Evening Post. FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 1923. LESSONS OF THE POLL

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 99, 27 April 1923, Page 6

Evening Post. FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 1923. LESSONS OF THE POLL

Supporters of non-party municipal administration may congratulate themselves upon the results of yesterday's polling; but if they desire to maintain the system which they support they must also face the facts disclosed by the voting. Mr. Wright has won the Mayoralty, but by a small margin. His victory, we believe, is attributable to recognition by many voters of the danger of vote-splitting. They realised that the Labour Party would make its greatest effort to profit by the division, and they went to the poll in great numbers. The Labour Party has again proved its strength and demonstrated the efficiency of its organisation. Citizens who do not agree with the Labour aims and policy should give heed to this. They have the right to record their disagreement, and yesterday they did record it; but if they weaken their expression of disagreement by internal dissension the Labour Party will certainly win in the future. Every effort should therefore be made to avoid such dissension. The selection of Mayoral candidates should be well and thoroughly considered beforehand, so that the risk which has been run upon this occasion may not again arise. Mr. Wright is entitled to the vote of confidence which he has received. It will afford him the opportunity of guiding under better financial conditions the development works for which preparation has been made in the past two years. Mr. Fraser polled exceedingly well, and has increased by 3500, or 60 per cent., the vote cast for the Labour candidate in" the last Mayoral eleotion. Mr. M cKenzie's vote, though small in comparison, was heavy considering the circumstances of the contest.

A regrettable feature of, the contest is that the city loses, at least for a time, the services of two councillors who have been good workers. Mr. Fraser and Mr. M'Kenzie. both displayed considerable ability in presenting their respective views and assisting' the council to decisions wherein all points of view were considered. At the time of writing, final election results are not available, but it appears that all the retiring councillors who sought re-election may expect to retain their seats. One of the vacant seats has been filled by Mr. G. Mitchell, who has been placed at the top of the poll with a majority which is a recognition both of his work for the community and the unselfish spirit which he showed in retiring from the Mayoral contest. Other vacancies have been filled by men who have" displayed interest in municipal progress and who stood as adygo&tcs

of an ordered and well-considered scheme of progress. Labour may have on]y one representative instead of two, and it is our opinion that the candidates who carried the Labour banner would have been more successful had they offered their services, not in a party spirit, but as citizens of Wellington, able and willing to serve the city as a whole. Extravagant promising no doubt also contributed something to their defeat. Though the poll has been heavy, it can scarcely be said that the campaign preceding it was marked by exceptional interest on the part of electors. Such interest, indeed, is not to be expect- j ed so long as citizens are content to regard municipal policy as a subject for consideration only once in two years. There is no sovereign! remedy for this apathy between! elections. Citizens themselves alone can bring about a change. If they perceived the need they would do so, but few give to the question sufficient thought to enable them to see that there is anything wrong. Wellington now has a good council; but if that council is to do the best work of which it is capable, its members must feel that their actions are constantly being noted. The programme of municipal reform and progress to which the majority of the councillors have pledged themselves is ambitious, but not impossible. Energy and enthusiasm will be required to put it into effect, and energy and enthusiasni have a bad habit of waning when an election is over. Citizens may prevent the relapse of their representatives into easy-going ways by manifesting their own interest, criticising when criticism is called for and praising when encouragement is due.