The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. WEDNESDAY, MAY 28, 1913.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXV, Issue 3943, 28 May 1913, Page 4

The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. WEDNESDAY, MAY 28, 1913.

It will )>e seen that as a result of' tho discussion on The Dismissal of the Or. Wade’s Borough Engineer, motion at the meeting last night the Borough Council decided to dispense with the services of Mr Paterson ,the Borough Engineer. As is well-known this was unhappily not the first occasion upon which a similar proposal has come up for consideration. Sojne two years or so ago Mr Lysnar. for instance, tried ljard to sefcuro a change in connection with the occupancy of this important municipal office. Be did not ,however, succeed in convincing a majority of tho then Council that his suggestion should be adopted, with the result that it was thrown out by, if we remember aright, six votes to four. Then again some eight or nine months ago Cr. Collins, on a motion of confidence in Mr Paterson being brought down, tabled an amendment to the effect that the Borough Engineer be asked to resign. But on that occasion tho proposal that tho services of Mr Paterson be dispensed with was outvoted by seven votes to three. In this particular regard there has, of course, been a distinct change of feeding subsequently. The late Council, for example showed before it left office that at last it recognised that the contract system should bo reverted to in the case of important works. Is it not a fact also that the spirit of municipal reform was, later, very evident in connection with the recent I elections ? Thus it has come about that tho new. Mayor and his Council have spent a good deal of time in looking into various municipal matters since their advent to office. In the past there has been suggestion that before any drastic step should be discussed a thorough investigation into all complaints should bo hold, and tho Borough Engineer has stated that he would court tho fullest enquiries. When the “City Fathers” had the I whole matter under consideration last night, however, a majority would not listen to any such proposal. The Council had, therefore, no alternative subsequently but to vote in connection with Cr. Wade’s want of confidence motion. As far as we can see it is a thousand pities that Mr Paterson did not resign when he was informed—as we are led to understand was the case i that the voting would not be in his j favor. I'pon the present occasion it { is imposible to do much more than review the result of tho division. It j will be noted that there were no ab'1 sohtees from the meeting, and that of tho six members who were opposed to Mr Paterson being retained as Borough Engineer no fewer than five were members of the old Council. Such a state of affairs must be regarded as very significant. For our own part as is well known, we found much room for difference of opinion with the late Council, both in regard to matters of policy and to the administration of tlie affairs of the Borough. As to whether the services of any of the officials should be dispensed with—well that was a question for the Council to decide. Whilst many may regret that a full enquiry was not held all will agree that in the absence of any such investigation the verdict o? the Council must be accepted as in the interests of the Borough. v In this regard we may add that under the circumstances we feel Cr. Smith took a very proper view of the whole matter. He, foresaw that it would be unwise—and nobody could say otherwise —if Mr Paterson should continue to hold his say if that decision were come to only as a result of the easting vote of. the Mayor. Immediately two parties would have been formed in the new Council and in consequence of the wrangling that would bo the sequel the best interests of the Borough would certainterests of the Borough would have, suffered. Fault, it will be seen, was not found with Mr Paterson as t-o his knowledge as an engineer. What was called in question was his administrative qualifications. In leaving the matter for tho present we would like to add that wo are sure our readers recognise that Mr Paterson has spaied neither time nor trouble in order to do his best for the Borough. Many another official would have been no more successful under the cureumstances in which he has found himself placed. The unhappy part of the whole affair however is that in regard to many of tho dufficulties Mr Paterson can hardly lay tho blame on the shoulders of anybody else.