them to this honour, then it is up to them, and I don’t think that this association should offer any objection,” Mr Moss said. “Auckland and Wellington would like the honour; Christchurch and Dunedin are still not quite satisfied that they want it; but I think that if it was conferred on Auckland and Wellington, the two South Island cities would not be long behind in asking for it.”

Mr Moss suggested that the conference should not debate the question, but should leave it to the Government to confer the honour on any of the four main cities which wanted it. When Mr Moss asked whether delegates agreed with that suggestion, there was a chorus of “Yes.” “Well, there is apparently some objection, so the matter will have to come before you later by way of resolution,” Mr Moss said. Mr M. F. E. Cooney, Mayor of Oamaru.’ said he thought it would be ridiculous to have four Lord Mayors in a small country like New Zealand. The only Lord Mayor in New Zealand should be the Mayor of the capital city. At this afternoon’s session of the conference, Mr P. J. Passby (Ho wick) moved that the’ conference should inform the Prime Minister (Mr Holland) that the conferment of the honour of Lord Mayor was his prerogative, and that the association would have no objection to the honour being conferred on one or more of the Mayors of the four main centres, if any of those cities wanted the honour Mr G. Manning (Christchurch) said he objected to Now Zealand copying from Britain traditional titles such as that of Lord Mayor. What they should do was to copy from Britain or any other country anything that would make for greater efficiency in local body government. They should not adopt medieval trappings from Britain.

to T^ 2 e motion was carried by 88 Votes