THE CIIY AUDITORSHIP.

Evening Post, Volume XVII, Issue XVII, 24 May 1879, Page 2

THE CIIY AUDITORSHIP.

The following gentlemen were nominated to-day for the position of City Auditors :— H. J. L. Auharde, nominated by Messrs. J. H. Wallace and F. Sidey. H. Elliott, nominated by Messrs. W. Fitchett and P Vautier. J. W. Stevenson, nominated by Messrs. C. Willeston and T. W. Young. A poll will ba taken on Monday, 2nd June. I MR. HUTCHISON'S ROLL STUFFING. | ♦- TO THB EDITOR OP THB EVENING POBT. Sir — I am surprised that Mr. Hutchison snoui'ii nave thought it necessary to make any reference to me in his remarks upon the charge of "Roll stuffing" which you have brought against him. My connection with the matter was purely official, and arose as follows :— The then Town Clerk being called upon, in the ordinary course of his duty, to certify copies of the Burgess Roll for the purposes of some coming election*, consulted me officially as to the course he ought to adopt under the following state of facts :— The Burgess Roll had been duly revised and signed by Councillors at the time appointed by law tor that purpose. Owing to his having neglected to pay his rates, the name of Mr. .Hutchison was not on the Roll when so revised and certified, but was on the Defaulters' list. This was also the case with respect to one of tho Councillors who had actually signed the Roll. On the day after the Roll had been signed Mr. Hutchison discovered that his name was not on it, and that it was on the Defaulter's list. He therefore paid his rates, and pursuaded the collector, to whom he paid them, to give an ante-dated receipt for the money. Armed with this, he caused his name to be inserted in the Burg-ass Roll, and struck out of the Defaulters' list. The To vn Clerk, on the plea of fairness, did the same thins with tho name ot the Councillor who had placed himself, by his negligence, in the same predicament as Mr. Hutchison. He asked me officially whether, uuder these circumstances, he was justified in certifying as correct, copies of the Roll containing theffl two names. I replied that neither morally nor legally was he justified in doing so, and he acted upon my advice. Now, Sir, I can conceive no act more grossly improper on the part of a Mayor of a city than that of which Mr. Hutchison was guilty, namely, using the influence of his position to obtain from a subordinate officer a false receipt, and then using that false receipt for the purpose of falsifying the Burgess Roll. If the ratepayers of this city are prepared to condone such conduct, they must not be surprised if the character of their Municipal Council should suffer in the esteem of the outside public. * I am, &c, Wm. Thomas Locks Tr avers, City Solicitor. Wellington, 23rd May, 1879.