ADVANCE OTAGO!

Evening Star, Issue 15915, 22 September 1915, Page 8

ADVANCE OTAGO!

EXPANSION LEAGUE'S EFFORTS. • SILENT BUT EFFECTIVE. REPLY TO THE CITY COUNCIL. Tho refusal of the City Council to continue- their annual contribution of £IOO to the funds of the Otago Expansion League, and the fact that in declining this certain rather disparaging remarks were made concerning the utility of the league, apparently put the members of that bxly on their defence at the annual meeting, held in the Town Hall last evening, cho president (Mr A. Bathgate) and other proiumcf?t members making a spirited though temperate reply to the ■criticism of the City Fathers and Cr Sinclair in particular. Mr Bathgate maintained that, so' far from the league being a charitable object, he considered that every pound subscribed to and spent by the league was like casting bread upon the waters—it was not lost, not given away, but would return increased many fold; perhaps not for many days, and its return would perhaps always be imperceptible; but it would return gradually. The league, he declared, was undoubtedly a good investment. The attendance, which was only 17. must have been somewhat disappointing. The President, in moving the adoption of the annual report and balance-sheet, said it was unnecessary for him to review the details. He thought no one could read the reports of the various committees without being struck with the fact that there was a great deal of vitality about the league, and that their efforts were directed in many ways and were untiring. The committees mrt every month, and considered what means could be adopted to further the interests of the fair Citv in which we dwelt, and the district of which it was the capital. Of course, the reports of the committees could give only a superficial view of the work that had been undertaken, and it would be impossible to go into the details of what had been done. Naturally, their efforts la.st vear had been largely hampered by the terrible war, which was still raging. * Many things that they would have liked to have done it was found really useless to attempt, and that accounted partly for the comparatively large sum (£150) which appeared as a credit balance. That balance was also due to the fact that the executive were aware that the three years for which many subscriptions had been promised expired this year, and it was with that in view, and a knowledge that the demands that were made upon people might perhaps result in many of the subscribers not seeing their way clear to contribute so freely as they had promised to do in the past, and that therefore caution at the present juncture was desirable. But it certainly never was contemplated that the Dunedin City Council would be the first of the subscribers to withhold their contribution altogether. He noticed in the report in the "Press that' the chairman rif the_ Finance Committee, in speaking to it, said that the committee would have been glad to grant the money, but they thought the council should husband their resources as much as possible. It came rather as a surprise to him to hear that the finances of the Dunedin City Council were, such that it required that they should husband their resources by withdrawing a paltry £IOO granted bv them tor the last threo years to the league, and hs a ratepayer he considered that if it *ere necessary ther. there were many other directions in which economies could have been effected without withholding the subscription from the league. Ct Sinclair, in his remarks, said that everyone would admit that a certain amount of good had h?en done by the league, but he thought that for the expenditure a greater amount of good ought to have resulted. Apparently he thought it had cost too much, and that therefore the assistance of the "ity Council should be withheld. That, he submitted, was distinctly an illogical position to take up And' then, further, Cr Sinclair went on to say ihat he thought the same good might have been obtained at about one-third or one-fourth of the cost. Well, it was impossible for him to detail the pood done by the league; in fact, he did not know it. No one knew it. But they did know that it had done good. With regard to the cost, he riid not know whether Cr Sinclair knew exactly what the work of the league involved. A considerable amount of correspondence from persons outside the Dominion who, a-s a result of the league's advertisements, had been induced to make inquiries as to the suitability of Dunedin for settlement or as a. tourist resort—that was only one little thing. Only the other day two men from as far apart as South Africa and Australia had come here, both having stated that they were induced to do so by the league's advertisements. One was a married man with a family. 'Applnuse.) There was another point to which Cr Sinclair referred. . l> Green had apparently referred to the tourist traffic, and Cr "Sinclair declared that we had a Government with a Tourist and .Scenic Department, and it was for the Government to move in the direction indicated by Cr Green. Most of those present knew that one of the things that most clamantly called for the creation of such a body as the league was the neglect r>f the Southern tourist attractions by the Government. They were entirely neglected, while Rotorua was boomed; and that the league had done good work in that respect was indicated by the statement of Mr B. M. Wilson, general manager of the Tourist Department, who, in his annual report, presented to Parliament, stated that the work of the league had been of great value in augmenting the traffic to tho different resorts, and the department had been glad to co-operate with the league in furthering its efforts. (Applause.) He did not think any more justification was required than that with regard to the Tourist Department, and that, he thought, answered Cr Sinclair's objection Then, finally, Cr Sinclair said thatthe City Council should hesitate about making grants outside charitable objects. The league was neither outside nor was it a charitable object. It was open to j every citizen of Dunedin. He was sorry j that amongst the City Fathers only three or four were members of the league, and it seemed to him that if they thought the league .was not beint; run on proper lines, they, instead of withholding assistance to • an institution which they admitted was doing good work, should adopt a better course, which would be to become members, and attend the annual meetings (applause)—and turn the office-bearers out. He for one should have no objection to them adopting that course. They might, however, find that, while it was very easy to criticise, the constructive work was not so easy—(that there were many difficulties to face, and that they might be liable to make mistakes, as probably tho league had to some extent. And so far as the league being a charitable object, he considered that the pound subscribed to the league and spent by them as a league was well spent. The money subscribed was undoubtedly a good "investment. .However, this year they would have to manage without the corporation's assistance, and they hoped that next year wiser counsels might prevail, and that they might see their way to give the grant as in the past, or even a larger one. which, he thought, they might very well look for. There was no doubt that in the past they could have Hone far more than they had been able to do -with their limited means, but more could not have been done for the same expenditure .than they had been able to do, and, of course, in view of the withholding of the City Council's subscription, he would like to u«re upon members the desirability of redoubling their efforts to increase the membership. (Applause.) Mr G. Fen wick, in seconding the motion, congratulated the president on the very moderate, temperate, and altogether commendable manner in which he had . daalt with the affairs of the league. The criticism which he felt it necessary to make with regard to the action of some members of the City Council was thoroughly well deserved, and it was all the more commendable because it had been expressed in such an exceedingly moderate, temperate, and thoroughly justifiable manner. Or Sinclair had set himself the task of belittling the efforts of the league without having a knowledge of

the necessities of the position,-..'because bo far as he knew Or Sinclair had never made any effort to find out what actual work the league had done. It was novor pleasant to criticise members of public oodies, and he did not want to criticise too harshly Cr SinclairV action, but he did 4 hope that after the very moderate way in which the president had dealt with the matter their friend would find it necessary to change his view. He might join the league, possibly, and attend their meetings. The Mayor (Mr J. J. Clark) was a member of the Tourist and Amenities Committee, and took a keen interest in the league's welfare, and they had also as members ex-Mayor Wilson and Cr Green. He felt sure that better counsels would prevail, and they would probably get the subscription which had been withheld this year. No doubt the City Council had felt the necessity for economy just as had private- firms and other local ■bodies,. but it was to be hoped that next year there would not be the same necessity for it. The league had done a Fast amount of work, and had done a vast amount of good. The members were performing the highest civic duty. They were not members of the City CoanciT, but they were doing a work closely a.lied to that of City councillors, and it was to him a matter of surprise how the City Council should have taken such a view as they had of a body like the Expansion League. He hoped that next year they would change, and that in due course the league would 'get the support of the council. (Applause.) Mr J. C. Stephens said he did not think that the discussion they had had could be regarded as time wasted if they could remove any doubt of the value of the work of the league that might have been caused by the criticisms made against the league. He said emphatically that the amount of work which had been done by the league was largely silent work, the result of which, as the chairman had pointed out, it was impossible to detail. It had been stated that the work that the league was introduced to do might just as well be done by other organisations, but the answer to that criticism was that the work had not been- done by the other organisations. (Hear, hear.) There were many things that it was necessary to advocate and work for in connection with the advancement of Otago for which some organisation was absolutely required, and the Otago Expansion League was instituted for that very purpose. What he objected to was that the criticism that had been applied to the league had been given by people who were not acquainted with the affairs of the league. So far as the public were concerned, if they looked at the members on the executive and considered the names of those gentlemen and the fact that they had woiked in the interests of the league during ihe past three years, that should be a°s'jfflcient guarantee that the criticisms levelled against the league were not justified. (Applause.) The Teport and balance-sheet were then adopted. COUNTY ORGANISATION.

The President moved the following addition to the constitution:—"The executive shall have power to form branches of the league in- divers localities throughout Otago where it may bo deemed advisable, and may formulate rules for tho conduct of 6uch branches as may be considered necessary, subject to such contribution, if any, from the income of the branch towards head office expenses which may be agreed upon." He explained that the main object was that they should have a united Otago, and that all should work for the advancement and in the interests of the province. They did not want the country people to think that the league was established merely for the benefit of Dunedin. He thought it was highly desirable that the resolution should be carried in the form in which it was submitted. They had already worked in conjunction with these county leagues, and some w'liich had not formally affiliated would join later on. Mr W. G. Somerville seconded the motion. Mr J. Ingl-is Wright said that they already had with them Clinton, Lawrence, Balclutha, Upper Clutha (including Cromwell), and now Alexandra. Of course, they could not expect, in view of the war conditions, to reap the benefits of organisation immediately, but it was there, ready ,to be brought into use when required. He believed that when the effects of the war began to lessen they would find that these branches formed no inconsiderable part- of the work of the league. He looked forward to the time when the whole of Otago would be linked up in one strong chain, and all would work for the betterment of the province and the Citv, which was its capital. The motion was agreed to. —Election of Office-bearers.— Mr Fenwick, in proposing the re-election of Mr Bathgate as president, said that he could not conceive of an Expansion League without Mr Bathgate as its president. He was an extremely hard worker. and looked thoroughly well after the interests of the league. The motion was carried unanimously. Mr Bathgate, in returning thanks, "said he appreciated the honor. He was quite willing to do what he could in the interests of Dunedin and Otago, but he felt he had done his bit, and would have been quite as pleased if someone else had been elected to the position. Messrs G. Fenwick, A. Moritzson, P. R. Sargood, and the Mayor (ex-officio) were re-elected vice-presidents, Mr H. E. Wilson hon. treasurer, and Mr Peter Barr auditor. The following members were elected to fill vacancies on the various committees :—Country Development CommitteeMessrs R. T. Stewart, G. M. Marshall. Isaac Green; Publicity Committee'. Messrs R. A. Ewing and James Dick; Trades and Industries Committee— Messrs A Smellie, J. Wilson, ,L Allen, J. H. F. Hamel; Membership Committee, Messrs H. K. Wilkinson and A. Moritzson; Tourist, and Amenities Committee—Messrs J- J. Clark, J. M'George, S. J. Collett; Educational Committee, Messrs J. Waddell Smith and F. H. Campbell.