THE HARBOR BOARD ELECTIONS.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3612, 8 February 1883, Page 3

THE HARBOR BOARD ELECTIONS.

[To the Editor of the Daily Tklegeapii.] Sin,-—Would you kindly give me space in your paper to suggest that, in view of the important matters to be dealt with by the newly elccteed Harbor Board during the coming year, the candidates now asking the suffrages of the ratepayers of this borough should, before the polling day, give the electors, by public meeting or otherwise, some idea of their views upon the questions of the location of the harbor, &c, and the course they would pursue, if elected, in relation thereto. The best way, in my opinion, would be by holding a public meeting, at which the whole of the candidates could expound their views at the same time. There has, apparently, hitherto been great lethargy exhibited in the mode of electing people to serve on our local institutions, and a great deal of the neglect shown in the administration of public affairs in this district is mainly attributable to this cause. The time has arrived when a new departure should be taken. Instead of the happy-go-lucky course formerly pursued, aspiring candidates to seats on local bodies should undergo the test, at least, of public scrutiny of their views and principles, and in no other manner can this be done but by meeting the electors, so that the latter can have an opportunity of forming some estimate of their fitness and capacity. I trust, Sir, that the ratepayers of Napier will not allow this opportunity to pass without eliciting - from the gentlemen who are candidates for scats on the Harbor Board their views on harbor matters, and I think it would only be a matter of courtesy if the candidates would take the electors into their confidence by consulting them. Such a course as I have indicated would also strengthen the hands of the elected members on the Harbor Board.—l am, <fee., A Ratepayer. Napier, February 8, 1883.