THE ELECTIONS

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1108, 22 April 1911, Page 6

THE ELECTIONS

e POLICIES AND CRITICISMS. '}, ON THE HUSTINGS, 0 THE HON. J. E. JENKINSON. o J The Hon. J. E. Jenkinson, M.L.C.. !| a candidate for City Council honours! addressed a gathering of ratepayers hi j tho Tiffin, Manners Street, last evens ing. Tho Hon. J. Rigg, M.L.C., pre- . sided. ; The candidate first dealt at sonic 3 length with town-planning. In this = connection, ho said.that Wellington had begun with a heavy handicap owing tc r the enclosing hills. Incidentally, b c ~ thought, the revenue derived from the i. market reserve on which the Royal Oak t Hotel stands should have been earr marked and invested for the purpose ol a establishing markets. Ho showed tin 0 difficulties that now stand in tho waj P of rectifying the mistakes of tho pas'l J; m regard to city streets, and siiggestet a conference of the authorities to survey the whole position, and endeavoui s to direct tho future expansion of tin 1 city into the right courses. A caso in ; point was the-new railway-station. He suggested the land set 'aside for the " t dock as a suitable site for the railway. 0 Ready access to ferry service and trams a would be available there, and the rails way lino could bo carried through the city either by overhead or underground , means. Ho was not advocating any _ immediate expensive alteration of the p city inner area, thoush it was very probable- Wellington, which was working into the awkward plight into which ' Sydney drifted, would be obliged, like ; Sydney, to enter on a "remedial plan, at an enormous cost. Take .tho Town Belt, for example. It was surely unwise to allow parts of it to be "selected" as sports grounds before a proper scheme of roads and paths was planned out. It would be fairer to tha sports bodies to have the belt re-surveyed before any further leases were granted. The planting of the belt was also dependent on the roading and pathing. It would bo just as much a waste of effort and time and money to , plant trees in remote corners, out of , eight and out of mind, as to put them on strips of ground which might have \ to be levelled away for roading purposes. The single tunnel, through 1 Mount Victoria, a meagre cut, able to . admit only one small car at a time, was , a monument to the lack of a town plan. ( Additional recreation grounds could bo , provided at Kilbirnie foreshore, at Lyall \ Bay, and at "Russell's Farm," New- [ town. Generally speaking, town-plan- . ning.was regulation, not revolution. In [ 1915 a large number of corporation leases would fall due, or come up for i revaluation, and the added revenue would enablo public works of some magnitude to bo undertaken. Coming to tramway matters, Mr. \ Jenkinson said that all they should ask of the tramways was that they should I pay all interest and sinking-funds, and , provide for such depreciation and re- ' serve funds as .exports considered ncces- ' sary. At present the local system re- [ turned about £3000 into tho civic purse. Ho argued, however, that if the finances were examined on the lines followed by ; private companies, a larger profit would be shown. A sum of £30,000 had also been taken out of revenue for new plant, etc. Ho made comparisons with Christchurch, to show that our working | expenses were lower than theirs. He believed tho useful miloago could be in- | creased without adding to the present traffic expenses, and so effect a saving. Ho believed that traffic improvements could bo effected, especially'in'''dealing with the rush at meal hours, but ho thought that- the "loose screw" in tho management could be set right without importing an Australian expert. In regard to electric lighting, he was in favour of reducing the rates for power in cases where the consumption could bo restricted to the hours when the demand was less, as a more equal output was the great essential need of this enterprise. A motion of thanks was passed to the candidate for his address. ADDRESS BY MR. S. MOFtAN. Mr. S.-Moran addressed a gathering of fifty city electors in the ' Druids' Hall last evening. Mr. D. 11. L.iwlor presided. In opening, Mr. Moran said this was the second occasion on which he bad sought municipal honours. Ho claimed tho credit of Oeing the first candidate, apart from representatives of the Labour party, to address the electors from the public platform. As in his .first attempt, ho bad come out as an Independent candidate. Ho would keep on coming out as an Independent until ho was elected. As to "the Labour eight," the candidate opined that tho time had not yet arrived when any particular class in tho community should command a majority representation. In passing, Mr. Moran said ho did not consider a wago of eight shillings per day sufficient for a labourer under existing circumstances. Ho would liko.to seo all classes in the community receiving some sort of technical instruction. This was a matter, first of all, for tho State, but it should also command,,tho attention of municipalities. In tlie management of tho tramways there was need of a more efficient and less expensive system of traffic management. The council itself had come to the conclusion that there was gross mismanagement in this particular department of the tramway system. Mr. Moran quoted instances that had come under bis own observation in support of a contention that a considerable amount of "dead" running occurred on tho city tramways. More attention should he given, the candidate continued, to existing- slums. The city contained little, hovels, somo of which would not bo a fit habitation for a pig. Some of the most disgraceful buildings in tho city were tho property of the corporation. It was the plain duty of that body in dealing with shim areas, to ' start upon its own property. More- provision should bo made for paying off existing loans. No provision in tho way of sinking funds had been mado in respect of a portion of the titv's indebtedness totalling £321,000. In considering future I works, it was the duty of tho council to attend first to the needs of outlying districts, whoso interests had in tho past been almost entirely swamped. The present system of street cleansing was unsatisfactory. It might bo noted any morning that the streets of Wellington were not the things of beauty that they were intended to lie. Tho main thoroughfares, at least, might be Hushed out at intervals. With regard to the milk supply, the speaker thought the council should not be a purveyor of milk. The best plan would be, to establish a central depot, through which tho whole milk supply of the city would pass. In this way tho milk could bo subjected to a thorough inspection. This system obtaincd'in countries much better regulated than New Zealand, and no doubt would work satisfactorily hero. Answering questions, Mr. Moran said that it was idle to ask him or any other man whether, if elected to the council, ho would seek to abolish tho Glasgow lease. However, he did not think that any lease should bo renewed, save on terms profitable to the council. He did not think tho rates on bowling greens should be reduced or remitted. Ho was of opinion that the "Zoo" merited the expenditure mado upon it at the present time. Tho necessities of the city demanded that tho tramway should ore long bo carried through the Basin Reserve. Mr. Moran received throughout an attentive hearing, and at the conclusion of his address ho was unanimously ac- < corded a vote of thanks and confidence.

MR. J. MANDEL. Mr. Joseph Mandel, a candidate for the first time for municipal honours, addressed about 40 or 50 representative citizens in tin; Chamber oi Commerce, last evening. Mr. Hcnrv Kombcr occupied the chair. Mr. Mandel, after having expressed his surprise at the representative character of the gathering, announced himself as an independent and progressive candidate. He expressed the opinion that a candidate, especially a new one, could not state dc'iiuitely , his policy, as in a political eamnaigii, , as he must have to somo extent an L inner knowledge of the working ol municipal undertakings and affairs before ho was in a position to say what would he beneficial to the city. He was not going to work for any particu- . lar section of the community, but would do his best in the interests of all. He wished to enter the council with a j free hand, in order that he might do t justice to the ratepayers at large. , (Applause.) With reference to tram- ; way matters, the speaker said that il ; seemed to him that the rolling steels : was totally inadequate, and, as a conse- ( quence, the overcrowding of the cars ; during rush hours, particularly in wel . weather, must be injurious to'the pub J lie health, as it was to comfort. If elected, he would do all in his povrci [ to alter the present conditions. H< \ considered that the. trouble between tin ' corporation and its labourers should b< t settled by the council, and not by ar- ' bitration. Councillors were elected lij the ratepayers, and they were quite capable of judging what was a living ' wage. (Applause.) Ho considered tin [ city to be the equal of any in the Dominion as far as health and residential ; qualities were concerned, and, with r i littleannual expenditure on the beauti ; fication of the hills, it could bo made an extremely attractive . place. As ; citizen of 35 years' standing, who hac made successes of numerous undertak iugs, and with the- necessary time tc devote to municipal affairs, he claimed that he could be of service to the city. He would not make any rash promises incapable of fulfilment, but, if elected would do his utmost for the benefit ol . the whole community. • The meeting passed a vote of thanks and confidenco iii Mr. Mandel as ,i candidate, and a committee was formed to endeavour to secure his return tc the council. THE EASTBOURNE MAYORALTY, , r A LIVELY MEETING. The meeting addressed by Mr. D, Robertson at Eastbourno on' Thursday evening was. a- lively one. After Mr, Robertson had concluded his speech (an outline of which appeared in yesterday's issue) ho was bombarded with questions, and the answers at times led to vigorous exchanges. The concluding portior. of the proceedings as reported by oui evening contemporary indicate the pitch of excitement reached. Mr. It. L. Button moved a vote oi confidence in Mr. Robertson as Mayor, pointing out the folly of overloading the borough in debt. The water and drainage scheme, he said, was "rotten finance." Mr. Renner seconded. Councillor Russell rose to speak. The chairman: Sit down! \ An amendment was moved that tin vote be one of thanks only. Councillor Willis rose again. "I wisl to speak to the amendment," ho said. ■The- chairman: Sit down! Councillor Willis: But, surely, it is open for discussion? The chairman: No, it is not. Councillor Willis: On what authorityThe chairman: Mine. Someone asked if Mr. Cable- had evei been in a chair before. "I have," lie replied. Mr. S. Harcourt (from the- back oi the hall) was understood to protest ■against the chairman allowmg no discussion. This was followed by several similar protests. Thero was a perfect babel of tongues. Someone called for "the audience, to support the chair." ' , A voice: You've nothing to do witli it. Councillor Willis: I want to say The chairman: Sit down! Councillor Russell: I also wish to saj that The. chairman: Will you sit down? I will allow no discussion. Councillor "Willis wished to say something. "It is nothing naughty," he said. ' He asserted that Mr. Robertson had been weighed as a councillor and found wanting. Councillor Russell wanted to speak. He wanted to get to the bottom of the water and drainage scheme. The chairman: Will you sit down? We don't want to get to the bottom of anything else than Mr. Robertson's fitness as Mayor. Mr. Harcourt was understood to second the motion. The chairman: It's an amendment. Hero there was further disorder. Then the chairman put tiro amendment, declaring it lost on tho show of hands. Next he put the motion. "Carried unanimously!" he declared. Then, correcting himself, "Carried by a large majority." The hands held up w;ero but seven or eight. Thero were one or two wordy, wrangles inside the hall, afterwards resumed outside, but, generally speaking, the meeting, if at times noisy, was goodhumoured. MR. A. Ft. HORNBLOW. Addressing a meeting of city electors last evening, Mr. A. R. Homblow announced himself as a progressive candidate and an advocate of safe administration. Many reforms, he said, wero made necessary by the existing state of affairs. Several suburbs should receive more attention than at present. Rating could no doubt bo reduced to a certain, extent. Tho .tramways should become a more profitable undertaking than at present. The candidate do" clared himself a firm believer in the policy of beautifying tho city. The council might assist citizens willing to help this work forward by presenting them with native- and other 'shrubs free of charge. CR. PIPER AT PETONE. -In connection with tho municipal elections at l'ctonc, Mr. Joseph l'iper, who. is seeking re-election as a councillor, addressed a meeting of about 40 at St. Augustine's Hall, Pctone, last evening. Mr. ii. Burridgc occupied tho chair. In opening, Mr. Piper said that he resented the tactics ot a certain writer who had accused him of opposing everything that came before the council. He admitted that he had opposed certain matters, but on those occasions he had good reasons for doing so. For instance, he had opposed tho tramways because he thought that the. money which would be necessary was neotlrd for more urgent work. 'Leaving this subject, ho went on, to state that when he entered the council he had found several defects. The financial statement which was given to councillors was a nuzzle to all. "I maintain," said tho candidate, "that one of the first duties of councillors is to keen an eyo on financial matters, and this we are unable to do." He was not satisfied with the earning powers of the gasworks, and in this connection he wanted an inquiry. He also wanted an improvement on the foreshore, this being, he considered, a very necessary work. He touched on numerous other matters and generally outlined his future policy. Mr. W. Scott Bedford, a candidate in the City Council elections, addressed a well-attended meeting at Wadestown last evening. Mr. S. Larkin was chairman. Mr. Bedford spoke on munieip.il matters for an hour, and at tho conclusion of his speech he was accorded a vote of thanks.