LOWER HUTT MAYORALTY.

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

LOWER HUTT MAYORALTY.

•1 ■ —— MR. BUNNY ADDRESSES THE J ELECTORS. LOANS AND AYODKS. Mr. E. P. Bunny, tlio present occupant of the Hutl mayoral chair, dolivl erctl an election address to a woll- [ attended meeting of the electors at St. . James's Hall last evening. Dr. J. M. , Mason presided, and in introducing the speaker said that the ratepayers wore J to be congratulated on the fact that f tlio valuable services of Mr. Bunny were . to be again placed at their disposal, t Mr. Jimmy's previous terms of office ~ had been characterised by honesty <>l . purpose, disinterested effort, and biisi--1 ness acumen, and the borough had greatly benefited under his administrav lion. j Mr. Bunny, who was given a cordial . reception and a most attentive hearing, . prefaced his remarks with a reference t to the silence of his opponent. Mr, ; Baldwin. Since Mr. Baldwin had dial- . lenged him in this election, ho had oxs peetod to hear from his opponent some t criticism of his (tho speaker's} admin . istration. Since Mr. Baldwin had no' f seen "fit to give them anything of tin r sort, lie (tlio speaker) was placec 0 rather at a disadvantage in that he hat B nothing to reply to. and would there B fore content himself with a review o! - the main features of tho municipal year. 3 Tho Bcrough Financos. ; The fall in land values had occasion' 2 ed a resultant fall in the council's rev- - enue, and in tho face of this certaii 1 very important works had to bo carricc i out. Tlio council had to choose be - tween carrying on those works out o 3 revenue and going 1o the ratepayer: i for a loan. In view of tho fact' thai 1 the drainage had not yet been complct - cd, they had decided to do that worl- ) out of revenue, and abstain from fur--1 ther borrowing till everything had beer . cleared up. On tho general account ; tho debit balance on March 31, 1910 • was £9272, while this year it was E £8317. This amount, however, inclutl ed certain amounts, such as advance! : to ratepayers for drainage connection: [ (secured by liens), at 5 per cent. Ex 1 traordinary payments totalling £40( i odd had also to be reckonec ■ upon, so that tho actual debil could be estimated at £7400. AVhor . he took office for the first time, in 190S there was a debit balance, of £-180 oi tho gas account. In 1909. he had re duced this debit to £294, and in tin , following year ho further reduced tin • amount to £249, in addition to whicl , he had set aside £200 for a sinkiiif [ fund, which had since been established" i Tho library account in 1908 showed r , debit balance of £18; in 1909 the dohii . was reduced to £5, whilo in 1910 tin L balance was on the credit side, to tin . extent of £23. His policy with regan , to the library subscriptions, which hac been raised to 10s., had been nine) I criticised. A reduction in the subscrip tions would simply mean an increase ir , tho council's subsidy, and it was fairei , that those who used the library shoulc . assist it with their subscriptions thai that the burden should fall on tin general body of tho ratepayers. > Conditions of the Loans. Tho--Mayor then touched upon tin 1 borough loans. Deferring to tin £02,G00 loan, raised in 1900, ho sait that when ho took office in 1903 nc sinking fund had , been . established The council had since handed to tin , Public Trustee a sum of £950 for cs tablishment of a i per cent, sinkinj fund. The council had also to. tak< into consideration the question o certain loan conversions totalling £20,300, of which the smallest jnteresi rate was 4} per cent, and tho largcsl 5 per cent. They had been unable, tt negotiate with tho' Public 'Trustee."al a lower rate than o per cent., but wit! the valuable assistance of Councilloi Hawthorn they had since been able t< completo tho conversion of tho whole of tho amount at 4J per cent., thus securing an annual saving- to the rate payers of £95, with tho added provisioi of a \ per cent, sinking fund. (Applause.) Tho two drainage loans, of £10,00( each, were also touched on by tin speaker, who reviewed tho history o tho negotiations connected with tin raising of tho first of these, wherewitl they had been able to secure, bj timely action, tho advance at 31 pel ccnt-.,v,whicli rate also secured tho extinction of the loan in 41 years. II was not good business for the Government, which had since safeguarded itself by further legislation, for a rate of %\ per cent, meant a loss to the Government. Tho other £10,000 loai carried an interest rate of £4 17s. 6d per cent-., including provision for sinking fund, securing tho extinction oi tile debt in 36 years. • • It would thus bo seen, said Mr, Bunny, that the finances of the boroucl had now been placed upon a satisfactory footing. Engineering Works. Tho Mayor then passed on to a brie; review of tho more important engineering works in the borough. Deferring to the trouble which had occurred with regard to the septic tank engine, which was supposed to act automatically, biif which required the constant attendance of a'man, Mr. Bunny remarked thai he had taken exception to the engine and plant at the very first, and criticised them. Great improvements hat since been effected, and, with the as sistance of an "air-vessel," which hat arrived just the previous day, tho shod caused to the mains by the "hammering" of the engine would be obviated Another serious difficulty they had hat' to deal with was tho "failure of the reservoir pumping plant to act satisfactorily at high speed. Tho plant hati been supplied by the English firm oi Merrymakers in 1906, and had been tested, but not at high speed, the testing engineer had reported that there was no high pressure available for such a test. After being fitted up andtested, tho plant had failed to act properly at high speed, but this fact, apparently, was not reported to the council. Had it been reported, representations could then have been made to the contractors. Now that tli3 trouble had been ascertained, the contractors had been written to. and a reply was expected. Following upon expert advice, the council had had certain improvements effected, and it was not expected, even should the council have to get a new pump of the best type, that the additional cost would bo more than £500. Certain economies effected in the reorganisation of the engineering staff had reduced tlio annual cost from £809 in 1908 to £'525. The borough's clerical staff expenses had been increased by £20, consequent upon tho rapidlyincreasing work in tho borough, and certain increases of salary to a zealous and deserving staff. (Applause.) Questions were then replied to, and the meeting concluded with a vote of thanks to the chair. Mr. J. E. Fitzgerald calls attention to his candidature for the Harbour Board in an advertisement in this issue. Ho will hold a meeung in conjunction with Mr. D. Fletcher, in tho Council Chamber, on Monday night. The committee of the Citizens' Leaguo has selected Mr. E. Gallichan as the fifteenth candidate in place of Mr. H. Price, who finds himself unable to contest tho election. Mr. A. Leigh Hunt addressed between >!0 and 50 electors in St. Thomas's School, Newtown, last evening. Mr. W. Jack presided. The candidate spoko on tho lines of his previous addresses. He advocated visits, by the Outlying Districts Committee, at stated intervals, to the various suburbs. If this plan were adopted, residents would get into direct

touch with tho committee, a groat deal of good would result, and a considerable, amount of unnecessary expense cm|ld be avoided. The candidate slated that lie was qnilo in favour of the Constable Street tramway being linked up with tho Kilbirnie system, and would support this issue being again submitted to the electors. A vote of thanks and confidence was unanimously carried on the motion of Z\Jr. A. H. Greenwood, Ur. liigg seconding. Dr. Cameron addressed a fairly well attended meeting at the Alexander Hall, Jlr. W. Miller in the chair. Tho candidate covered his previous ground, and received a voto of confidence. _ For over half an hour, Mr. John Fuller,- jnn., held large audiences at both Lyall Ray and Kiiiiirnio last night thoroughly interested. Mr. Fuller emphasised the fact that he was pleased to seo the present council take such an interest in tramway affairs in its dying hour, prior to the election, but most of the credit for tho convenient running of the tramways must ho attributed to candidates who had drawn attention to the fact, for several weeks past. Mr. Fuller said ho was averse to "vote-catching" by promises. Ho was not seeking to be elected so much for the "honour," hut ho intended to be a "worker," and give the citizens the benefit of his ability in a practical way. Mr. Fuller was bombarded with many questions, and seemed to give satisfaction. A voto of confidence was passed on each occasion, and_ strong local committees wcro formed. In an advertisement in this issue Mr. G. Shirtcliffe notifies electors of his candidature, for tho City Council. Mr. Sydney H. Underwood notifiea Miramar electors that he is standing for election to a seat on tho council. A list of candidates nominated for tho office of Mayor of the Borough of Lower Hutfc appears in an advertisement in this issue. Mr. V. Jensen draws the attention of electors to an advertisement in this issue referring to his candidature. for tho City Council. At the Newtown Library on Monday evening next Jlr. John Castlo will address electors. Jlr. R. Fletcher will address electors in the Concert Chamber of the Town Hall on Jlonday evening next. Jlr. Fletcher also draws tho attention of electors to his candidature for tho City Council in an advertisement in this issue. Jlr. John Brodie will address electors of Miramar at tho kiosk, Worser Bay, and also at the tea-rooms, Seatoun, on Jlonday evening next. The platform championed by Dr. Cameron, an independent candidate for election to tho City Council, will bo found in another column. Tho various planks supported by the candidate are explained, and Dr. Cameron's manifesto will no doubt prove of interest to electors. Jlr. Godber, who is standing for tho City Council, inserts an advertisement in this issue of interest to electors. In connection with tho half-holiday campaign a special advertisement appears in this issue, giving reasons why Wednesday should be lut&mcd ns the statutory half-holiday. Jlr. James Trevor is again a candidate for tho City Council election, and notifies electors of his candidature in an advertisement in this issue. Jlr. E. Gallichan will address the electors in tho Tiffin Social Hall, Jlanners Street (next Winder's Comer) on Jlonday next, at 8 o'clock. Jlr. Joseph Jlandel notilres cSectors of his candidature for tho forthcoming city election in an advertisement in this issue. On Jlonday night, at Bongos Corner, Brooklyn, Jlessrs. Cameron, Jl'Lityrc,and Jl'lvenzie will address electors. In connection with tho City Council election, Jlr. Scott Bedford will deliver an address at the Queen's Statue to-dav at 12.30 p.m. Tho Wellington Citizens' League insert an advertisement in this issuo referring to tho forthcoming elections. Jlr. A. R. Homblow inserts a notico in this issuo referring to his candidature for tho City Council election. A list of polling places, in connection with the Wellington Harbour Board election, appears in an advertisement in this issue. Jlr. F. Cohen notifies electors of his candidature for tho City Council election, in an advertisement in this issue.