MAYORAL CAMPAIGN

Evening Star, Issue 22952, 9 May 1938, Page 9

MAYORAL CAMPAIGN

MR ALIEN AT KAIKORAI . A definite assurance that if elected he -would strongly support any action for the continuance of the Kaikorai cable car service under the council s control was given by Mr A. H. Allen at Kaikorai on Saturday m the course cl his mayoral campaign. , fivn ■. “I will oppose in the most definite fashion any attempt to put into effect the proposals of the Labour council a contained in the first recommendation with respect to this matter. )} 1 Labour section of the council, . Allen said, “ has found/that its intentions with respect to; this service are not popular, and, with characteris opportunism, it has.changed its tune. It now says that it, was never its intention to close np the line and refuse to take over the plant, but merely to serve notice on the company that its license would not .be renewed. Mr Allen said he would quote from the first recommendation to the council and leave his hearers. to judge tor themselves what the intention actually was. After dealing with the formal notice of non-renewal, the recommendation went on to say:_ “It is not the intention of the council to acquire any part of the company’s plant. ’ There was the position in a nutshell. The company was to be told simply to cease operations at a certain date and to put the streets along its route in the same order in which it found them when it laid its tracks. .Mr Allen emphasised that he was in no way connected with the Tramway Company and never had been in the slightest degree, v but he could recognise that 40 years ago the company took a risk that the council was not prepared to take and provided a necessary public service which had been greatly appreciated by the districts it served- The company was not entitled to' a.Renewal of its license, nor was it entitled to compensation, but it did have a right to expect that some consideration would be ’given to the purchase of its plant and rolling stock. He would certainly support the purchase of the plant at valuation and the continuation of the service under council control.—(Applause.)