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Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 94, 20 April 1912, Page 4

Evening Post. SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 1912.

I FOR CITY AND PROVINCE. » Wl»4si Now Zealand copied Britain's Mayof-and-council system, of municipal government the local bodies here had no Iwnendous complication of duties. The fanctipns of borough councils were limited to the ordinary public services (or as many as the young community could afford) of civilised settlements. In those days there was certainly scope for Mayors to be useful, but they had the option of being -more ornamental than useful, and many preferred to be figureheads rather than prove that they had heads for figures. - The times have much changed, and the qualifications for the Mayoral honour and work have to be many and varied. It i«r true that the public still likes to have a man of personal aplomb, an impressive individuality to give 'an air of distinction and dignity at pubHc gatherings or on select festal or ceremonial occasions, but the development and the enlargement of municipal enterprise in Wellington palpably demand a 'man more for use than ornament. A time may come when by a .specialisation of industry the city may have one man in high authority to "do the honours" and another to do the work, but for the present' one man ha« to do both, especially the work. It is unfortunate that large numbers of citizens do not yet seem- to perceive what a jpower for good or obstruction or backwardness a Mayor can be in such a city as Wellington. A Mayor may not mean to muddle the business of a city, but if he lacks the knowledge necessary to on*bl« him, to sxftK'i" * .w|m cffal^pl ©|

the large municipal machinery th© city must suffer. It is a much-forgotten truism that good local government demands the evietence of a vigilant public as well as competent governors. It is natural for a council to take' it« cue from the public which it represent*. A strong council can have its fibre turned to slackness and softness by th© apathy or carekesnees of citizen*. A weak council will not tone up a sluggish, public, but a watchful public can strengthen a weak council or roplace it With a better one. It is for the public to select good or indifferent government, and it is not unusual for tho public to get an indifferent dispensation simply because th© public has not, bothered to get anything better. Moet of the cities and boroughs of New Zealand can furnish come proof of that statement, and Wellington is among the witnesses. A recent example was the muddlemenfc over tho question of municipal control (not actually municipal monopoly as come critics contended) (if the milk supply. The Post warned the citizens that the scheme on which the City Council and tho Public Health Department had agreed was in imminent danger, but the public did not apparently t?,ko alarm. No piessure worth mentioning camo from tho public to save the scheme from the scrapheap on which the fragments now lie. The delay in the establishment of the municipal abattoirs was due more to the easy-going nature ■ of the public than to the G-overnmenl, which was bitterly blamed for obstructing the- local body. The Government would have moved fast enough if the people here had pub a whip in th© hands of the City Council. The corollary to tho adage; "Needs must when the devil drives," is "Th© -devil must when needs drive." By taking thought Wellington" people can add more than a cubit to the stature of their city, because if they tak© thought they will call th© best men into the sphere of public service, and encourage them on the path of progress. On all sides there is need of strong men with common-sense enough to distinguish things practicable from things visionary. The President of th© Chamber of Commerce calls for a more spirited co-opera-tion among businees' men for the' 1 advantage of themselves and their city, and the Industrial Association, can also find work for enthusiasts. This is a time, too, when men «c© the need of a better understanding between Wellington city and the large province, and the need of intelligent partnership between th© City Council and the Harbour Board. The board's present chairman (Mt. Fletcher), who is also a member of the City Council, has strives for such a mutually helpful policy, and he requires assistance. All these tilings should figure in th© peopled minds when their 1 pencil* are poised in the ballot-boxes next Wednesday, and there are other things of more immediate concern to the citizens to emphasise the fact that Greater Wellington was never in greater need of a, capable Mayor. We referred yesterday- to the peculiar position into which the scheme of tramway finance had drifted. It is widely admitted that, .th© whole of th© tramway business must b© soon overhauled thoroughly. If the citizens can get a Mayor competent to assist valuably in this proceas they will be very fortunate. The difficult, delicate preliminary work for further jstreetwidening has to bo planned this year, and renewals of loans, as woll a* the possibility of raising new ones, have to be considered. All this has been said", but th© citizens do not appear to be giv~» ing themselves much, worry about the choice of a Mayor. Perhaps they will b© more interested in th© matter if they can be induced to perceiv* that th© Mayor ha« to be practically a business manager, a chief director of municipal services irn which a sum ot over *>2,000,000 has been invested.