MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS.

Evening Star, Issue 10392, 13 August 1897, Page 1

MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS.

Mr H. S. Fish terminates, there is too much reason to apprehend, a municipal career of a. length unprecedented in this Colony by the resignation of his seat as one of the councillors for South Ward on account of prolonged illness, which affords little hope of his being able to continue the discharge of the duties of the office. The citizens of Dunedin are, we feel sure, quite, in accord with His Worship the Mayor in feeling deep regret that Dunedin is to be deprived. : of.the energetic and vigilant services of Mr Fish, who has brought to bear upon the direction of civic affairs intelligence of no mean order, the resources of an abnormally active mind, and practical business acumen of the highest order. Five times has the honorable gentleman served the full term of the mayoralty with distinguished success, and for more than thirty years, as mayor or councillor, he has done, to use the words of the present mayor, yeoman service to the City. Naturally enough a man so earnest in his convictions, so ready with his tongue, so anxious to carry any point on which he was bent, has on occasion given offence—"trod," so to speak, "on the corns" of his colleagues; but it is gratifying to note that the Council have recorded in the* handsomest terms their appreciation of his abilities, worth, and distinguished services to the City in the resolution which, on the motion of the mayor, was unanimously adopted on Wednesday evening. The resignation of Mr Fish creates an extraordinary vacancy in the representation of South Ward which' has to be filled up forthwith, the citizen who may be elected holding' office for the unexpired period of his term, and next month one councillor in each ward will, in due course, retire according to rotation. The burgesses of the City have, therefore, before them the almost immediate duty of electing five members—a very considerable proportion of the City Council. It should hardly be necessary to point out, in view of facts which are notorious and considerations which should be forcible, that there is urgent necessity in the -public interest of reforming the personnel of the Council, and increasing the strength of the progressive party, who are at present in the minority. " Comparisons," according to the old adage, " are odious," and we have no intention of touching upon personalities. Those with whom the election lies are presumably endowed with at least ordinary intelligence, and should know what has been going on. Little credit is to be given them for common sense and perspicuity if they have failed to take note of the conduct of certain members of the Council, the resolute want of comprehension of existing conditions which these councillors display, and their mental incapacity to take broad views of any question which comes . before: them. The record of feeble inanity has been, it "My be conceived, reached in the treatment of the tramway services, which, would seem to have condemned the City to one of two alternatives either the continuance of an inefficient system, entailing great loss and inconvenience to the retail tradesmen who have shops on the route, and are chronically smothered in filthy dust engendered by the horse traction, and on the general public, who are unnecessarily delayed in proceeding from one part of the City to the other, or reversion to the old order of things twenty years ago before Mr Proddfoot came to the rescue with his tram service. The City Council, as at present constituted, are decidedly behind the times, and, what with the choked-up harbor and the wretched sheds which do duty for a railway station, Dunedin is fast sinking into a third-rate position among the cities of New Zealand. We do not hesitate to declare that it is a clear case of suicide on the part of the citizens, who have for years, we might say, placed the management of their affairs in incompetent hands, sending members to Parliament who had no weight and allowing the local bodies to fall very much into contempt owing to the quality of those who have, with occasional exceptions, been allowedj to monopolise the management. We 'make no personal allusions, but we would ask reasonable men to seriously reflect on the situation, and to consider how it has been brought about. Let them take the local bodies all round, and ask themselves whether those bodies are properly representative of the mercantile trading or other great interests of the City and district 1 If this condition of things is to continue, Dunedin will most certainly have to "take a back seat," and sink lower and lower in importance. There is the opportunity now of introdxichig more of the progressive element into the City Council, and we sincerely hope it will not be allowed to go by.