MINORITY MUNICIPAL RULE.

Evening Post, Volume LXVVII, Issue 36, 12 February 1909, Page 6

MINORITY MUNICIPAL RULE.

Yesterday about 2000 ratepayers out of a total of a roll of 13,266 decided the city's attitude about the loan pro- i posals. The five-sixths are .compelled to i go in the direction dictated by the one- • sixth, unless the Mayor and council, by more or less fine arts, can manage to avert the mischief threatened by yesterday's blunders. It was a great triumph for a panic-stricken minority, and a disgraceful defeat for the somnolent majoiity. The inhabitants of Wadestown had energy enough to vote substantially in favcur of a tramway, and a water supply for the combined district oi Wadestown and Northland is handsomely essured, but Gi eater Wellington thrust littleness upon itself in the matter of the general proposals. The item of £27,500 for workmen's homes welldeseived the knock-out blow, for reasons which we gave a couple of days ago, and it is not very surprising that the voters decreed a further delay for the Kilbirnie reclamation and reserves scheme ; but the rejection of other items cannot be explained by ordinary processes of reasoning. The money urgently needed for legitimate expansions of the tramways and electric lighting departments, the completion of the abattoirs and / destructor, the finishing of recreation grounds (in which many thousands of pounds are now locked up), found less than a thousand advocates. Only 634 persons out of 13,266 had sense to see the need of an expenditure of £22,000 for the extension of the Constable-street line to allow heavy traffic to go to Miramar, Seatoun, and Maranui, and to enable the large South Wellington district to conveniently connect with those places. The majority of the noble 2000 that went to the poll seemed to have a sort of "garotter scare," and thought to economise by compelling the City Council to push on somehow with necessary works m a roundabout expensive way. For this deplorable debacle the apathy of the 11,000 who did not trouble to vote is responsible. Meekly the vast majority is content to be led by the scared minority, which hoped to save a perny by losing a pound. It is a sharp lesson for the tired and the weary, a lively reminder that it is not always adviscible to allow the ruling of a city to be at the discretion of a puny minority, heedless of all things except "save the rates," and altogether forgetful that pioper expenditure, at the right time, may be a means of lightening the burden of rates. Yesterday's voting may have its value if it serves to galvanise the general body of citizens into some show of life. This body has long been dull, inert, listless, and the inevitable sequel of apathy is retrogression. In this matter the mistake has been on the side of the City Council as well as the general public. There was a preliminary meeting at which the Mayor addressed sixty persons, and the proposals were discussed by the City Council, but the council did not sufficiently realise that it was dealing with an apathetic public, and so, m a measure, was apathetic itself. Tlere are very many societies and associations in this city, but there is room for one more — the Citizensnip Revival League.

The Secretary for Agriculture (Mr. J. D. Ritchie), who has been on a departmental \isit to the Auckland district, is expooled back in .Wellington early next