The Evening Star TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1910.

Evening Star, Issue 14511, 1 November 1910, Page 4

The Evening Star TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1910.

There was an interesting and instructive discussion in the House Newspapers last night on danse 6 and of the Municipal CorpoiaLocal Bodies, lions Act Amendment Bill, under which it is sought to more strictly define those who shall not be eligible to hold seats on municipal bodies by reason of the industrial organisations they are connected with having entered into contracts'for “supplies” with municipal councils and similar bodies. That the law requires amendment ip this direction is acknowledged on every hand, for recent happenings have demonstrated that there can be a too close (if not unwholesome) connection between newspapers and civic corporations. But a sharp dis, tinction requires to be drawn between a newspaper run either as a privately-owned concern or as a joint stock company (the latter being the case with the majority of the journals of this Dominion) publishing corporation advertisements and contracting to furnish " supplies " in the shape of printing, stationery, binding, etg. We are in jparty agreement with the member for Wellington Suburbs (Mr Luke), who pop(hat a newspaper proprietor should bwre an y privilege beyond, those

joyed by the director or managing director of an engineering or other industrial concern. What is sauce for the goose is unquestionably sauce for the gander; and if it be right to bar. those who control industrial organisations from taking on active part in municipal life there should be no exceptions, because the administration of our ciyiq and locp} affairs must be freed from even the suspicion of improper dealing. In this relation we cannot do bettor than reproduce some apposite remarks by the Governor of New South Wales (Lord Chelmsford), who recently, addressing the Local Government Conference in that State, said : There are three points in municipal work that I wish to make. The first is that I believe it is a cardinal principle that local government administrators should have no pecuniary interests, direct or indirect, in any contracts or in the dealings which may have relation to their municipality. I can hardly imagine that it ia necessary to emphasise that point, but it is imperative that no member of the general public may bo able to suggest that any proceedings in a municipal body have been dictated .by pecuniary considerations.

The limitation mentioned by Lord Chelmsford does not go far enough in our opinion; it should apply to every public body in the Dominion. There is reason to fear that that malificent influence known in the United States and Canada as “ graft ” is beginning to show itself in New Zealand; and for the credit of our local institutions and for the welfare of our civic life it should he stamped out mercilessly wherever and whenever it appears. That the Government recognise the danger is clear from the checks which they have found it requisite to introduce into the Charitable Aid Act and other recent legislation. As to the point raised by the member for Bruce, we fail to apprehend its force, if it have any. Our law governing the status of those who are qualified to take part in the administration of local aifairs should harmonise with the law of Great Britain and Australia. For example, in England (see Victoria 15, c. 5, section i) there is express exemption from the disqualification clause of that statute of any person interested in publishing the advertisements of a borough council or local body. The State of Victoria (by ’ts local Government Act of 1903, section 53, 2a) made the same exemption, and New South Wales, which has the latest legislation on the subject, enacted inter alia in 1906 (Local Government Act, section 69) that a person is disqualified as councillor of a shire or municipality If he is directly or indirectly by himself, or any partner, engaged or interested (other than as a shareholder in an incorporated company, association, or partnership consisting of more than twenty members) in any contract, agreement, or employment with, by, or on behalf of the Council, except in a contract or agreement for or in relation to the publication of advertisements in a public journal. . . .

It will be seen by our parliamentary report that the Minister of Internal Affairs’ proposition to bring our law into lino with that of Great Britain and Australia was carried on a division by 41 to 19, but at a later stage tho Ministry were beaten on two crucical divisions, wliich fact may jeopardise the passage of the measure. On clause 10, which seeks to restrict overdrafts, and would operate prejudicially in the case of the big centres, Ministers were defeated by 34 to 28, while in the early hours, of this morning the Committee decided, by 34 to 21, to bring all Government buildings 'within the scope of section 22, and make such buildings amenable to the local by-laws affecting drainage and insanilation. This unexpected set-back disturbed the Ministerial equilibrium, and progress was at once reported, with the object of Cabinet considering the situation.