"BRANDED AS A ROGUE"

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 50, 28 August 1922, Page 8

"BRANDED AS A ROGUE"

•MAYOR RESIGNS IN PROTEST. : ' - ■ 1 I ■ .j -

(BY TELEGRAPH.—PRESS ASSOCIATION.)

TE . AWAMUTU, This Day.

Recently the Te Awamutu Power Board purchased froods to the'.valuo of £5 12m from Mr.it. G. ■ Armstrong, who is a members of the board. This purohase,' beiiisf 12s in excess o£ the lejyal limit, constituted a : broach of tho law, and Mr. Armstrong''resisned. As.a sequel to this, Mr. Armstrong is to.day resigning the mayoralty of Te Awumutu Borpuirh', ■which, positionl,is governed by ' similar regulations. At a meeting of th© Powor Board the manager explained1 that tho, goods in question were not obtainable in j tho Waikato, and Mr.1 Armstrong h»d assisted the board greatly when he located a source of supply quietly after the manager had tried to- obtain a supply from other sources' without' sucoose. ■ Mr. Aimstrong, whose business .is drapery, saye ho is rosignitijT tho iriiayoralty aa .a protest: against the regulation which grands' every Mayor or a member of a local body a rdguo from tho moment he takes office. - Ho says the effect of the regulation is to set a premium on inactivity in public life, .and hence successful business men do_. not readily enter local bo«iieß. In tho interests-of public administration, ho urgefS tbat " strong' public pressure should be o^erciiotl on the Government to amend the legislation sons to give the 'Audit Department discretionary powers before instituting' prosecutions against members of looal bodies. .