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Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 2979, 12 January 1881, Page 2

The question tVe ratepayers of the South Ward have to ask themselves in coming to a decision to-morrow as to which of the two candidates shall represent them in the Council is this:—la the Public Works Committee or the Municipal Council to be tbe governing body of this town ? By an arrangement, the wisdom of which we have never been able to discover, the whole of the Councillors are on the Committee. The Committee works in secret. It happens, however, occasionally, that circumstances will not allow all the Councillors to be present at a Committee meeting, and that a resolution is carried on a close division. When the Council meets it has been customary for Councillors who were not present at the Committee to silently consent to all that wae done in their absence, and

for the minority that objected in Committee to hold their tongues iv public. Now it occurred at the Committee meeting held to consider the applications for the appointment of engineer that there were only six members pre-eDt; four of these voted for the appointment of Mr Lamb, two voted against it. When the Council met the two members wbo had been absent from Committee joined with the two who had dissented from the resolution, and induced one of the others to come over to their side. The consequence was that the Council threw out tbe resolution by five to three. The quarrel over the engineers was thus brought about, viz., whether a minority in the Council should or should not override the majority. It was held by the M'Va" .;■,■;■:., U:<ttno matter what was done .:: -i.cret committee by no matter how few of the members it was to be confirmed in Council. The object of tbi& is, of course, to burke open discussion, and to keep tbe ratepayers in the dark as to the hidden springs of Municipal administration. Regarding as we do the election to-morrow as in some sort a struggle by the M'Vay party to retain the existing mischievous system, and looking upou Mr Wall as the nominee of that party, we unhesitatingly recommend the ratepayers to give their suffrages to Mr Ashton.