MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS

Evening Star, Issue 18925, 27 April 1925, Page 2

MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS

ST. KILDA MAYORALTY MR HALL'S CANDIDATURE On Friday nigh! Mr H- M p Dali, a o!s ' r '' dictate fur the mayoralty of St. Kilna. addressed about sixty electors in the Corona - tion Hall. Considering all the circumstances, the attendance was a good one, and those present listened attentively, and repeatedly expressed their approval by applause. . , ~ , , Mr W; Esquilant was in the chair, and introduced the candidate. Mr Hall, he said, had been in the St. Kdda Council tor six years, anti had given iaithful service to * the borough. He had contested the mayoralty against Mr Todd two years ago, find been beaten by onh six lotos. This was a splendid testimony to the esteem in which he- was held by the ratepayers. Tho Chairman expressed tho hope that tho verdict would this year be reversed, and that Mr Hal! would be found filling the mayoral chair., Mr Hull, who was warmly received, began bv reminding his hearers that he and ano’thor had been returned to the eouncil on the last occasion at a byelection. It had been a pleasant terra, and he had found Mr Todd a very fine gentleman. Mr Hall went on to briefly review the affaire of the borough, which, ho said, had gone along on, fairly good and sound lines. They found themselves, however, burdened with a loan of £64,000 —a fair sum to bo shouldered upon 7,000 people. The interest on that amounted to £3,480, and came out of the rates before anything could bo made available for roads, footpaths, or any other purpose. Unfortunately, with many of tho loans in St. Kiyja no sinking fund had hern provided for. During the last term a proposal was before the council for raising a further loan of £45,0C0 at per cent, and a sinking fund. He was one of those who opposed the loan. He did so because he thought it far better to go along on a selfreliant policy—to carry on and spend the £2,C00 or £3,000 a year on new roads and the upkeep. of the othe,rs—than to further burden themselves. The chairman of works had assured the council that in ten years’ time all the roads of the borough could bo put in the best of condition by tar sealing with the machine which had cost. £2OO last year. Great improvements had been made during the past two years, though ho would admit there was still a good deal to do. But, he asked, if this self-reliant policy could be continued, and in ton years’ time tho roads of the borough be in perfect condition, would it not bo better than burdening the people with another £45,000 loan'! It was a question, too, of purchasing new machinery in order to carry out tho bigger work. The rates had been increased hy one penny in order to meet expenses current and to carry on tho self-reliant policy already referred to. With regard to drainage, said Mr Hall, the borough stood in a better •'position than ever it did, many improvements having been carried out. In giving credit for this the. borough’s representatives on past drainage boards must not bo forgotten. Tho borough was in a proud position, too, in regard to the water supply. All honor was due to Mr Todd, who had proposed the installation of tho new main which had connected up the borough. The water account with tho City Council ran into £2,589 per year, the' interest on which was £l3O. Then, as to lighting, how nice it would be if tho borough was electrified. They had electric lights on the Bay View road boundary, where th« change-over had cost £1,200 or £1,400. But it must be remembered that there was a saving in the charge between gas pud olctrieity of £1 16s a year. The hospital and charitable aid contribution amounted to £1,645 n year, which came out of tho rates. This amount was merely collected by the borough and handed over, and as it had now to be paid quarterly, while the rates wore not payable until the end of the year, it was something' of a burden to the borough’s finances. Thero had also been a change in regard to the Fire Brigade. Under tho old local volunteer system it had cost £IOO to £l5O a year. Mow that the Dunedin Fire Board had taken it over it wos costing £450 a year for the first five years and £550 for the next live. However, no one would refuse to contribute- for such excellent service. But lie thought that more should be done by tho insurance companies towards tho upkeep of the brigade. The companies benefited considerably, and did not contribute their fair share. Fire alarms, said Mr Hall, were not adequately provided in tho borough; they had only eight, and that was not enough. The approximate population to-day was 7,084, and 250 houses had been biiili in the past two years. There had been quite a building boom indeed, permits to tho value of £75,000 having been issued during the Last year. The system of rating on unimproved value had- made it not worth while to hold’building sections any length of time. It was a tine thing that so many of the residents owned their own homes. On March 31 the borough had a credit balance of £5,156 with which to start the new year, and were in tho proud position of having no overdraft. In conclusion, Mr Hall said lie wished to make a few remarks concerning statements made hy Mr Dovo at his meeting at St. Glair. Ho disliked anything savor ing of personalities, hut in justification of his own position, and in case a false impression had been conveyed, lie was compelled to clear the matter up. First of all Mr Dove was reported to have “ denied that ho was under any pledge not, to contest the election against Mr Hall.” That was true. No one had -ever approached Mr Dove with that object with his permission or on his behalf, limn Mr Dove had said that ho had met' with a great doa-1 of opposition on the council, and there had been two attempts to got his sent declared vacant on the grounds of nonattendance at meetings of tho Drainage Board. He (Mr Halil could honestly say that he had not been one of those to make the attempt. As a matter of fact, this was tho first time be had heard that any such attempt had been made. Lastly, Mr Dove bad said at his next meeting that “his opponent had supported a general rise in the rates of £12,000.’’ This, said Mr Hall, was probably a newspaper error for £1,200, He certainly voted for a rise of a penny to meet certain liabilities, including £l3O for the main mid £260 for the fire service.

A hearty vote of thanks was accorded Mr Hall, who said in conclusion that his life on the council had boon an. open book, and that he always had stood and always would stand for what ho honestly believed to be right. Ho hoped the electors would concede so much to him, and that they would show their confidence, in him by electing him as their mayor. A vote of thanks was also accorded the chairman.

MR C. H. HAYWARD'S ADDRESS,

Fx-cminciMor V. H. Hayward gave an address in Smith's Hull on Friday evening. Mr J. 11. Wilkinson, who occupied the chair, said it was hardly necessary to introduce tho candidate, who had been a councillor for over fourteen years continuously. Ho had served with Hie Hoslyu I Council as well as with the Dunedin Council, and for two years was a member of the Dunedin Drainage Board. The candidate had been defeated two years ago for the position of mayor, and that night he stood as a nominee for the City Council. Mr Hayward, in commencing his address, said that the City Council’s profit at tlie close of the last year had been £61,000, as against approximately £53,000 for the previous year. The Water Committee had accrued £15,0C0, tho Gas Committee £15,000, and the Electric Committee £20,900. At first sight it seemed pretty good, but £20,000 was a*small profit on £600,000, being only about 3| per cent. He maintained that the electric department should show a little more profit, as a few years ago there was a profit of nearly £30,000. Tho department had made oidy £17,000 tho year before, so thpro ivas no doubt some reason for the fluctuation. The £61,000 profit had enabled a. very largo sum to bo transferred to the standing account. The Union street bridge contract, without allowing for the iron girders placed 18in apart, was £5,0C0. The expenditure was not needed. It was said that the bridge would carry 1,000 tons, but that was not possible; a bridge was never called upon to cany more than thirty tons, even if the tramcar passed over it. It was questionable whetho* some of the methods .of the Works Committee could not bo improved. He thought that in several ways more could be done by the Works Committee. Ho did not refer to the new streets—tho method of laying down was excellent—but to repairs. Tho City Council had raised £460,000 in debentures; £295,000 was for maturing loans, and that left practically £170,000 tu be spent on new works. The candidate did not think that the method of borrowing locally all tho money required was good.

The Exhibition highway had been a very contentious subject for some time, said tho speaker. .Many claimed that they had voted under a misapprehension, thinking they were getting 99ft. They did not vote under a misapprehension; the highway was 75ft wide. It would have cost £IOO,OOO for the doing up of Lake Logan, sewering, and so forth, but tho Works Committee and the council generally turned that down because the citizens would not vote for it. The making of tho 75ft highway, with a strip of grass on each side, could bo accomplished for £BO,OOO, and that was put before the ratepayers. Mr Hayward stated that lie was an executive member of the Expansion League, which league had brought about an adjustment between the Harbor Board and the City Council, which meant there would bo a 99ft highway from Frederick street to Union street. About the question of supplying the extra money, he did not know what attitude the Works Committee would take up. He thought it would supply up_to £BO,OOO, and then put tho street in order in such a way that at a future date it would be possible to finish it. Everyone would remember the flood of two rears ago, responsible for an outlay of £33,000 for cleaning and fixing up. He had found out that day from the chairman of the Works Committee that the fixing up of Lindsay’s Creek had cost £13,850, so Dunedin had spent practically £50,000 as the result of tho Hood. However, the work was necessary. Streets were still requiring attention. Portion of tho bottom of St. Andrew street was about 6ft above sea level, and there was always tho possibility of the water coming np. In reference to trams, Mr Hayward said a good many years ago he had brought up a policy which at the time had not been considered possible. H% wanted the Tramways Committee to earmark something like £20,000 a year witli which to build new extensions. So far as tram extensions wore concerned, tho city had stood still for a- quarter of a. century. So long as they had cheap energy from Waipori they should not encourage buses any more than was necessary. Of course, he recognised that the people of Leith Valley, for instance, should have some consideration. Referring to Boslyn, lie said it had a ahocking service. From 10 p.m. to II there was a scramble, ami sometimes as many ns eighty people were, on one. car. The Hoslyn residents had appealed, but the Dunedin City Council would not give relief until traffic was diverted to tho Kaikorni ran To divert traffic tho line must ho bought : then the people could ride in tho car and meet the clad ire oar to Maori Hill. Tho power should lie, on the top of tho hill, ns in the Kaiknrai Valley if created far too much friction. Any engineer would say that more cars could bo run with the" power. Ho had opposed the purchase of tho Hoslyn car in every shape or form, because" he considered tho citizens of Dunedin were not getting value. However, the council had bought the line, and ho believed it paid'. But it was very debatable as to the order tho track was in.

Ihe electric power and' light department was a very great one, .said Air Hayward who added that lie had put in six years on (ho committee. It was a wonderful trading concern and asset. .I,he speaker next stated lie had at first been very much opposed to insurance. I ho Dunedin City Council carried its own insurance for £20,C00, but no company with the capital the. council 'had would cany the risk that body did: it would reinsure. iStill, though -carrying rather much, the council had boon fortunate as to losses.

Tho candidate, stated that the housing problem hail been one for many years. It had been tacked at different times, and ho had been opposed to certain methods adopted. It was ihe duty of tho council, he claimed, to assist every individual with a very small deposit to build houses-—a few in (ho various parts—and make them attractive. The council should be in a better position to help tho people than a private company. It was scandalous that a by-law had never been framed in connection with house ventilation, and at present a man could have a place built " ifli the ventilators almost on tho ground. Tho gas department seemed very satisfactory, and practically 12 per cent, profit had been made on its capital But the people had not yet got to use gas ns they could uso it. M,jjny more would use it for cooking if a little more instruction were given.

It was surprising the amount of work Mr Tamiock was doing in the way of planting trees. Jn a, few years there would he a very valuable asset "in. firs and other timber trees. In regard to the women’s rest home, one should, ho .said, have been erected' years ago. A receiving depot for fish, meat, etc.., was considered necessary by the speaker. The library had always been a greater asset to the city than anyone. imagined. Ho thought there should bo branch libraries, and was sure that such branches would prove beneficial. For many yea is there had been a tepid swimming hath, which, though it had not been a paying concern, had been of great benefit. Thousands of children had learned to swim there. Mr Hayward said ho had been on the Citizens’ League ticket four years hack* but ho had been “ thrown overboard ” with others this year. He was against any platform, as ho thought no small section should dictate. He % was against tho principle four years ago, though ho had accepted, nomination by the league. .He would have stood this year as a citizen’s candidate had ho been asked to stand. Mr Hayward then thanked the chairman and his listeners for giving him a patient hearing.

At midday to-day Mr G. A Thomson addressed a meeting of workers at Met riven's Foundry. In the main his address was along the same lines as already reported hy us. In addition the candidate dealt with the receiving and dcll\el\ charges paid by the Harbor Board. He stated that in 1923 the total dues waived from imports and exports were £68,44.., and the payment by tho board to Messrs H L Taplev and Co.'was £i,Boß, or 11.5 per cent, of the actual dues received. For 1924 the import and export fines amounted to £72,5 >4, of which .lessis H. L. Tapley and Co. received £8.758, or 12 per cent.' of the total. Not only did llm receipts from import and export dues increase bv £4,025, but the contractors received £920 7s lOd more in 1924 than in 1925, and the perron (ago cost for receiving and delivery increased from 11.5 per cent, in 1925 to 12 psr cent, in 1924. Should not tho reverse have been the case? Was it not a fact that tho larger the, business done by a trading concern the smaller tho percentage cost of administration? As a matter of fact the extra cost of £920 for 1924 over 1923 on an increased tmirnover of £4,025 meant that (he extra goods hand leal during the past year cost 22.8 per cent, instead of 11.5 per cent., which was the average, cost for 1923. Tho paltry rise of id per hour received by the "waterside workers engaged could scarcely, in tho aggregate, have amounted to £412, which Mini represented tho difference between 11.5 per cent., the actual percentage cost for 1923, -and the 12 per cent, for 1924.