FAREWELLING A MAYOR

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 105, 4 May 1926, Page 8

FAREWELLING A MAYOR

MR. M'BWAN LEAVING ON A HOLIDAY.

Mr. J. W. M'Ewan last evening prosided over the last Petone Council meeting which will be held prior to his leaving. on a holiday trip to England and Scotland. The Deputy-Mayor, Councillor C. P. Brockelbank, wished the Mayor a pleasant voyage, a happy holiday, and a safe return. The present council, he said, felt that the harmony which had prevailed at meetings was largely due to the good influence of the Mayor, and the council had always been of one mind its its desire to give service to the people. There had been no serious differences. The Mayor had been fair to every member, and had allowed ample opportunity for discussion. The town had in the past made steady progress, but just now the expression was rapid, and it was needful, especially in the immediate future, that the Mayor should exercise foresight, for the council believed that in ten years the Valley would have a population of 100,000. The industries which were coming warranted that belief. Ho hoped that the Mayor, no matter who he was in the future, would hold the office with the same dignity as Mr. M'Bwan, and expressed the wish that Mr. M'Bwan would return in good health to complete Jiis twenty years ' terms as Mayor. Councillors Cook and Edwards endorsed these remarks. Mr. M'Bwan thanked the council for its good wishes, and\also for the team work of the present council. He was going for a holiday, as he felt in need of a spell after the-strenuous work .of the past twenty years. The borough was now on the upgrade, but he had known it in different conditions, when unemployment was rife and houses were to let. He hoped there would be no aftermath- to the present boom. The industries which were coming would made for stability. Petone was a town that was now well respected, and was fast becoming one of considerable importance. He washed the council a profitable time in his absence.