CORRESPONDENCE.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXVII, Issue LXXVII, 21 May 1919, Page 7

CORRESPONDENCE.

BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING

(To the Editor.)

Sir,—Many thanks for your prompt attempt to answer my note in your issue last evening, but I regret to have to say that your-answer i&. just as evasive as your original report. It must surely occur to you that a man of Cr Morrissey's standing in municipal matters' would not adopt the attitude he did unless there were very strong grounds for doing so. I still maintain that your report of the Council proceedings bearing on what is apparently a very important matter was incomplete, inasmuch as you did not publish the amendment proposed by Cr Morrissey, and the answer to my request would have been to have published this amendment, so that the public, who can only f or,m their opinions on your published -reports, could form a correct opinion as to whether Cr Morrissey's attitude was a right one to adopt. I ask you to publish this amendment.—l am, etc., L. O. HOOKER. Hawera, May 21, 1919. If Mr Hooker had asked for the ( amendment last night or in any way indicated that he wished to know the text of it he would have had it. The amendment was as follows: [• "That before moneys are spent the contributors be asked if they are agreeable to surplus moneys being spent on penny-in-the-slot meter." The wording-jof the above"letter compels us to republish the material parts of the original report. The Mayor . . . moved that thecommittee be empowered to instal this convenience. Cr Gormley seconded. Cr Osborne said that, seeing there was a surplus available from the money contributed, the contributors should have been asked whether they were agreeable to the balance being spent as suggested. „ An amendment was proposed by Cr Cumming, seconded by Cr Reid, that the. matter be referred to the Reserves Committee to .report upon. This was lost, and a further amendment was moved by Cr Morrissey in the direction suggested by Cr Osborae. The Mayor said he could not accept the amendment . Cr Morrissey made some remark which was not audible to the press, and left the meeting. It will be seen that the report was neither incomplete nor evasive. A correspondent writes making reference to the details of the arrangej merits for getting seats for the parks', under which, Mr Dixon and Mr Hayton secured not only the seats but a surplus of £20. He puts matters in such a ,way that we cannot publish his letter, but we are endeavoring to get more information. There is no reason for supposing that anything but the public interest was sought by the collectors, though there may have been an error . of judgment in nob consulting the doi nors as to whether the surplus over the j cost of the seats should be returned to them or used for the public benefit; but while on the subject we may be permitted also to express the opinion that the Mayor ruled wrongly in refusing to accept for discussion Cr. Morrissey's amendment, which clearly was . not out of order.—Ed.