CIVIC AFFAIRS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 860, 5 July 1910, Page 6

CIVIC AFFAIRS.

SPEECH BY THE GOVERNOR,

CONFERENCE OPENED,

THE FRANCHISE QUESTION

The biennial conference of the Municipal Association of New Zealand, to which !)l boroughs and 20 town boards iiro affiliated, opened yesterday morning in the City Council Chamber, with Mr. T. 31. Wilford, MVP.,.Mayor of AVellington, as president, ex officio. The following delegates of city and borough councils were present:— Messrs. G. Armstrong (Akaroa), H. Davis (Ashburton), L. J. Bagnall, H. M. Smeeton, and H. W. Wilson (Auckland), K. H. Penny (Blenheim), L. K. Thillips (Birkenhead and Northoote), C. Allison, H. Cr. Otley, and H. E. Smith (Christchurch), AVm. i'raser, M.P. (Qneenstown and Cromwell), E. A. Kansoin (Daiuievirke), W. liandley (Devonport), T. Colo and J. Wilson (Dunedin), E. Page (Eketaliuna), 1!. F. H. Hemingway (Eltham), W. J. Hohisworth (Grey Lynn), Hon. A. 1!. Guinness, M..P. (Greymouth), Hon. T. Mackenzie, M.P. (Green Island and Mosgiel), J. A. Miller (Hastings), W. A. Ott (lnvereargill), A. Ball (lnvereargill South), J. B. Hinb (Inglewood), J. 11. Blaekwoll (Ivaiapoi), C. I. Dasent (Ivarori), E. I'. Bunny (Lower Hutt), Jr. J. Miller (Lvttelton), A. J. Butterfield (Maori Hill), E. E. Beckett (Marton), J. M. C'oradine (Masterton), J. I\ Arnold, M.P. (Moriiington), J. Brodio (Mirainar), J. V. Brown, M.P., and J. J. Niven (Napier), T. I'ettit (Nelson), F. Bellringer (New Plymouth), J. Rhodes, W. Begg, and J. C. I'ea (North East Valley), E. Milligan (Oamaru), J. G. Harkness (Onslow), E. W. Lang, M.P. (Onehunga), W. W. M'Cardle (Pahiatua), E. H. . Clarke (l'ort Chalmers), G. J. Jtiddell (Pieton), J. W. M'Ewan (Petone), ,!. A. Nash and H. Haydon (Palmerston North), J. P. Arnold, M.P. (tioslyn), E. l'\ H. Hemingwav (Stratford), Hon. John Barr, M.L.C. (Sumner), T. IC. Sidey, .M.P. (St. Kilda), T. Buxton, M.P. (Temuka), J. Craigic, M.P. (Timaru), J. P. Aklridge (Taihape), A. H. Hindmarsh and .1. .1. Devine (Wellington), M'Gregor Wright and M. Giilden (Woolston), C. E. Maclcay and G. Carson (Wanganni), T. M. Wilford, M.P. (Waipawa and Woodville), H. Poland, M.P. (Waihi), E. H. Clarke, M.P. (West Harbour), AS'. T. Jennings, M.P. (Waitara and Ohakune), Sir W. J. Steward. M.P. (Waimate). The following attended as delegates of town boards: —Messrs. .T. W. Card (Featherston), E. Bould (Johnsonville), and A. J. M'Curdy (Upper Hutt).

THE CONFERENCE AND THE GOVERNMENT. The president welcomed the delegates, and especially mentioned that this was the first confercncc at which town boards liad been represanted. He also said that tho action of the Government in tho past iu practically throwing to the winds the- recommendations of municipal conferences was to him a matter of srave concern. He proposed to ask the conference to make a strong protest on this matter, nnd lie hoped those members of the conference who were also members of Parliamen-t would ventilate its wishes in the House. The members of the conierence wore better qualified to form sound opinions on municipal matters than members of Parliament who were not members of local bodies. Ho thought it would be well for the conference to avoid putting too many requests before tho Government, as that course- threw upon the Ministers the task of choosing which they thought most desirable, and things which the conference particularly wished for might thus bo neglected. Mr. L. ,J. BapnalJ, Mayor of Auckland, endorsed the president's remarks on tho relations between tho conference and the Government.

THE GOVERNOR WELCOMED. IMPORTANCE OF CIVIC LIFE. At this stage liis Excellency tho Governor (Lord Islington), whoso intended visit tho president had alrcadv announced, entered the chamber. The delegates rose to their feet, aud upon his Excellency taking his seat beside the president, there was a spontaneous outburst of applause. His Excellency, having been briefly welcomed by jMr. AVilford, said iie was very grateful to the president for so thoughtfully affording him the opportunity oi coming thfrre that morning, and for a few moments interrupting the deliberations of the conference. When tho opportunity was offered him of meeting so many ot the gentlemen whose business it was to maintain the civic efficiency of local communities in New Zealand' he folt that he must avail himself of it. He thanked them for I heir cordial welcome. It had been gratifving to him to receive a sequence of such welcomes from those „ representing different branches of public life in New Zealand as he had been brought into contact with them one after another. The present occasion afforded one example of those cordial and kindly welcomes that were looked upon in tho Old Country as a feature of New Zealand life. It was true, as tho president had said, that he had had some experience of civic administration. He might be permitted to say that his past experience of civic work had shown him how real and how great were tho responsibilities that lay upon the shoulders of those gentlemen who undertook that particular branch of public work. The comfort, tho health, and tho convenience of the population largely depended upon the efficiency and up-to-dateness of civic administration. He knew, from what he had read and heard, that New Zealand local administration in no way lagged behind the modern world. Ho hoped to have opportunities of coming into touch with those whom he was addressing, and with their public bodies. He could not do so, in al 1 eases, this year, but he hoped to be able to visit all the different localities in time, and fo get into touch with thoso who wero responsible for the local administration. He desired to apologise for interrupting the deliberations of the conference, because he know how important they were. They had similar annual or biennial conferences at Home, and ho knew how fruitful they- were. Meeting there and comparing notes and talking over advantages and disadvantages would be one more step towards an improvement and forward movement in local administration in the Dominion of NewZealand. The speech was followed by hearty applause, and his Excellency then withdrew.

PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. SUPERANNUATION FUNDS. Thi> president, in his opening address to the conference, reviewed briefly the legislation giving local authorities power to establish superannuation funds, either singly or in combination. One condition was that the local authority had to guarantee the solvency of the fund, itwas a most difficult thing to say when a superannuation fur.d was solvent. This was shown by tho experience of railway superannuation funds in England and in New Zealand. Tie thought sirperannuation funds should be the concern of the general Government, and not of local bodies. They could not tell how many would join a voluntary scheme, and thor'e were several oilier pitfalls of uncertainly. Tho liability of local authorities to guarantee a joint superannuation fund was "joint and several," and this might impose a serious risk upon a financially sound local body which had united with an adjoining one, who-jo balancc-sheet was only apparently touml.

Municipal Franchise. The president indicated liis desire for an extension of the municipal franchise, lie alluded to the case of a man who told hint that he spent .£0 Gs. with storekeepers on u Saturday night". He was not called a ratepayer, but he presumed that the money he spent at tho stores helped to pay the rent, to the owner, who p»id rates. Was not that man virtually u ratepayer f He believed a Mayor

should previously have served as a councillor. (Hear, hear.) lie had not done so himself, but he took the law as it stood. Tile .Mayor should be elected by I tho councillors.

Rates on State-acquired Land. In regard to the question of rates on property acquired by the Government, lie pointed .out that the boroughs of I'etono anil Lower J hit I had lost a great part of their revenue through the Government acquiring land for workers' homes, and then not currying out the work. Other boroughs were in a similar position. They wanted the Government to acquire the laud, but they also wanted them to use it'. 11' a borough in such a position had pledget! its revenue to debeuture-holders for loans, and then large areas were taken by the Government' and no longer paid rates, a part of the security which had been pledged had in that manner been token away.

SUPERANNUATION. GOVEKNMFAT ASKED TO ACT. The first subject for discussion being the superannuation question, which had been postponed from the last conference, the president amoved: That no action be taken by this conierence in the matter of the Local Authorities Superannuation Act, IUOS, but that the Government be urged to introduce a National Annuities Bill. J )l r - 9- Allison, Mayor of Christchurch, said his council had not passed a resolution on this subject, but its views were practically in accord with the motion (which he seconded). It was little credit to the people of New Zealand that the question of a national annuities scheme had been before them for 20 years, and .>et nothing was done. The scheme should be compulsory, because otherwise there would be people who would not contribute and would become recipients of charitable aid. He and his councillors thought there should be no distinction in. the matter of superannuation between those within the public service and those outside it. He endorsed the president's remarks on the financial aspect of the question. Mr. L. J. Bagnall, Mayor of Auckland, supported the motion. Another difficulty was that many of the employees of corporations remained only h short time. Several other speakers supported the motion, which was then carried on the voices.

REMITS FROM BOROUGHS. ENROLMENT OF ELECTORS. Mi. Bagnall moved the following Auckland remit:— That the Municipal Corporations Act, 1008, Section 13, be amended to provide that in the cities, claims for enrolment must be lodged at least twenty-eight days before a poll to permit of their being properly checked before tho final closing of the roll as provided for in the said section. The mover said that tho present system afforded ample facilities for roll stuffing in the interests of any particular candidate, because it was possible to bring along a batch of names at the last moment, when it was too late to have them properly scrutinised. In the course of discussion, Mr. W. T. Jennings, M.P., expressed the view that tho proposed change would inflict hardship on some in tile small boroughs. He thought all who could prove themselves ratepayers, whether enrolled or not, should be entitled to vote, in the smaller places at any rate. ~ Mr. J. 11. filackwell, Mayor of Kaiapoi, moved au amendment to make the proposal apply to cities and boroughs with a population of 3000 and over. This was adopted, aud the motion, as amended, was then carried.

Polling Hours. Mr. E. P. H. Hemingway (Stratford), in moving "That the Municipal Corporations Act, IMS, be amended by repealing Seclion 22, and substituting Section 17 of the Local Elections and Polls Act: therefor," explained that under the former clause the hours were !) a.m. to 7 p.m., and nnder the latter ft a.m. to C p.m., with a proviso that an extension to 7 p.m. might be granted by Order-in-Coimcil, on the application of the local body. Delegates from a number of places urged that, if the polls closed at 6 p.m. many would be unable to vote. The'motion was rejected. Voting Qualifications. Mr, W. J. Holdsworth moved a Grey Lynn remit in favour of altering the residential franchise so that for every dwelling of whatever valuo there should be ijnly one residential vote (man and his wife), being the persons to whom the house is let by the owner or ratepayer. The mover said that in some cases there were seven or eight people in one house, including sons and daughters of the householder and lodgers, on the roll. People who were conscientious would not place themselves on the roll if their qualifications were doubtful, but (hoso who wcro less conscientious did so. Either the franchise should be widened— (hoar, hear) —or some such proposal as that of the remit should be adopted. The Parliamentary Franchise. Mr. Mackay (Mayor of Wanganui) moved as an amendment:— That in the opinion of this conference the Parliamentary roll should lie accepted as the municipal roll for the election of mayors and councillors. The amendment v/;us seconded by Ml'. J. Vigor Brown, M.P. (Mayor of Napier), and on a show oi hands being taken the president announced that it was defeated by 20 votes to 25. A request "was made for the names to be taken down. While this was being done the Hon. A. K. Guinness, M.P., entered the room. Objection was taken to his voting, but the president allowed it. The question was raised as to whether delegates who represented more than one local body should have, more than one voto accordingly. The ruling was in the afiirnialive. and it was further ruled that cvtvy delegato present had one vote, although it was pointed out that some boroughs had more delegates than others of equal importance. Under these conditions the previous decision was reversed, and the amendment was carried by 33 to 30. The following Invercargill remit was carried :— That when a councillor is elccted Mayor of the borough that he be allowed to retain his seat at the council table until his installation as Mayor. Rating of Government Lands. In moving: That the Government be ultimately liable for all rates levied on lands reserved by the Government, Mr. J. W. M'Ewan (Pctoue) said this remit had been passed by the last conference. Since then the executive had had tho matter under consideration, and had decidcd it should come again before the conferonce. His council suffered a severe disability under tho provisions of tho new Act in force. Tho Government had acquired certain blocks of land at Pctone on which to erect workers' dwellings. These had not bean erected to the extent anticipated, but 150 acres of land had taken up. Tlw> result had bevn to deprive tho council of a considerable amount of rates, in four years a sum of 4:1700. Tho contention vra«s that t.hc remainder of tho ratepayer.-; had to beaT a larger amount of rating burden I linn otherwise they would be called upon to bear. The Petone Council had sent a petition round to all similar bodies in tho Dominion, and forty replies had been received supporting the stand it had taken. Their president had brought the matter up in Parliament, and he hoped, in conclusion, delegates would unanimously support tho remit. Mr. "Wilford (who had already spot™ on the subject as reported above) seconded the remit, which was carried. State ant) Private Enterprise, Mr. Wilford moved:— That the attention of the. Government ho drawn to the fact that where education reserves am leased on weekly lonnncies or for other short periods. the local authorities cannot levy. Further, that tho Government should pay rates on land taken or ' used for trailing purposes. The motion w>>s passed, after a di.-eur'-atutt ui which iL wis stroacii' cunieadod

that the Government ought to pay rates on all land, such as State coal yards, used loi Hading in competition with private companies, although much of the land it held was necessarily exempt from any such impost.

Uniform Rating. The following lnvereargill remit was moved by Mr. W. A. Ott:— That when a number o£ adjoining boroughs form themselves into one . united borough, vrbers the rating is under different systems, power bo given so that the council may adopt ono uniform system for the whole united borough. , The remit wm amended to provide that, in the circumstances stated a council should take a poll of ratepayers of the united area. In this form the remit was carried. Accounts. The following were carried:— That the accounts of municipal opera houses and other places of amusement bo kept as separate accounts.— (Palmerston North.) That Division 3 of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1908, be amended to provide that with the exception of money raised by way of special loan, it shall bo lawful for borough councils to pay the whole of their revenue from any source whatever into one account at the bank, and that the keeping of separate ledger accounts be sufficient.—(Hastings.) Mr. E. E. Smeeton (Auckland):— That municipalities, especially those engaged in trading concerns, t>e permitted to keep their accounts on commercial lines.

The mover said the accounts were now kept on the receipts and expenditure plan, and his council's view was that they should be kept on the profit and loss system. The accounts -were kept according to the requirements of the law and the Government Auditor, but it was difficult for the ratepayers to get a true knowledge of the financial position from tbem. The motion was carried. Footpaths and Streets. An Ashburton remit was:— That Section 167 of the Municipal Corporations Act, 190S, be amended by adding the following clause: "If the council, at any time after a footway has been laid out, or constructed, but not asphalted, considers it necessary or desirable that such footway should be asphalted, it may impose not exceeding one-half of the cost of such asphalting upon the ownel's of lands and buildings fronting the same. The chairman said he was of opinion that such contributions to local works would gradually be done away with. Properties would simply be rated according to their value and the rotos would be spent where tho council thought work was required to be done. The motion was agreed to. A Christchurch remit recommending that power should be given to councils to approve the course and grade of streets laid out on private land was carried. The Hon. J. Barr (Sumner) moved:— That before taking over any new road made' for the purpose of subdividing land, the council may require the owner thereof to make such provision for water supply and sanitation as the council may deem necessary and equitable. This was seconded by Mr, E. I J . Bunny, Mayor of Lower Hutt, and carried. Power to Sell Native Reserves. My. H. Haydon (Palmerston North) moved :— That in order to enable City and Borough Councils to complete the roading of cities and boroughs, aiid provide for closer settlement, the Government bo requested to introduce legislation enabling tho Public Trustee or Minister in Charge of Native Lands to have power to soil all Native reserves within the limits of cities and boroughs, and invest tho money obtained by the sale.oil behalf of the owners; or, as an alternative, that the . Public Trustee, or Minister in Charge, bo directed to road the said lands in accordance with the by-laws, and let tho frontages on long renewable leases.

The mover said there was such a reservo at Palmerston. It was not worth more than ,4250 a year to the Natives at present, but it ivas estimated that it would realise over ,£37,000. It was stopping building, and blocking tho making of roads that were required. Tho Hon. A. K. Guinness, M.P., said he represented a borough (Greymouth) which had suffered greatly from the existence in its midst of . a Native reserve of 500 acres. The unimproved value of the land, according to the Government valuation, was ,£IIO,OOO, vet 45 years ago it was not worth ,£250. I'he borough had spent .£BO,OOO or ,£OO,OOO on public works on the land, and had not received one penny in rates from the Native owners. They were not called upon to pay rates, nor to make roads on the, land, which was leased _ on 21-year leases, subject to revaluation.

Overhanging Hedges. A. Birkenhead remit was ameuded, on tho motion of Mr. A. J. Jf'Curdy (I'pper Hutt), so as to call for an amendment of the Municipal Corporations Act, requiring owners of overhanging hedges to trim them back within 11 days after a Court decision to that effect, or (in cases where the Courts are not invoked) within 24 days after receiving notice from the council. The motion, as amended, was carried.

Miscellaneous. Tho following remits were carried:— That tho Government be asked to legislate in the direction of enabling municipalities to oxecute water and drainage works for owners of promises, the cost of such works to be repayable bv instalments—(Stratford). That Section 200 of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1908, T>e made . to apply to offices and other buildings over one story in height, where persons are employed during the day or night.—(Christchurch). That Sections lot, 155, 156, 157, and 15S of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1908 (providing for the control of highways on boundaries of boroughs), which were repealed last sassion, bo reinstated.—(Green Island.)

Motions for the creation of aldermen, for having the King's Birthday kept as Empire Day, for allowing boroughs under certain conditions to extend their boundaries without waiting for a petition from the ratepayers, to allow tlfe signing of orders, etc., to bo delegated to any officer of a council, etc., were thrown out. . Discussions on other subjects are reported muler separate headings. The conference adjourned at 5.15 p.m. until 10 a.in to.day.

All those who take interest in crosscountry running aro invited to he present at the Y.M.C.A. Rooms this evening, when the newly-formed Brooklyn Harriers will hold the first of a series oi monthly meetings, promoted to make tho club members and intending mouibers better known to each other. At these meetings anyone may make suggestions on the advancement of the "game." Tonight, Mr. P. A. Wilton will give an andress on "How club runs should be conducted," and Mr. W. N. Beaven will read a paper on "Harrierism, its Origin, and what it has Become." Messrs. Abraham and Williams, Ltd., will hold a stock sale at Johnsonville, to-morrow, at 2 p.m. HEALTH HINTS FOB RHEUMATICS. Diet plays an important part in Rheumatism, (font, Sciatica, Lumbago, and kindred complaints. Those troubled with these diseases should bo careful ior some foods encourage the formation of uric acids. Avoid red meals, beer vinegar, spices; use lea and coffee sparingly, and—most important of all—take UHKUMO. It v is the one medicino that will quickly effectually cure Rheumatism. Ciout, Sciatica, Lumbago, and their attendant evils. The first dose of KHEUMO gives relief, and its uso' will he found to effect a complete cure. Your chemist or storekeeper sells it. (,'d. and 4s. fid. « bottle, t'iivo it a (ri»«i ! Advt, |