LOWER HUT

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 76, 1 April 1910, Page 3

LOWER HUT

MAYORAL CAMPiiS-GN-BEGUN, ADDRESS BY MR. RUSSELL. Lower Hutt's Mayoral '►campaign commenced last night, when the first shot was fired in the Town Hall by Mr. W. H. Russell, who is contesting the election with the sitting Mayor (Mr. E. P. Bunny). There was an attendance of about 100 electors. Mr. T. A. Peterkin, ex-Mayor, who occupied the chair, stated that he wished to take tho opportunity, the-firsfc he had been afforded, of publicly thanking Mr. Russell for acting in the capacity of deputy-Mayor during hia (the speaker 's) illness. Mr. Peterkin also eulogised the services of the councillors who served with him. Mr. Rusr.ell prefaced his remarks with a statement that he would not have coma forward, had Mr. Bunny expressed a wish, earlier in the year, to continue in. office. He did not know wJiat his. opponent's object was in standing for re-elfec-tion; except it was for the express purpose of endeavouring to keep him (Mr. Russell) out of the Mayoral chaar. Traversing the criticisms levelled at the council of hi* time in the allegation that certain returns appearing in the balance-sheet 1909-10, did not truly represent the real position, the candidate said the balancesheet, which had since been audited bythe Auditor-General, entirely bore out the statements of the then council, being marked "found correct." The present council, to his mind, had "got into a bog" before it had been long in office, and it now wished itself well -out of it. Jlr. Russell next took his opponent to task for attaching to the balance-sheet a tag to the effect that it did not coincide with the findings of his (Mr. Bnnny's) council. The statement on the tag was incorrect, and too bald ; anyhow, whose decision would the ratepayers prefer to accept ; that of the higliesfc audit official in the Dominion, or that of Mr. Bunny? "We were told that we were bad financiers," said Mr. Russell. "What is the position now? Eleven months have passed, and the debit on the general account has gone up from £6900 to £7233. The gas and library accounts also show increased debts (mentioned). "If," he concluded, "we were bad financiers, then the pi-e-sent council are exceedingly worse." In speaking on the platform some twelve -months ago, the present Mayor had 6tated that nearly the whole of the £52,000 loan had been expended, and the sewerage drainage was hardly commenced. In refuting thai, he (the speaker) would say that the fund was at that time really m credit to the extent of £11,000, out of which, with the scheme now well towards completion, some £1900 at present remained. The present Mayor had made a "big cry" of the excessive rates accumulated, by a previous council, but -wshat did ratepayers find now? Far fenom reducingthe taxes the sitting council had actually, increased them from 8 to 10 per cent. The action of the council in raising the library subscription from 5s to 10s, curtailing the hours, mad allowing the number of subscribers 'to dwindle down from 220 to 197, ateo came in for criticism Dealing with the subject of the recent enquiry into loan expenditure, Mr. RusselJ affirmed that the findings simply bore oat the statements he had previously made to the effect 'that; th© borough engineer's work would- bear the test ofi time, and, further, that that officer was not responsible for any expenditure made in excess of tbe estimates.*. The enquiry, which he held' was unnecessary, had proved very expensive. As a matter of fact, the council had paid the consulting engineers some £200 for virtually; telling them what was already contained lin the balance-sheet, viz., tiiat some ' £5000 more than was^eetima-ted had-been expended. Referring to his fntuTe poKey, the speaker made a strong point of the fact that he would endeawur to bring about the absorption of the Ri*ser Board by the Borough Council. At ~the present time ratepayers were "paying through tho nose" for the services rendered by the former body. On the occasion of -every loan it had raised, "it had gone back to the money-lenders agam for another 10 per cent." The necessity of establishing swimming baths and tho need for the proper maintenance of all streets in the borough were also touched, upon by Mr. Rnssell, after which a vote of thanks for his address terminated the meeting.