THE ELECTIONS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1107, 21 April 1911, Page 6

THE ELECTIONS.

PROGRESS OF THE CAMPAIGN. CANDIDATES' SPEECHES. ME. L. M'KENZIE AT KILBIRNIE, Mr. Leonard M'Kenzie, a candidate for the City Council, addressed a meeting of about forty electors at Kilbirnie last night. . : The candidate said that this was the second occasion on which ho hail contested a City Council seat. Ho first dealt with the subject of tho fire brigade, and said that lie did not think it would be advantageous to allow the control to go out of the hands of the municipality. The city would lose control of the assets it had in the brigade, and, also, under the present system, the burden of the up-keep of the brigade was spread over the ratepayers more evenly tnan would be the case otherwise. Last year it cost the ratepayers one-sixth of a penny in the Ji for tho upkeep of the brigade. Perhaps the most burning question was that of tho trnmw;ny management. Everyone condemned it: lie did not. It was a hard thing to manage. Control by a .committee did not make for the be.se results; he would prefer a board. An inquiry by experts into tho working of the system should bear good fruit. There wasovercrowding on the cars which run Kilbirnie way, and he suggested that in busy times relief cars to, say, Hataitai should be run, so that people going long distances would not be blocked by people only'going through the tunnel. The timetable. needed revising in order to obviate the running of "dead" cars. , As to roads and footpaths, those outside the city were, on the whole, not creditable. Some suburbs.had'thoroughfares worse than country roads. Under the .streetrwidening system, Wellington had. had to purchase a good, deal of land, arid " the syst?ni was rather a burd<fi> on the corporation. The' city owned a lot of land which Was not producing anything. Those unproductive holdings should be made'productive, either byselling them or leasing them on long tenures. In justice to themselves the ratepayers-should insist on these lands being made to bring in something. • Regarding the question of city markets, lie thought that the advice of experts Bhould bs obtained before anything was done,-as unless great care was taken, the business of the shopkeepers might be interfered with. In a few: years many of the-city leases on reclaimed land would fall in, and would be quite an asset, and what .was to be done with tho money? He considered it should be used for tho general betterment of the city, and making the streets second to none in New Zealand. It had been suggested that tho money should be used to reclaim land in the bay at Kilbirnie, and he thought that if that was done one of the best breathing-grounds in "Wellington would be created. If lie'was returned lie. would work hard in the interests of 'Wellington! All liis interests were local, and he naturally 1 wished to see prosperity.'■ He thought the present council had gone carefully and steadily, and had not abused the confidence of the people, but new blood was wanted. . Replying to a question as to whether ho would support a suggestion to erect workmen's houses oil tho city's vacant land, the candidate said that he would not be adverse to such a proposal—he would - prefer anything almost to having the properties a burden on the council. To another question he said that he-was -not against Sunday concerts of a fitting nature. He "thought those ;now permitted were unexceptionable. As to the halfholiday question, he believed in allowing a man to run his business-as he thought fit. , A vote of confidence in the candidate was. moved by Mr. George,' seconded by Mr. Higginbottom, and carried unanimously.

MR. JENSEN'S CANDIDATURE. Mr. V. Jensen addressed a meeting of ■ about 40 people in the Druids' Hall last evening, Mr. V. Braund occupying the chair. In introducing tho candidate, Mr. Braund said that he admired the courage with which Mr. Jensen had come forward in " the face of defeat, and he ! hoped that his persistency would be rewarded. The candidate had an absolutely clean sheet, . and he hoped that he ; would be given ,a! fair run in the contest. If he was returned there was little doubt that he would give a good account of himself. Mr. Jensen was a man of courage, and of as complete' integrity as a man could be. Mr. . Jensen, in the course of his address. Btatcd that he had contested the council election on several occasions, but had not been successful so far. He arrived here thirty-eight years ago, but had only been here permanently for the past ten years. One reason that he had not succeeded before was because ho. was not 'known, and anqther was that liis name was Jensen—a foreign name. He had . been born in Denmark, but he thought that he was now a fair specimen of the colonial, and ought to be able to claim .colonial comradeship with anyone here. He did not think that it would condemn him bei cause he had-not been born in England, 1 Scotland, or Ireland. He could not help this, but, at the same time, he was not •ashamed of the country iu which he was born. In fact, lie was proud of it. (Hear, hear.) He thought tlmt he could .hold his own with any of tho men who iwere standing for the council. Coming, to municipal matters, Mr. Jen- ; sen expressed the opinion that the affairs of the council had been very much middled in the past. He instanced the .' "Byko" Corner case, the delay in widening Willis Street, and the siims paid for certain small corncrs for street-widening purposes. He was against large sums of money being voted away in committee without details being given to tho public through the press. Referring to the property which the council held in Adelaide Road, he thought that it should bo released instead of being left idle and bringing nothing in. There wero a number of slum streets in Wellington, and it was . time that theso were cleared out, and all old placcs which were not fit for human habitation should be pulled down. Apropos Of the overloading and ill-treatment of horses, Mr. Jensen said that he thought that it was necessary to pass a by-law making it compulsory for drivers to pass an examination showing that they knew somothing more about horses than to believe that they could mako them do impossibilities by whipping them. He did not think that public markets would, be of such great use as some believed.; Tho people had got'so used to having things brought to their back doors that it was very improbable that they would tako the trouble to go out to the market even if by doing-so they could save a little in price. If municipal markets were established, however, they should be near ' the Te Aro Railway Station. Referring to tramways, tho candidate said that it was no wonder that they did not pay as they should, but he. believed that the inquiries which were being made into the system would straighten matters out. Tho Post Office Square should, in his opinion, be the terminus for all the trams. He thought the suggestion to link un the Wallace Street and Constable Street lines was a good one. Sooner or later lie believed that the trams would have to go through the Basin Reserve, and he could eee 'no reason why they should not do so, but beforo this was agreed to another sports ground would have to be found. In view of the fact that ' the council could supply light to the hospital for 3d.' per unit, as against 7d. charged to. private consumers, ho thought that a reduction in the price of current should be looked for beforo long. Tho council labourers should be paid a sufficient wago to allow them to live in comfort. Personally lio would not object to an extra 5 per cent, or 10 per cent, on his rates if it would enable a living wago to be paid. It was hard.lines for tho working man who had to livo' oil £i 12s. a week. Ho could not pav his Tent if that was all he got. It was "little tise talking of beautifying the city whilst tho finances were in their present backward state. If any beautifying was to be done it should bo in tho direction of planting the Town Belt with, useful trees, wd planting many of tho unsightly cliffs ,in tho water-front with shrubs, etc. Many of the trees planted of late had not grown. To his mind tho planting and selecnon of trees should be done by exports. • In reply to a question, Mr. Jensen said that ho would not interfere with Sunday concerts. Tho meeting concluded with a vote of thanks and the passing of a. motion to the effect that Mr. Jensen is a fit and

proper candidate to represent the city on the council.

MR. MORAN'S CANDIDATURE. Thcro \yas a fair attendance of electors at the Noivtown Library last evening, when Mr. S. J. Jloran, a candidate for tho City Council, delivered his opening speech. Tho Rev. J. Crowes presided. The candidate made his attitude to civic matters clear, and received an attentive hearing. He announced that ho : was not out to represent any particular class, and mentioned the following among other planks in his platform:— (1) Tho adoption of a more efficient and less expensive system of traffic management in connection with the tramways; (2) provision for the paying oil' of loans that have no sinking funds; (3) execution by the council of its present trust and obligations before engaging in others; (•!) provision for a purer milk supply; (5) final settlement of the fire brigade question by referring the matter to a ballot by the people; (0) better cleaning of the city streets. Referring to the question of municipal trading, tho candidate considered that, whilst the council's supervision was necessary with regard to the distribution of certain articles of daily use, still he considered that, in following the general principle nf municipal trading, the council would be usurping the rights of the individual. He could not agree that Ss. per day was a full and sufficient wage for all labourers. Ho would not devote his time to making rash promises, nor would he harp upon the local requirements of the various districts. He believed, however, that the outlying districts were entitled to more consideration at the hands of the council than they received at present. Mr. Jloran answered several questions at tho conclusion of his address, and was accorded a vote of confidence. To-night the candidate will deliver ail address at the Druids' Hall, Taranaki Street. OTHER SPEECHES. Jlr. T. Smith, one of the Labour eight, addressed the electors at Mitchelltown last evening. He spoke on the lines of the Labour party's' platform, and put in' a special plea lor a universal Saturday halfholiday. He was given a vote of confi-' deuce. . „Mr. W. Scott-Bedford-addressed an appreciative audience of' over fifty at Brooklyn' last night. He spoke at some length on the commercial success of the city's many municipal enterprises, and strongly advocated an extension of its functions in this direction. Ho speaks at St. Luke's School, Wadestown, to-night at 8 o'clock. Unnecessary restrictive by-laws found no favour with Jlr. John Fuller, jun., as ho expressed himself at Island Bay last evening. He said-it was time to call a halt, as these restrictions thwarted ordinary enterprise, and if citizens were not wary the encircling by-laws would invade their own firesides. Jlr. John Fuller, jun., will speak at Moore's Tea Rooms, JlaramnVat 7.30, and at Brighton House (late Kilbirnie Hotel), at 8.30 o'clock this evening.

EASTBOURNE; ME. DAVID ROBERTSON AS CRITIC. Mr. David Robertson, a-candidate for the Mayoralty of' Eastbourne, addressed the electors last evening. The chief end of Lis criticism was that the expenses and debt of the borough were altogether f too high. Hero was a wee borough—tho x baby borough round about ■Wellington— , which had only been in existence five years, and yet had a debt of over .£SOOO. < A small place like Eastbourne, with only 250 houses (including week-end whares), { should not be acquiring a debt at tho , rate of <£1000 a year. That's w.hat it 1 meant. At present the total indebted- < ness of the borough was .£45,000 plus an 1 overdraft of ,£550 (which was only ,£427 , at this time last year). In addition, there were on Marrii 31 outstanding rates < to the amount of ,£270, which should not , be credited until collectcd. There was ( also a sum of yet to be paid on the ( new pipe bridge; JijoO had already been ( paid, but ■ that was only half the , borough's share of the cost. Tho borough had also entered into an agreement with , Mr. Bartolo Rosso to pay him .£3OO for the foreshore rights in Rona Bay. So ] that, without counting any bad debts • from; unpaid rates; tho borough had now ' to face a debt of .£5400. The speaker was 1 also of opinion that money had been i spent' foolishly during the year. While ' there had only been JEI39 Bp. 4d. spent i on Toads and footpath improvement, the l sum of ,£l5O had been thrown away on engineers' reports, etc., on water drain- , age—wild schemes for such a paltry borough as. Eastbourne. Before such ! schemes should bo seriously considered they wanted to improve the cominunica- 1 tion with Wellington. Until that was ] done they could never hope to get the i population. The boundaries of the i borough should he extended to include ; Day's Bay, when they would have prac- i tically every resident who depended on , the boats at one with them. Day's Bay ; residents were at present rated by the ' Hutt County Council, and got nothing in ' return for it. The Bay came naturally 1 within the borough district, and its residents knew, that they would benefit bv the change. He generally deprecated all these big expensive ideas—the time was : not ripe for them, and the population did not warrant their- adoption, as was clearly shown at the poll on the loan proposal ; for water and drainage. At present their fixed expenditure was ,£IOOO and t.heir income about ,£1250. With only ,£250 to play with could they afford tho .luxuries of a modern city? The sum of .£250 for extraordinary expenditure was not a great deal. That was shown by the fact that there was a debit on last year's transactions. A lot of peonlo had gone to live at Eastbourne for cheapness, but if all these wild schemes were adopted they would soon find that with the steamer fares, and meals in town to pay for, residence in Eastbourne would be even dearer than in Wellington. KARORI BOROUGH. NO ELECTION NECESSARY. The only nomination received for the office of Mayor of Karori was that of Charles Cathie, who was therefore returned unopposed. As councillors, Edward Millward Anderson, William G. Bradnock, Benjamin G. H. Burn, James Alexander Frost, Andrew Hamilton, William Thomas Hildreth, Joseph Thomas Horn. William H. Nimmo. and' Edward John Standen were also all elected unopposed. ONSLOW BOROUGH. . Yesterday morning tho following were nominated for the Khandallah Ward of the Borough of Onslow:— Captain M'Arthur, by Alex. Ferguson, C. C. Crump, M. P. Cameron, D. J. Watson. E. S. Stafford, by F. C: Buddie, C. C. Crump, T. S. Young, M. C. Smith. F. Bates, by ,T. 'N. Graiit. M. P. Cameron, H. A. Kirkcaldie, J. Reith. Mr. Leigh' Hunt will address electors at St. Thomas's School to-night at 8 o'clock. ' In connection with the Lower Hutt Mayoral election, Mr. E.' P. Bunny will address electors at St. James's ' Hall, Lower Hutt, this evening. Dr. Mason will occupy the chair. ■Mr. John Brbdie will, address the Miramar electors'' at 8' o'clock this evening at No. 10 King's Chambers, Willis Street. The annual moeting of the Parish of St. James, Lower Hutt, will be held in the Schoolroom, Lower Hutt, this ovening. ° - "Tho Progress of the Bag" is the subject of a spccial announcement. in this issue by Messrs. Whitcombo and Tombs, Lambton Quay. ; This evening, at the Tiffin Tea Rooms, : Manners Street, the Hon. J. E. Jenkinson will deliver an address. ; Mr. Scott Bedford will address electors ' at the Queen's Statue at 12.30 p.m. to-day, | and at Wadestown at 8 o'clock to-night, j Mr. John Fuller, junr., will address . electors at Maronui at 7.30 p.m., and at I liilbirnio at 8.30 to-night. ; IN OTHER TOWNS. ! (By Telegraph—Press Association.) ' Dannevirke, April 19. : Mr. A. Ranson has been re-elected 1 Mayor unopposed. Only nine councillors . were nominated, and consequently there ; will not be any election. Now Plymouth, April 19. f Gustave Tisch has been re-elected Mayor i unopposed. 1 Napier, April II). i J. V. Brown, M.P., has been Te-elected ilayor foT the fourth time, .

Eketahuna, April 10. E. Pago has been elected for a third tciim unopposed for the -Mayoralty. Waitara, April 19. Mr. 'Walter F. Jenkins was the only person nominatod for the .Mayoralty. Ho sits for the fourth term. There was no election for councillors. Nelson, April 19. For the Nelson City Council there are fifteen candidates for nine scats. For Jlayor Jfr. I'ettit (present Mayor) and Councillor Field have been nominated. For Richmond Borough, Mr. James Hunt lias been re-elected Jlayor unopposed. Hokitika, April 19. Mr. George l'erry was elected Mayor (unopposed) of Hokitika. Mr. J. A. Murdoch was re-elected Mayor of Kumara, and Mr. T. W. Bi-ucc Mayor of Ross. Auckland, April 19. The following Mayors have been elected unopposed:—Auckland City, Mr. C. • J. l'arr; Mt. Eden, Mr. 0. Nicholson; Newmarket, Mr. D. Teed; I'arnoll, Mr. R. S. Biggs; Jit. Albert, Mr. JI. J. Coyle; Devonport, Jtn \V. Handler. There are to be contests at Grey Lynn, Onehunga, and Birkenhead. Dunedin, April 19. Councillors Burnett, and AVilson were nominated for the' city Mayoralty. For Jlornington Jlr. Bridger (the retiring Jlayor) and Jlr. Dickson were nominated; for St. Kilda, Jlessrs. Allen and Swing; for Green Island, Jlessrs. Geddes and Lindsay; for Jlosgiel, Messrs. Iriglis (retiring Jlayor) and Quelch. Mr. Jloller was elected unopposed as Mayor of West Harbour, and Jlr. Butterfield for Jlaori Hill. Christchurch, April 20. There are three candidates for the Jlayoralty:—C. Allison, T. E. Taylor, and H. T. J. Thacker. There arp- 32 candidates for seats on the City Council. Wairoa, April 20. Jlr. J. Corkill, the retiring Mayor, was re-elected unopposed. There will be no council election. Wanganui, April 20. Jlr. C.' E. Mackay has been re-elected Mayor. There arc sixteen nominations for nine councillors, including four Labour representatives. There are eight nominations for six town seats on the Harbour Board. Hastings, April 20. J. Garneth, W. Lane, and T. J. Thompson were nominated for the position of Jlayor, and there are fifteen candidates for nine seats on the council. G. S. Clapham, E. Lane, J. A. Miller, and David Whyto were nominated for election as Hastings representative/ on the Napier Harbour Board. Masterton, April 20. J. Jf. Coradine has been re-elected Jla.vor, unopposed. There are twelve nominations for nine seats on the Borough Council.