BOROUGH RETRENCHMENT WITH A VENGEANCE.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume X, Issue 1956, 15 June 1888, Page 2

BOROUGH RETRENCHMENT WITH A VENGEANCE.

To the Editor of the Star.

Sir,— The Borough Council, through the motion of Councillor Grant, agreed to combine the duties of Inspector of Nuisances, lamp-hghter, and office-cleaner at a salary of per annum. Applications were called for Wednesday the 6th inst., when eleven applications were received, the majority of whom were men with large families and ratepayers in the borough, but the council in their wisdom chose a single man who has freehold property and money in the bank in preference to one of the unfortunate men with large iamilies, who has rent and rates to pay, and is out of employment. Moreover, it has been the talk of the whole town that the billet was cut and dried for Adams, and that id was no use any one applying. Another strange thing in connection with it is that none of the applicants (I mean the defeated ones) saw the specifications ; they could not be found when they called at the borough office. It is also a fact that Adams got six votes out of seven members present, , which goes to prove that the whole affair was pre-arranged. There is another matter that requires immediate attention, and that is why the council pay a man 7s a day lor breaking a yard of stone when they can get it broken for 3s a yard ; und also pay 7s a clay for screening gravel, which amounts to 6d a yard, when they can get it done for 3d a yard. When Mr. McLean was chairman of the works committee, all these things were done by contract, which gave a fair chance to everyone. Why not do so now ? When there is any extra labor required, independent of th 9 permanent surface man, why not give the working men of the borough out of employment month about, instead of the chairman of the works committee giving his friend the whole monopoly ? Does he think we can't see it ? — I am, &c, I Ratepayer.