COUNCIL PROTESTS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24, 28 July 1911, Page 10

COUNCIL PROTESTS.

AGAINST INSULT TO ACTING- . MAYOR, INDIGNATION AT MINISTER FOR . PUBLIC WORKS. , STRONG COMMENTS.' Much indignation aiiu some strong expressions were given utterance to at last night's meeting of the city council regarding the incident which occurred when a' deputation, headed by Councillor John Smith, Deputy-Mayor, wait* ed on the Minister for Public Works, the Hon. B. M'Kensie, -in reference to tho tramway regulations. Councillor G. Frost, who said he. was not actuated by political motives, asked and wnß given permission to move tho following motion s-*- . . .That the members of the Welling* ( toli t City Council consider that the action of the Hon. Minister for . P.ublic Works, in refusing to 'allow . the Acting-Mayor of Wellington (as chairman of the deputation" of dele- . ', gates representing the various cen- , tres of New Zealand) to speak on the proposed tramway regulations, and his threat as a Minister of thb : Crown to eject him from the room, was an. unwarrantable a-nd unjustifiable insult to thp deputation, and also to the citizens of Wellington, , and that a. copy of this -"©solution, be forwarded to the Acting-Prime Minister". In moving the motion, he strongly condemned thfe Minister's action, and said that the deputation felt thoroughly ashamed of his conduct. His action .was discreditable io himself ami the whol* of the Dominion. It had been a eorry spectacle to see a Minister, of the. Crown <Ti.«play so mtteh venom. At that moment, the Minister had forgotten his senses, lie did not proposo touching on the regulations. ACTING-MAYOR JUSTIFIED. Councillor G, W. Shiftclifife seconded the motion, and said that when he heard of the manner in which tho DeputyMayor had tvceti treated, he felt very indignant that the city's chief representative should have been subjected to such treatment. Whatever opinion was hold regarding tlie Deputy-Mayor's ac« tion in publishing the circular marked confidential, he felt very strongly that the document should not have been so mnrked. ,It was a matter of the greatest public interest throughout the Dominion. He did not think that anything the Deputy -Mayor had done in the least degree justified a Minister of the Crown in speaking in the insulting manner he did. ' ONE- REDEEMING FEATURE. Councillor J. Trsvor: There is only one redeeming feature of the incident. That Was Ilia advocacy of Councillor Fletcher. (Hear, hear.) I think that tho action of the deputationists themsolves was reprehensible j they ought to have walked out of tho room and left him. They should have kicked back. , A CounaiiL*3' You're about the size. "1 ho])© tes sttrsfoon will 'be passed unanimontfij',,'-' caaoutfed Councillor Trevor.. CoundfiW 3, FusSfe?, jiiu.j f think we should loofr aft the* thing, fairly and equarely in the fia&». Wo should not rush to send this motion to tho Acting Pi'iftlo Minister. 1. think we should express our sympathy with the Deputy Mayor, and the people of Wellington should do the censuring. I move as an amendment that the council deprecates the action of the Minister tot Public Works in grossly insulting the DeputyMayor, and that the council records ite' sympathy with him. I will support! the motion if my amendment is not thought wiser, but I think the amendment is as far as we ought to go. Tho report, he added,, was marked confidential, ami the making of it public caused both to be responsible. The other councils did hot let anything leak out, _ • Councillor Fletcher! It wasn't necessary. Councillor Shirtcliffr : *• belteve that all the information was ont before the Deputy-Mayor made it public. COUNCILLOR FULLER'S ' AMENDMENT. , ' Councillor Fuller:. lt made my blood boil to read what occurred, and I was eorry I was not them I had not been invited. It was two or three days before I got over it. My amendment will be more effective tha.n the motion. ' The latter might cause us to get another rebuff. Councillor Len. M'Kenzie remarked that, as a son of an early colonist, he felt it very strongly that Councillor Smith, one of the city's old coloniets, should live to receive an affront a 6 had been placed on him by a Minister of the Crown. He regretted . that the deputatiom'sts took up the position they did after their resolutions. The council had _ always received courtesy from tho Ministry, but what occurred wa*s the overbearing conduct of an irresponsible Minister who really forgot" himself and who did not understand the- dignity of the office which he filled. (Hear, hears.) Councillor Cohen said, in support •of the motion, that he had never heard of such treatment of a citizen and public man by a Minister of the Crown. COUNCILLOR FLETCHER'S ATTITUDE. Councillor Fletcher said it did not matter whether ihe Acting-Mayoi- was right, or wrong. He was therein his official capacity a* representing the people of Wellington and the Minister waa there in his official capacity as a Minister of the Crown. Councillor Smith was, further, the chairman ' of the tramway conference. R 1 felt." continued Councillor Fletcher, "that the Minister of Public Works lost the opportunity of his life. What he might havo done was to have heard wuat you had to say, and then rebuked you,, i' ho liked, for divulging a confidential document, That #ou ld have been the proper course. He vvoijld haVe done better than by asaaih'ng you in such a, brutal manner, I can assure you 1 felt >t very keenly, and I made up my mind belore we left the rot/tn to «ay something, and I did. No other person, no other member of the Ministry," concluded Councillor Fletcher, j "would havfc taken up the line of con- i duct taken up by the Minister for Public Works.", Councillor Cameron, in supporting the motion, described the Minister's action as a compound of ignorance_ and bumptiousness accentuated by piggishness, AN ADDITION TO THE MOTION. Councillor Atkinson asked what expression of sympathy with the Acting-Mayor could bo found in the motion. t -What expr«j<3flion of confidence? The incident waa a perfect outrage on the people of Wellington, aftd indeed the people of the Dominion. Personally he had t *ver attached much weight to the opinion* of (the Minister for Public Worka, But this was a flagrant insult, a brutal attack, and a cowardly action. He Moved that the following words be added U» the motion : <— • "Thai the council bega to fissure the Arting-Mayor that tho insolence of tho Minister had not in anyway shaken the confidence of the council nor of the citiaens_ of Wellington" in the honour. in» legrity, and capacity of the ActingMayor." Councillor Uodbcr said that the leading article in The Post of Wednesday right exactly te^ue^ up, tta »ilgaijss. <

Etc thought the deputation should have said to the Minister : "If you will not hear our chairman, vie bid you goodtnorniug." ' And they should have left the room. MR., BOOTH'S ACtION CON' DEMNED. - Councillor Fitzgerald referred to a plißliehed interview with Mr. Booth, tho chief spokesman at the deputation^ reception, wherein it was stated that thd tactful action of Mr. Booth had smoothed over difficulties,' or words to that effect, l'here was not much merit, said Counsillor Fitzgerald, in being tactful, if it. meant sacrificing principle. (Hear, hear.) Ho believed that the deputation should have walked out of the room, and h% believed it would have walked out of the room but for the action of this gentleman ' from - Christchurch The chairman of the deputation had been insulted, and that was an insult to the deputation, and the deputation ehould have protested "TRYING TO INTRODUCE POLITICS." Councillor Barber said he did not wish to raise a discordant note/ but he would like very much to ( deprecate the divulg ing of a confidential document. He ob j'ected to Councillor Shirtcliffe's 6tato< ment that it was perfectly justifiable to, take^that action. It was a matter of courtesy on the part of the Government to have sent this private document to the tramway, people t throughout ;Kew Zealand. Councillor Barber was proceeding along these lines, when Councillor' Hindmareh got "up, indignantly. "Thie man is trying to introduce politics into this matter by his talk about a public! document," 'he cfted- ye hemently. "The motion before the court' cilie that the Minister for Public Works should ,be censured for the use- of the language he lifted tr> tha Acting- Mayo, Is Councillor Barber in order ?'' • " ■ The. Acting-Mayor : . You.. will, see the position I am in. lam one of the culprits. I thiftk Councillor Barber has (genee enough to know when he is pausing the bounds of reason. 1 don't want to etop this discussion. 1 am on mj trial. I must trust to the good sense of Councillor .Barber. Councillor Barber was going on with his remarks on the lines on which he had started, when there was a murmur I ol protest from the council. The Acting-Mayor : I don't intend to ! defend myself and u:y action ab all. I could tlefend my««*.H. bnfc 1 am not going to do so at iU Councillor te&ti~* , i km not going to have it tni'own up at me that t condoned the action of the Acting-Mayor. Councillor Fletcher s I protest against Councillor Barber. . "POLITICAL CRAWLING." , Councillor Hindniarfih s It is only political crawling. I epeak plainly when a man gets up and abuses his position. (To Councillor Barber) : You know you have no right to take advantage of Councillor Smith's delicacy. (To the Council) :_ He is taking advantage of the position to prostrate himself all the more for political purposes. Councillor Godber : I think Councillor Hindmarsh should be compelled to withdraw that language about "political crawler, '' Councillor Barber*: I object, to the language, ■ The Acting-Mayor : If you take exception to it I must ask Councillor Hindmarsh to withdraw it. Councillor Hindmaivih ; No, I will certainly not withdraw it. A pause followed. UNFAIR ADVANTAGE. Councillor Hindmareh continued: "I think it is a mean piece of cowardice to take advantage of you (the ActingMayor) when you have expressed yourself as you have. You did not rule him out of order, but you plainly, implied he wae out of order. Yon recognised tho delicacy of the position, but he still goes on. All the words I could use. to characterise hje action could not be out ol plac&." Councillor Barber w«nt on to #ay, without Reference to Councillor Hindmarah'e remarks, that he wanted to dteprecat© strongly the uteception the Minister had given the Acting-Mayor. In noting for the motion he wanted it to be understood that ,he did not approve of what Councillor Shirtcliffe had said. In a brief reply Councillor Frost said he had taken all possible cafe to avoid all political reference. The motion was carried unanimously.