THE MAYORALTY

Gisborne Times, Volume LXII, Issue 9997, 28 April 1925, Page 5

THE MAYORALTY

MR. BALL’S CAMPAIGN

PROGRESSIVE POLICY FOR RESERVES ADVOCATED.

There was an attendance oi between' 40 and 50 at a meeting of electors addressed by 'Mr H R. Ball at the Abercorn Hall last evening. Mr D. Bruce Watt presided. Mr Ball spoke mainly on the lines of his previous addresses and dealt at length on the question of the wages of the borough employees. He stated lie had made it clear at previous meetings he was not in favor of reducing wages. Dealing with the futuro policy of borough administration he was most emphatic that 'the water question was the most serious matter and required the earliest consideration. Although his opponent had advocated the building of a reservoir ever since he had first aspired to Mayoral honors, no mention of the water supply had been made ..in connection with the loan proposals and no reference had been made to it until he (Mr Ball) had spoken on the question at Mangapapa. Important as was the question of the reservoir still more important was the question ofthe pipe line which was generally considered to be in a most precarious state. Jt was imperative that the new council should have a full report on the pipe line placed before it nt an early date On the matter of tramways the speaker followed along the lines of his previous addresses and said that though he was opposed to extensions ho did not advocate the immediate scrapping of the present system. He quoted a striking statement )>v the elm : rman of the Leyhinds Motor Co. as it appeared in the Manchester Guardian wherein the chairman in the course of his address stated: “.I believe J am right in saying that no new tramway construction has been undertaken in this country during the past year. Many undertakings are now running motor bus services and some have decided to seek powers gradually to discard the tramway track and substitute entirely the more dirigible type of vehicle.” The remarks which applied to the Old Country may also he applied to Australia and New Zealand. It would seem that Gisborne, which is the only place in the world having a storage battery tramway system is also the only place talking of tram--way extension.

So far as Gisborne’s reserves were concerned the speaker said' that it was time that some progressive policy was adopted for the betterment of tiie various reserves. Gisborne was probably the only town in the Dominion without one decently' appointed recreation ground. Money could be spent profitably 7 in the way 7 of providing greater convenience and in producing revenue and at the same tune beautifying our waste spaces. He advocated the adoption of a comprehensive scheme of improvement that would gradually be undertaken by the borough administration; also that such scheme should be laid before the ratepayers and thoroughly explained before any 7 loan proposals were put before them. Mr Ball also touched upon the question of the roads and bridges and mentioned the indebtedness of the borough, the stone deposits, etc. A hearty vote of thanks and confidence proposed by Mr K. Woodward and seconded by Mr Maddock was carried unanimously'. MR WILDISH AT THE CITY HALL. REPLIES TO CRITICISM. In the course of his address at the City Ha.ll last night before a large gathering Air. Wildish, who was greeted with applause, said he had served for eight years on the Council before he became Mayor. During the last few weeks he bad been criticised by his opponents and by the Press for anything uuforsecn, that had taken place during his term of office. Dealing with loan proposals, Air. AA’ildish sav’d that several had been carried during his term of office. He had been defeated on live proposal to •lay Gladstone Road down in concrete. It would have been better for the town if that proposal had been passed. A Voice: AYhafc about Peel StP Air. AYildish : I'll give you peel St. later. ..

Continuing, the speaker said that some people had tried to pull him, but they had failed. Pie ventured to say that the ratepayers were in a better position to-day than when he took office. Critics had stated that he had increased the public debt, but be was certain that he had acted in the interests of the ratepayers in everything; that he had done. In 1919, the total amount of loans raised was £489,171 and in 1925 it had risen to £552,118. The rate in Gisborne was as low a.s in any other town in New Zealand. He had kept the rates down in Gisborne. "When the valuations rose he went down to Wellington and protested. W'ha.t his opponent had done was to state that high values were good for the town. So they might he from an agent's pointof view, hut were not from the point of view of any one else. . (Applause.) Critics said Mr. "Wildish, had stated that his opponent was a great financier. But lie was also -a financial man. They had also stated that he was receiving a handsome honorarium. (A Voice: Not enough.) Pie reminded his audience that when lie took up the office he had received only £l5O per year. He spent the whole of his time in municipal matters and if “the laborer was.not worthy of his hire’’ and the people considered that lie" was not worth £250 per year then they could keep their honorarium. The Peel St. bridge was let iu one contract and now one of these financial critics who was on the Council at that time was blaming him for anv mistakes that were made. PI is opponent and Mr. Todd were on the Finance Committee at that time and these men were now' ready to cri- / C A°Voice: They did not finish the job at any rate! ~ . Continuing, Mr. V .'hush saicl that be had r.cver done a duty trick for Gisborne. His critics had stated that he had on.lv built the two bridges hut he lmd done more than that. Dealinf with the ■unemployment relief loan, Mr. Wildish - stated that in 1923 there was a great deal of unemployment in the town and he was pleased to state that the £~OOO loan had relieved many eases of hardshipMr Wildish said that he had heard it said that the bridges could have been built for less money, but this was not correct. For his opponent to say that lie was responsible for the condition of the surface of t.ie Peel St. bridge was cowardly. Mr. McDonald had prepared the plans ancl Mr Alexander had certified that the bridge was in a satisfactory condition to be taken over bv the Council. Could people expect the Mayor to know more than his officers? “The Times,” said Air. Wildish, had o-iven him three or four lending articles during his campaign. Even that morning he had 'been severely criticised bv the editor regarding the position that the Oranty'Council bad taken up in connection with the question of the maintenance to the Peel St. bridge. - The editor knew well that the Borough Council had taken one lawyer’s opinion and the County had got: another’s. According, to the Act the Council could get a commission either before or after the bridges were built. He ventured 'to say that, when the Commission sat, the Borough would get more than 10 per cent.: they would he more likely to get 20 pe»- .cent. His opponent had been on. the Finance Committee, of the Council at the time when the

question of the construction of the bridge was being investigated. Now he, Mr. ."Wildish, was being given publicity through the Press because he had done what any other man •might have done. His opponent had followed the reports of his meetings All he had done was to criticise him but he had not put up one proposal to better the position. He had been accused of being led by the Town Clerk, but he asked his audience had he ever been led by anyone. (No! No!) He had been blamed for the 15-ton roller. Two months ago they had had a very tempting offer from Wellington and t pc engineer and Clou noil had turned it down, and the roller was going to stay a few years Conger. A.s to the Press criticism, he would be pleased if the “Times” gave him another leading article regarding bis attitude in regard to obtaining a hydro-electric supply from Wnikaremoana, because he knew that, if the editor did right, he would support him. There were Jive prominent men in this town who had always worked against him and continued to “put the boot in.” Asked' whether lie approved of bitumen roads. Air. AYildish answered in the affirmative.

Questioned regarding the position in regard to the Football Association and the Council, Mr. AYildish stated that certain fees were agreed or; by the Council and the Association, hut a new committee had been elected by' the Association. Thev had asked for certain concessions. The finances of tlie Association, according to their letter, had been strained and the Council in their wisdom had granted a reduction to £l2 10s. Another elector continued to ask questions, but was ruled out of order by the chairman, Air. AA r . S. Black. A hearty vote of thanks and confidence in lus administration. proposed b v Mr. F- Cass in and seconded by Air Green, was carried unanimously. THE MAYORAL ELECTION (TO THE EDITOR.' Sir, —Regarding the coining Mayoral election, what T want to know is: Does the present Mayor want to make a permanent job of it? Goodness knows he has had six years in the position and at least he ought to thank the ratepayers for conferring that honor on him and graciously allow some other citizen to have a turn. At previous elections, the present Mayor has always desired another term to complete some particular work he has had in hand. On this occasion, ho wishes, to see the loan proposals through to a final issue. It is safe to state that there will always be something still to be completed no matter what happens, so that should not Tie sufficient excuse for his anxiety to continue m office ad infinitum. The office should certainly lie a rolling one. Surely Mr AYi!dish is selfish in attempting to hold on to the office indefinitely, even if he were giving every satisfaction — which unfortunately lie is not. A change is badly needed and the ratepayers will onlv have themselves to blame if they don’t demand it at the poll.—l am, Yours etc.. AN OBSERVER. CTO THE EDITOR.! Sir.— I have read the letters appearing in your correspondence columns in support of Air Ball’s candidature. but the only reasons put forward on his (Air Bali's) benalf is that lie is (a) young ; (b) a clever accountant, (c) successful business man and Cc!) that the success of the Competitions Society is due to Air Ball. Now, Sir. for the benefit of your readers I will analyse the merits of the two candidates.

(a) Age—Air Ball is certainly younger than Air AA Relish, but what weight does this carry ? Chignon and Nincompoop are younger than Gloaming. but are not as good. _ (b) A clever accountant. —Nobody will deny that Air Ball is an accountant of some standing, hut this is no reason wliv he is more fitted for too position of Alayor than Air AA’ildish. who was a tradesman and a good one.

( o') A successful business man.--Again it cannot he denied that Air Pall seems a successful business man. Air AYildish has proved himself a successful business man who retired after a successful business career. . (d) Success of Competitions Society Mr Ball certainly played a large part in the Competitions Society, the success of which is due to the energies of the committee, of which Air Ball was secretary.

Air AA’ildish cannot take any credit for the Competitions Society, but lie has done good work in other societies and bodies, viz.. AA’aikanac P.each Improvement Society, Gisborne Eire Brigade. chairman Gisbmnie School committee. etc ; Air AA ildisli also did good work relieving the unemployed and those in need during the slump.—l. am, - Yours etc.. DISINTERESTED CITIZEN.