MAYORALTY OF WELLINGTON

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 71, 17 December 1937, Page 12

MAYORALTY OF WELLINGTON

Mr. Hislop Will Stand Again REQUEST OF CITIZENS’ DEPUTATION The mayor’s room at the Town Hall was crowded to the doors at noon yesterday when a representative assemblage of Wellington citizens waited upon Mr. T. C. A. Hislop with a re-' quest that he allow himself to be nominated once more for the office of mayor. High tributes were paid to Mr. Hislop on the manner in which he had graced the office of chief magistrate, and after thanking the speakers for the pleasant things they had said, he acceded to the request. Mr. A. J. Curtis, president of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, who introduced the deputation, spoke of the features of city progress which had marked Mr. Hislop’s term of office. He had been elected to the city council as far back as 1913, but resigned the following year in order to enlist in the Empire’s defence forces. He -was reelected to the council in 1929, and became mayor in 1931, being returned again to the office in 1933 and 1935. His term of office had extended over the awkward years of the depression, and his success as an administrator during that period had been proved by the maintenance of a condition of financial and social stability. Some of the features of Mr. Hislop s regime had been the Commission of Inquiry, assistance and relief for the sufferers in the Hawke’s Bay earthquake, the structural alteration of the Town Hall, the loan conversions which saved something like £30,000 a year, the social functions attendant upon the visit of the Duke of Gloucester, the augmentation of the city water supply, the decision to go forward with the erection of a new central library, the western access problem, and the new approach to Wellington via Aotea and Waterloo Quays. Mr. Curtis added that it was an honour to introduce such a deputation, and he sincerely hoped that Mr. Hislop would allow himself to be nominated once more for the office of mayor. No Time for Change. Mr. C. J. S. Harcourt, speaking for the Wellington Ratepayers’ Association, said that the organisation had given its support consistently to Mr. Hislop since he had first contested the mayoralty, and felt that the present was no time to swap horses. He mentioned the good work which had been done by Mr. Hislop during the years of the slump. The city had benefited by Mr. Hislop’s services in the past and the next few years would be just as important from the viewpoint of sound progress. ' Cr. M. F. Luckie said that he had had the honour of serving on the council for many years with Mr. Hislop, and could speak with knowledge of the efficiency with which he had carried out his duties. Mr. Hislop’s conspicuous success in amalgamating the whole of the council irrespective of party bias into a single body working soundly for the progress of the city was a testimony to his tact and sound common sense. Others who spoke in the same strain were Mr. T. Forsyth, for many years a member of the City Council. Mr. R. L. Macalister, Mr. C. M. Turrell, Mr. A. Whitelaw (who spoke of Mr. Hislop’s interest in aviation), and Councillor J. Burns (chairman of the Reserves Committee). Mr. Hislop’s Reply. Mr. Hislop, in reply, said he considered that many of the remarks had been flattering. He was particularly pleased to see as members of the deputation such members and ex-membeis of the council as Councillors Luckie and Burns and ex-Councillors Forsyth and J. Aston, and he took the opportunity of expressing his thanks to all members of the councils with which he had worked; for the success of whoever happened to occupy the mayoral chair depended upon the co-operation of the council as a whole. Throughout his experience with the city council political divisions as such had never arisen. Time after time there were differences of opinion, but the divisions were not along lines of political demarcation.

Mr. Hislop said the city had come through a very difficult period, and was now reaping some of the advantages of present-day conditions, but there was much to be done. It was his hope that the city would be able to carry to a successful conclusion work in hand and works necessary for the immediate future. Progress hail to be made carefully. It w-as easy to rush ahead and spend money right and left, but population and the ability of citizens and ratepayers to meet expenditure had to be considered if the progress was to be real and sustained. In 1939 and 1940 the national and city centennials were to be celebrated. He had been associated with the work of preparing for the worthy observance of that great occasion. It was a big work, and he had been very happy in it, and quite candidly, he would like to see it through.

He did not wisli to be accused of clinging to office, but if the citizens felt that he could carry out useful work for the advancement of \\ elliugton then it was his duty to agree to accept nomination for a further term. “I would like to complete the work that I am doing now,’’ said Mr. Hislop, "and I should like to carry on for tlie next two years because I am a Wellingtoniau, and 1 think it. desirable that a Welliiigtonian should occupy the mayoral chair during ibe year of the city’s centennial. ’

LABOUR CANDIDATES FOR LOCAL BODIES Mr. C. H. Chapman, M.P., To Contest Mayoralty Nominations for the selection of candidates to contest the Wellington mayoralty, city council and harbour board and hospital board elections, were considered at a meeting of the Labour Representation Committee this week. Mr. C. H, Chapman, M.P., was the only nomination for the office of mayor, Mr. R. McKeen. M.P., who had been nominated, having withdrawn. Mr. Chapman has taken a prominent part in the Labour movement over a long period and has previously contested the mayoralty. Born in London In 1876, he came to New Zealand in 1905, subsequently linking up with the party. He has been a Labour member of the city council for 14 years, and has also served on the hospital and harbour boards. He has represented Wellington North in Parliament since 1928. There were 31 nominations for the city council, the ballot for which is expected to be completed to-day. Forty-three nominations for the

hospital hoard we.e received, the ballot resulting in the following being selected : Messrs. A. W. Croskery. J. Glover, R. Holland, G. Ward. E. B. Newton, W. Pharazyn, M. Walsh, J. 'Tucker. Mesdames M. Semple, S. E. Snow, E. Chapman, R. Collins and L. Gibson. There were eight nominations for the harbour board, the following candidates being chosen: The Hon. T. Brindle. M.L.C., Messrs. C. H. Chapman, M.P., R. McKeen, M.P., and J. Roberts.