MAYORAL ELECTION.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 88, 15 April 1910, Page 3

MAYORAL ELECTION.

MR. WILFORD AT ISLAND BAY. About forty pei&ons were present in the I»laiwi Buy Schoolroom l.i*t night, when Mr. Wilford «pnke in support of hU cindidaUue for the City Mayoralty. Mr. A. H. Hindinarfh pie*uled. Mr. Wilfurd, iv t-he com re of his lemark', »-jid he hud bepn blamed lor the petition that had arisen in regard to the <Io( k, but he declined to tuko «n3' ie t poi].'»ibility for the ton.«tnic-tion of a d«,ck or for the fact that the concieto had failed to cct. He ie«d a letter from Mr. 11. Fletcher, chairman of the Haibour Boatd, stating that the dock contract was signed in February, 1907, and that be (?>ir. Wilford) became chairman of the board in February, 1908; and, further, that the difficulty | in connection with the contract was caused by the inability of the con- I tiiictoi>, >3 fai. t-j obtain round mid «ati£ factory result" in legnrd to the setting of* the concrete, for which, of coiimc, Mr. Wilfoid was in no way te»pon.»ible. Anyone, continued Mr. Wilford, who rniid they could ftop th« dock knew nothiug of the subject. How many thousands of pound,* would havo to be paid to the City Council under the Grainger-rtreet endowment? How much would have to be paid in compensation to Gminger-street ownefr! How many claim* could be lodged by te-nants of the Gra.nger-f-tieet* block?* How many hundred-* of thousands of pound- would the Harbour Hoard l>a responsible for if it put an end to the dock now? On the motion of Mr. P. J. o' Regan a \ote of thank* and confidence wns carried un-inimoiKly. Mr. Wilfoid will Rpcak in the Goring-street Hall, Thorndon, this evening. • In the Methodnt Sehoolrcam toni»ht Mr. Crawford will addres* the electci* of Northland. A mneting of Mi. CrawfoixlV ladie.«' commitlceK will be held in the Boukott Chambers, Boulcott-.Mrect, to-morrow evening. MIRAMAR CONTEST. Mr. F. Townsend, a candidate for the Mayoralty of Miramar, addressed a meeting :it Miramar last evening. The speaker devoted a good deal of his lime to explaining what he had done during his term as Mayor previously. At the time that Miramar, Ltd., was formed it set apart a piece of land : and i a declaration wns made on the sale plan that tin*, should not bo used for purposes other than a recreation ground. Then the area in question wns reduced by eight acres, and after objections had been raised in the council, the speaker explained thai he had been instrumental in making mi arrangement with the company wher -I»y it was to grant the council a catciimeut area of thirty acres. That agreement, however, had not, he aaid, been completed. Tho candidate also slated that he had been largely responsible for introducing the Gas Company to Miramar. In order to get the company Co come to Miramar He, with others, offered the iiec*«sary land at a very low price, a very small advance on the price he and his friends had paid. A company in which he was concerned owned more than half the houses on Miramar as well as other private property. It was, therefore, absurd to say he would raise the fare to 2d. He would only raise the fare* to trippers. After a reference to the obligations of the syndicates in respect to the trams, Mr. Townsend said that if the borough could gat water nnd <liainagc there would be no nocessit;, lo join the City of Wellington.