MAYORAL ELECTIONS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 167, 8 April 1908, Page 8

MAYORAL ELECTIONS.

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS. LIST, OF CANDIDATES. The Mayoral elections for 1908 take place threo weeks from to-day, and for many reasons may-- be regarded as tho' most impor- - tant v and interesting that havo occurred for many years. - v The City.-" ' In , tho., City there ~;iro many questions ..- agitating!' the public mind' which candidates ■ " • aro dealing with on the platform, and which' must be seriously considered by'the electors —ratepayers, householders, and sub-tenants (not boarders). Of recent years the Mayor has wielded, a. power, thatmany hold should only bo vested, in the Council as a whole, and it is for the electors to consider to what mark the'Mayer's individual power should extend, "and w-hero: that of. the -Council should begin. Matters of moment that wdl he cousidered : by intelligent-electors concern the investment of sinking funds, the . miinicipalisation of the' Wellington Gas Company's property;' tho regulation and -• purin- . nation of tho city's milk supply ; public markets, reserves, etc. . Miramar... ■ ■ •-■ ■ ■ With regard - to tho boroughs Miramar is engaged on spending a loan of some £71,000 on water, drainago, and road improvement, the/water to'bo obtained on royalty from the city.' Miramar is\also affected by the Sroposed reclamation at the head of Evans ay, Which work is almost sure to be gone cliead with sooner or later. Industrially, tho borough'will be given a big fillip by the establishment at Miramar of huge gas works' by the Wellington Gas Company. These works, when in full ' swing, will employ a large v staff, who will be looking'for homes in;the vicinity. , Miramar is solidly progres-': Bive, but should not on that account becomo , apathetic in municipal "matters. There ,is to bo a contest between a former Mayor and the sitting one. Karori. . No announcement has yet been made re- ' Rardmg a candidate - for tho > Mayoralty; of Karori. Mr. A. C. Pearce has absolutely' declined to stand again, and nothing is likely to shake his resolution. It is possible'that Mr. TS. E. Hammond (manager for the South '' British Insurance Company), may come for-' ward,''land his reply to an inquiry made yesterday afternoon left that an open contingency. -Mr. Hammond has led the " reform party" in the.Karori Borough Council, and with the experience ho had iu local bodies'- ■ affairs, in-tho South, and what he has gained' in -166al affairs at Karori, he should make a very ,able-. Karori . is. losing-its better-half ,in Northland this week, and is ■ 1 divided amongst itself.' as to whether tho tramway /should be extended. to the township or not. t ' Eastbourne. '.-■ •' t Eastbourne is not. likely to change its ' Mayor. , Tho borough is talking of water and ,' drainage, but;.they,- aro 'still a good way off. in the meantimo the'roads are'being fixed up in' good stylo, and ..the sand nuisance has. - baen successfully grappled Onslov/. .. '' - ' ':. ".' There is not likely to be a change of Mayor -' at Onslow. The borough recently nad Wadestown and Goldesbrae snipped off its southern • skirt, but in Kaiwarra, Crofton, and Khan- "■ dallah it still has a large area of: suburban land under its control. The borough, recently obtained the sanction of the';-ratepayers,to borrow-a sum of money to purchase a watershed area, for. the future supply of the district. This-is now being surveyed prior-'to negotiations being entered | into , witli -the owners. The. precaution exercised in securing this watershed was emphasised .by the : recent'drought and bush fires—the reservoir is not yet.THE CANDIDATES. - The following is the list of candidates who havo 'definitely announced -their intention of Btandirig■ h ' : ' : '■ ' / WELLINGTON CITY. ■ ■ Hon. T. W. Hislop (present Mayor). . •Mr. Ji.G. \V. Ait-ken, M.E. (ex-Mayor). MIRAMAR BOROUGH. ,- . ■ Mr. C. J. Crawford (present Mayor)., Mr- Frederick Townsend (ex-Mayor): - ~ KARORIBOROUGH. ' \ Mr. E. E. Hammond (?). EASTBOURNE BOROUGH. Mr. F. G. Bolton (present Mayor). . ONSLOW BOROUGH.': ; Mr. J. G. Harkness (present Mayor). PETONE. Mr. J. -W. M'Ewan (present Mayor). ' nUTT. . Mr. T. A. Peterkin (present Mayor). MR. HISLOP'S CAMPAIGN. MEETING AT BERHAMPORE. . In pursuance of his Mayoral campaign, tho - '• Hon. T. W. Hislop addressed a meeting of supporters ' last night'in the Hall, '. Paim Grove, Berhamporo. Mr. Patience presided. Mr. Hislop, in; a short address, said he : noted ; that. a newspaper correspondent ■ had asked for a list of tlie municipal works originated by Mr. Aitken and by himself. It was. difficult for any nian to prove himself-the originator of any' specific enterprise, but it had; been claimed that Mr. Aitken was the originator of the electric tramways. The fact was that tho initial steps were taken during Mr. 1 Blair's Mayoralty,- and the scheme was • well advanced. when 'Mr. Aitken took office. That gentleman • had,had: the tramway loan. V ■ of .£22,000 J floated on terms tlfat . were, not ! satisfactory. -In carrying out tho scheme, serious mistakes were taade, such as taking the line through Aitken Street. . -This; was now being undone.; It was not simply an engineering matter, but . ono on which the Council should have expressed an opinion. Mr.--Aitken ' allowed - tho 'income!' from the horse trams,' while they were being run by the I Council for two or three years, to , bo treated as revenue, instead of devoting it ■ to. 'extinguishing the debt of £22,000. .The assets against this debt were £5000 worth, of stock, and about £-1000 worth of land, and thus Mr. Aitken had ■ allowed tho indebtedness of the city to be needlessly increased by £13,000. Was that the action of a.prudent and business-like, person?' Provision to meet that debt had bad to:be made since Mr.'Aitken left office. Another mistake had been made. by carrying the tramline along Kent Terrace, ■ instead of Cambridge Terrace. It would be necessary at some time in the future to carry the line through tho Basin/Reserve, and if it had been .laid along Cambridge Terrace, it could have taken a stTaighter course, and would havo left a larger unbroken stretch of I lovel , ground in the Reserve. Other mistakes in regard to .tramway routes had been made , under Mr. Aitken. Tho Eilbirnie line, as originally planned by the, predecessor of tho "present engineer, arid sanctioned by Mr. Aitken, would have followed a very unsuitable route'on both sides of the tunnel, and any Mayor taking a real live interest in his duties would not have given his approval to such. a. route. The Town Hall, again, was initiated, not by Mr. Aitken, but by his predecessor. Mr. Blair, arid the water supply scheme for the outlying portions of tno city was really the work of Mr. Devine. Tho speaker concluded with a Brief review of tho period of his own administration, referring, in -,terms of satisfaction .and on lines that have become familiar, to matters ■ connected with street improvements, lighting, tramrays, finance, and a;sthetic efforts, such as , 'the " Zoo." A committee was subsequently formed to further Mr. Hi slop'a interests m the campaign.

MR. AITKEN'S LADiES' COMMITTEE. A meeting of Mr. Aitken's Ladies' Committee was held yesterday afternoon, in the Baptist Schoolroom, Brooklyn. Various details connected with tho organisation of the eampaign were dkenssed, and further work arranged for. This afternoon^there will*be

Ladies' Committee mooting at, Godbor's Rooms, in Cuba Street, at 3.30 o'clock. A meeting of Mr. Aitken's Thorndon Committee .was field in tlic Sydney Street Schoolroom last.evening, \a largo number attending. - - Mr.' Hislop will address meetings as under:—Aro Street, Momai Hall, to-night, at 8 o'clock; and tho IColburne bowling pavilion, on Friday, at 8 o'clock. .Meetings, of Mr. Aitken's'committees will bo hold as follow: —Kilbirnic, this evening, at B'o'clock ;-at Brooklyn, to-morrow ovoning, in the Baptist Church, at 7.45 o'clock; at the W.C.T.U: Rooms, Constable Street, tomorrow evening, at 8 o'clock; and at tho Berhamporo Hall, Palm Grove, to-morrow evening, at 8 o'clock. Mr. Frederick Townsond announces, in re.ply to the request of numerous ratepayers, that ho will contest ,tho Miramar Mayoralty.