ST. KILDA MAYORALTY

Evening Star, Issue 18255, 20 April 1923, Page 4

ST. KILDA MAYORALTY

MR CHARLES TODD’S POLICY. MORE WATER, BETTER LIGHTING, IMPROVED PARKS. The Mayor of St. Kilda (Mr Dove) presided) at the meeting last night in the Coronation Hall, and remarked that Mr Todd was so well known to the public as chairman of the Otago Expansion League and as a leader in the movement for a hydro-electric supply for Otago that there was no need to introduce him. The attendance numbered nearly, ICO. Mr Todd said in the course of his halfhour's speech that two or three weeks ago he had no intention of standing for the mayoralty, but several ritepayers told him they thought it would be for the good of St. Kilda if he came out for the mayoralty, and they also said that if ho did so' some others would come forward for the position of Councillors. It was the first time he had stood for municipal honors. But ho had had experience of public affairs on all sorts of other bodies, and he thought that the knowledge thus gained and the knowledge he had of business matters might be of some value to the ratepayers if they elected him. He was born in Scotland, and felt thankful that he was brought by his parents to the bonniest land that the sun shines on. Ho had to work at all sorts of things as a boy in the country, and knew what it was, to be hard up, also what it was to have a little of this world’s goods, so that he was acquainted with the wants of both classes. In 1914 he and his wife visited the Old Country, and on coming back he decided to give up business, but he drifted back into business mainly on account of his boys. Now, however, he had come to the point at which he could shut down a bit, and if made mayor he was prepared to -give a good deni of time to the ratepayers if they wanted him. If they did not want him they would, of course, vote against him; ho would he happy either way.

Not having “a past” in municipal affairs, he had nothing to apologise for. Speaking generally, ho would say that as the rates came in the borough could, if properly managed, always be making things more comfortable and thus contribute to the people’s happiness, which was what we lived for—that and 1 a little sport. St. Kilda was fortunate in having quite a lot of playing areas, but they could be much improved, particularly in respect to the formation of 'proper cricket pitches. The care of the parks and other open spaces was of the greatest value in the upbringing of our young folk. The borough was fairly well served by the trams, which were the cheapest in New Zealand ; but St. Kilda must insist upon another tramline to run through the centre of the borough. The city was making profits out of the tram service, and to those profits the fares of the St. Kilda residents largely contributed, therefore it was a fair thing that St. Kilda should be studied in the matter of tram extension. He was not prepared just now to say exactly where the new line ought to branch from. If elected he would go into that and other matters very carefully, with the idea of giving the public the best possible service. He thought that part of the tram profits should he given back to the people by cutting out the extra fares charged on Sundays and holidays, so as to make it possible for the workers at the further ends of the district to take their families to the beach. burning question in the part of the borough that he lived in , was the watersupply. If there was a big fire there on a Monday morning there would not be enough water available to put it out. He had read the correspondence on this subject, and felt satisfied that the, city had not given St. Kilda a fair deal. Some of the city councillors practically admitted that that was so. The water business was a matter to which, if elected, he would give instant attention, and see that St. Kilda got justice. St. Kilda was now getting less water than it got years ago. The streets of the borough were not lighted as they should be. He was strongly against gas lamps, and held that it was a mistake to import coal to ,make gas for that purpose when Waipori was running to waste. There were 109 gas lamps and twenty-six electric lamps in St. Kilda streets. A proper service would be by 200 electric lamps. As to the hospital rate, nobody desired to reduce the comforts or the medical attention of the sick, but he did think that the expense was too great. If Mr Dove was elected he would go carefully through the expenditure and see if some of the leaks could not be stopped. St. Kilda. received only £SO a year for collecting the drainage rate, and the £SO did not cover the cost of collecting, therefore a greater sum should he paid. The volunteer five brigade did good work, and the engine was, he "understood; in first-rate order. (A Voice; " No,”) Well, he had been told on authority that it was. If elected ho would find out. Meanwhile he was wondering whether it was proper to leave the fire protection of a community of 6,000 persons to a volunteer brigade. He did not want to run into unnecessary expense, but the question was worth looking into, and if he became mayor he would advocate getting an expert opinion and ascertain whether the borough had the very best fire-fighting appliances. If the ratepayers chose him and the men who were standing with him as councillors they would see to all these and other matters. The main thing was to have St. Kilda go ahead—to have footpaths and roads as good as those of their neighbors, to clean up certain parts of the borough, to improve the water service and the street lighting, and so forth—and he thought that though money had been hard to get, and though it was still necessary to exercise prudence in regard to expenditure, the borough might now make a forward move, seeing that the charges for interest had eased, that material was cheaper, and that the finances were sound, as the -retiring mayor (Mr Dove) had shown in his statement. The ratepayers now had the opportunity of electing men who could give a great deal of time to the affairs of the borough, and who could, when the necessity arose, go before the proper authorities and demand theirrights. As for himself, he had been fairly successful in his own affairs, and if the ratepayers elected him he would apply his business instinct and such ability ns he possessed in their interests, in the hope that he might be of some service in making St. Kilda one of the best-managed and most prosperous and desirable boroughs in New Zealand. (Applause.) Several questions were asked. One was as to whether Mr Todd was in favor of amalgamating with the city. He replied that if he had not been “sure that the [question would arise he would have mentioned this matter in his address. He did [not wish to shirk the question, nor to play on words, but thought it only fair that they should not press him for an answer until he was elected. If he became mayor he would go into the pros and cons, and place the matter fairly before the ratepayers, and they must decide. Apparently they were about equally divided on the subject, so there must be solid reasons on both sides. Small cottages paid lower rates than if they were in the city, while bigger residences paid a, little higher, so the big man wanted amalgamation and the small man didn’t. Six of “ the ticket ” candidates for the council were introduced in turn, and 'each spokoj for a minute or two in this order—Mr H. H. Leary, Mr A. Kilpatrick, Mr R. M'Kenzie, Mr W. V. Kingston, Mr D. Henderson Hastings, and Mr J. Fleming. Mr H. VV. S, Hellyer moved, and Mr H. W. Jones seconded, a vote of thanks to and confidence in Mr Todd, and this was carried unanimously. The meeting closed at 9 o'clock, •