ELECTION OF MAYORS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 2330, 11 June 1868, Page 2

ELECTION OF MAYORS.

CHRISTCHURCH. Wednesday, June 10.

In pursuance of the provisions of the Act, the members of the City Council met at ten o'clock this morning, for the purpose of bringing themselves under the operation of the Municipal Corporations Act. There were present Messrs W. Wilson, Jameson, Tombs, Ruddenklau, Thomson, Sheppard, Anderson, and Calvert. There were only two ratepayers present. Mr An lerson was moved to the chair. The declaration having been made by members, in accordance with the Act, the election of Mayor was next proceeded with. Mr Gordon read the proclamation by his Excellency the Governor, published in the General Government Gazette.

Mr Anderson—lt now devolves upon us to exercise our privilege in choosing one from our own number, or one outside of our own

number, as the case may be, to fill the office of Mayor of the borough. It is unnecessary that I should say anything on the subject, further than to ask one of you to nomiuate a gentleman to fill that important office. Mr Thomson—Mr Chairman aud Gentlemen, I rise with very great pleasure to propose to you a gentleman well qualified to occupy the important and honourable position of Mayor for the borough of Christchurch; and in doing so, I may be allowed briefly to advert to the circumstances under which we have met this morning. You are all aware that on a certain petition, signed by a large number of the citizens of Christchurch, the town has been proclaimed a borough under the Act passed in the last session of the General Assembly, and this proclamation has appeared in the Gazette which I now have before me, dated the 2nd June, where it is stated that the Council, as it originally existed, is to come under the operation of the new Act from the date of the proclama-

tion; and the Act which we are now called upon to put in force distinctly stipulates that we should meet this morning, for the purpose of electing a Mayor. That is our first duty. This election is not to be considered as an ordinary one: As year succeeds year, the Council will be called upon to elect a gentleman to fill that very important position, and, of course, the first may always be considered as having had the greatest honour done him. The gentleman upon whom our choice will fall this day will have the additional honour and privilege of knowing that, in being elected as Mayor of Christchurch, he is elected as Mayor of the principal borough in Canterbury. I think it is a position of which every burgess might well be proud. I can well imagine that the gentleman whom we elect to-day, when in after years he retires from public business, and surrounded by a family, some of whom may be on the point of commencing in the world, would consider, with very great pride and satisfaction, the privilege of telling them that he had been elected first Mayor of the borough of Christchurch ; and I am sure that nothing could be a greater incentive to those about to shift for themselves and commence in the world than to see, by their father's example, that with industry and perseverance, they might in all probability raise themselves to a similar position of honour in the world. It is necessary that we should make a good selection ; and although the Act enables ua to go outside, I think that on this occasion it is quite unnecessary to do bo. There are several requisites that any gentleman aspiring to this office should possess. I think he should be active and energetic ; that he should be possessed of good, sound common sense; that he should have a good social position in the borough, and tlmt he should be easy and comfortable in circumstances, and able to devote a considerable portion of his time to the interests and welfareof the burgesses. (Cheers.) I may say, gentlemen, that tho gentleman whom I have the honour of proposing is Mr. William Wilson, late chairman of our late Municipal Council. I may safely affirm that thero arc few in Christchurch who arc better and more widely known than that gentleman, lie has represented the citizens in a former Council with satisfaction, 1 think, to himsell, and benefit to the city generally. (Hear, hear.) And I may also affirm that that gentleman possesses all tho qualifications I have enumerated to a very great extent. I think it will be borne out that he is very active; that he is engaged in a very largo and prosperous business in town; that he is possessed of a great amount of common sense, and that he is remarkably easy in his circumstances, which is a very necessary thing indeed. You , are aware that as (hairman of tho City i Council he has devoted a very considerable . portion of his time to the welfare of the city; and I think that if we elect him to tho still

more honourable position of Mayor, we may | expect even more from him in the interests and welfare of the borough. I think—in fact Iliad almost siiid—that Mr Wilson has a prior claim; I will suy that at least he has a fair claim to the position, from the fact that, in January lust, the Council did him the honour of electing him as their Chairman for twelve months, and had not the Municipal Corporations Act come into operation, he would have been our Chairman still. That ground constitutes a very fair claim. There is another thing which goes in his favour. Wo are not all gifted with eloquence; but we all know that on occasions when the interests

of the city were at stake—when, for example, we had hiß Kxccllcncy the Governor down here—Mr Wilson acquitted himself with satisfaction to this Council, anil the citizens generally, I consider that next to being Mayor, 1 take great honour in being permitted to propose that gentleman, and I trust the honour we are now about to do him will be upon it unanimous vote. I am one of those who will retire in September next, and will not probably present myself for re-election, as I inuy possibly n ot bo in Christchurch. But wherever I may be, I shall have the pleasure of knowing that I was instrumental in proposing a gentleman as Mayor, whom I am sure in that capacity will acquit himself in a very satisfactory manner. In conclusion, I have very great pleasure in proposing Mr William Wilson as Mayor of the Borough of Christchurch,

Mr Tombs: I have great pleasure in Rewinding the nomination of Mr William Wilson as Mnyur of the borough of Christchurch, I can fully endorse all that Mr Thomson has said in proposing Mr Wilson, having known him as long almost as any person in Christchurch. Therefore I need not say anything more than Mr Thomson has Bait], Mr Wilson's merits are well known, and he is well known to ourselves. I have very great pleasure in seconding his nomination. ,

Mr Anderson : Has any other member ol this Council any other gentleman to propose!

Mr Jameson : I think it is v/ell tlmt on an occasion of this kind we should endeavour to be as unanimous as possible in any step we are to take. (Hear, hear.) In last January, when Mr Wilson was elected chairman, I stated my views tlmt when a vacancy occurred at the end of the term, it should be filled up by new blood, and I hope that such will be the case in respect to the Mayoralty, as it would not be fair that any one gentleman should fill the office for any term of years. (Hear, hear.) Mr Anderson: As no member has any candidate to propose, I will put the resolution as follows:—" That Mr William Wilson he elected Mayor for the borough of Christchurch, proposed by Mr Councillor Thomson, and seconded by Mr Councillor Tombs." Is it your pleasure, gentlemen, that this resolution be passed V (.Aye.) I have very great pleasure in announcing to you, Mr Mayor, that you have been elected to that distinguished office by the unanimous vote of this Council; a position which been referred to by your proposer anu seconder as one which any burgess might well be proud of, and which, no doubt, you yourself appreciate. I can only say that I very heartily concur in your election to this distinguished office, and trust that you will be spared with health to do your duties as energetically as you have discharged them on former occasions, I have very great pleasure in vacating the chair to you. The Mayor was loudly applauded on taking the chair. On two previous occasions, the Council had done him the honour of electing him chairman, an office which he felt proud to occupy, but tlmt feeling of pride and gratitude was greatly enhanced by their electing him first Mayor of the city of Christchurch, a position which he was more than proud to hold. He fully concurred in the remarks made by his proposer and seconder as to the honour of the position, He could assure them that the same diligence and energy which he had hitherto displayed, according to his proposer and Seconder, would be brought to bear in discharging the duties that would devolve upon him in this new and important position. (Applause). He had had the gratification of being surrounded by a very excellent, intelligent, hard-working, and industrious Council, and he had never failed, when occasion presented itself, to express this opinion of the gentlemen by whom he was surrounded, that he should have been unable to effect much good if he had not liad their counsel and assistance. It was a very satisfactory thing to know that never had a meeting lapsed through the want of a quorum, and that there were very few occasions on which all members were not present. (Hear, hear), On occasions like this, it often happened that a person could not express all he desired, and lie hoped they would forgive him if he did not say all which the occasion justified. He could merely say that he was very proud of being elected to the position of Mayor, after a residence of seventeen years in Ohristchurch. He might say, before sitting down, that he entirely concurred in the remarks made by Mr Jameson. He never solicited the position of chairman of the City Council, nor that higher one of Mayor. He thought members well knew that he had not solicited a single vote from any of them. He thought he ought to intimate that he entirely con--1 curred in the remark that it would be unfair ! and unjust to other members of Council if i one person were to continue to monopolise i the position of Mayor for a number of years i Perhaps it would be his duty, when his term ' of office expired in December, to afford j another gentleman the privilege of being his • successor. He did not know that he had now anything more to do than to reiteratehis thanks, and to tell them how grateful he was for the honour they had done him. It would be his constant desire to maintain the same feeling of unanimity and of respect for each other that had hitherto been the characteristic of the Council. They hud worked together with the greatest unanimity for the puldic good, and everyone of them entertained feelings of respect for each other, which he hoped would be maintained in the future. (Applause.)

BOROUGH COUNCIL. The first meeting of the Ohristchurch Borough Council was held immediately after the constitution of that body, this forenoon. The Mayor presided ; and the others present were Councillors Thomson, Jameson, Kuddenklau, Tombs, Sheppard, and Anderson. The minutes of the previous meeting of the City Council were read and confirmed. The Borough Clerk reported that the balance at the Bank was £2ll 9s sd. The receipts during the week were as follows City rates, 1867, £6l 7s j from the Inspector of Nuisances, £5 Os 6d; rent of weigh-bridge, £8 ss; rents Market-place, £4 3s; total, £76 15s 6d, swelling the credit at the b&uk to £2BB 4s Ud, Mr Taii'p tender for the ornamental work of the lump to be erected in front of Cobb and Co.'s otHce, was accepted at £43. A letter was read from Mr E. Jackraan, stating that he had made a mistake in his tender for the formation of Town belt east, and offering to do the work for £9 0.

Councillor Calvert said the Council ought to reject the offer, for if they accepted it, they would lie opening the door to a very bud system, indeed. If the Council agreed to recognise Mr Jackman's offer, it would lead to other parties sending in low tenders, and then, after learning what the others were, coming to the Council and saying they luid made this and that mistake, and they would do the work for so much more. Councillor Sheppard urged the rejection of Mr Jaokman's offer.

After ionic discussion, it was moved by Councillor Jameson, and seconded by Councillor Tombs—" That other tenders be invited for the work." The motion was carried. A letter was read from Mr Cumberworth, master of the Durham street Wesley an school, asking if the Council would afford any protection for the use of the ground, if the School Committed levelled a portion of Cranmer Square for the use of the scholars for crieket purposes, The matter was deferred until next Monday, in order that it might be ascertained what protection was really wanted. The pay-sheet and accounts were passed, and the Council adjourned until Monday evening next.

LYTTELTON. A meeting of the members of the Municipal Council was held this morning, to elect a Mayor for the borough. I lie declaration, according to clause 38, was signed by nil the members—Messrs T. Merson, J. Willow, H, Allwrigbt, T. Mutton, J. Ward, K. England, j, L, Baleatiee. and A. Chalmers.

t. 'I? ll'f Mr I'alestiee, seconded by Mr Ward, Mr T. Merson took the chair. Ibe Chairman reminded the members present that, according t 0 the Act it wag thejr duty to elect a Mayor f.,r the borough The Clerk having read the action'of the Ad, and also as to how the voting was to be taken,

Mr Ward rose, and said they had met that day to perform a duty which they i W(I not been called upon to <!» k-fore ; dut could not be over-rated. For his own part when be saw per.-ons among their own body fit to take micli a high position, he <Ij«l not see why they should go ou'sidc. Their present chairman had given them every sati-faction and he took upon himself, without consulting any one, to propose that Mr '1 homas Merson lie Mayor of this borough. Mr J. L. Balestiee had great pleasure in seconding the nomination. Mr Ward said it was a moßt important post to be the Mayor of the borou«h. He would have to be the chief magistrate, and could take bis seat on the bench and take precedence of the Resident Magistrate. Mr Willcox said they ought to he unanimous in their election. Another gentleman's name had been mentioned, but those who

were in his favour were in the minority, and they considered it far better not to bring his name forward. 'I lie motion was put and carried unanimously.

Mr Mer.-on, in returning thanks for the

election, said : I: assuming the new office he felt proud of the high honour they bad done him in placing him in the high position they had. If he had gone through the work last year with credit, it was entirely owing to the kind support he had received from them all. He had always received the most gentleminlike conduct at their hands, and there had been a unanimity in all they bad done. His experience of road boards in England, of which he had been a member, led him the more to make thest remarks, if they continued to act in concert, as they had hitherto done, they would not only win each others' esteem, but secure the goodwill of the town at large. The minutes of the former meeting were read and confirmed. At the request of Mr Ward, the consideration of Mr Chalmers' Fire Pretention Bill, was postponed until Thursday evening, the 18th instant. On the motion of Mr Ward, seconded by Mr Allwright, it was resolved that the usual time of meeting and the hour be the same as heretofore. A discussion ensued respecting regulations and by-lawß. Mr Balestiee moved, and Mr Allwright seconded, that Mr D'Oyly's opinion and ruling be taken. On the motion of Mr England, seconded by Mr Ward. It was resolved that the regulations and by-laws be read seriatim, and adopted or rejected by the meeting. The clauses were read and passed, and the Council adjourned until Monday next, at 6 p.m. KAIAFOI, The Council met this morning, at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs Hall (chairman), Kerr, Woodford, Hebden, and Oram. The Chairman read the telegram received from the Government, informing them that the proclamation had been signed by the Governor.

The members severally made their declarations in the form prescribed by the Act. Mr Woodford objected to Air Hebden on the ground that his name was not on the assessment list. Mr Kerr drew attention to a clause in the Act by whichit is provided that if Mr Hebden's name was on the rate roll on 20th June last, or if his name was on the electoral roll he was qualified. Mr Hebden possessed both these qualifications. Mr Hall observed that if Mr Hebden gave his vote, the Act would be binding on the Council, but that if he was not qualified, he would lay himself open to a penalty of £SO. Mr Hebden was quite aware of that, and willing to take the responsibility. The Chairman declared the " Municipal Act, 1867," in force in the town of Kaiapoi. He informed the Council that their next business was to proceed to tlieelection of Mayor. He read the clauses of the Act, bearing upon that subject. The Gazette was produced, and the chairman read the proclamation respecting the incorporation of the town under the Municipal Act, 1867. The formal business of declaration by Councillors was then repeated, and the Act declared to be in force.

The chairman then requested the Council to proceed to the election of a Mayor to hold office till the third Wednesday in December. Mr Kerr said as no one attempted to rise, he had great pleasure in proposing a gentleman who had for three years been a member of that Council, and had given in that capacity very great satisfaction. He had at the last election received the largest number of votes of any of the candidates, and hebelieved they would meet the wishes of the majority of the ratepayers by electing him. J'here was a clause in the Act, which allowed them to elect an outsider to the office j if they did this, it would imply that they had not a competent man among themselves, which was not the case ; he had great pleasure in proposing Mr Matthew Hall tor the office of Mayor. Mr Hebdeu had great pleasure in seconding the nomination of Air liall; he was gratified that his last act during his tenure of office should be that of doing his share towards putting such a good man into the office. Great stress had been laid, by some persons in the town, respecting social position andmonied qualification, which, no doubt, were very important, but a qualification of greater importance than either was that of giving an an impartial decision »n matters that come to the castiug vote. This quality, he believed, Mr Hall possessed in a very high degree. He did not agree with Mr Kerr in the idea that it would be derogatory to themselves to elect a gentleman out of the Council. . . Mr Woodford would take upon himself the honour of proposing a gentleman of old standing in the town, and one who took always a lively interest in its welfare, he alluded to Mr C, Dudley. Mr Oram had great diffidence in opposing the election of Mr llall, nevertheless be should support Dr. Dudley, who had been a member of the Road Board, and chairman and member of the late Council, both of which offices lie had honourably filled. It was the wish of Mr Woodford, himself, and a Urge and influential body of the ratepayers, that he should be elected to the higher honour of Mayor. He had great pleasure in seconding the nomination.

Mr Hall hoped tint lie would be allowed, although chairman, to make a few remarks respecting the gentleman opposed to him. He had a few years since proposed Mr l'orter in tho room of l)r Dudley as chairman of the Council. HehadalwaystestifiedtoDr Dudley's energy as a memlerof the Council. Although he differed with him on many points, he thought it the duty of everj man to act upon his own opinion. He would now state the reasons why lie intended to vote in his own favour 011 this occasion, lie had done everything in his power short of a direct ufnsal to induce his proposer and seconder to propose some one else. One very good reason why he should vote agiiinst Dr Dudley was, that a short time since, when Mr PorhT resigned the chair of the Council, lie had requested Dr Dudley to take the chair, and he luid distinctly refused, lie believed with the idea of putting them into a fix, and he believed he had also left the Council with that intention. Under these circumstances he was disposed to give his original vote in his own favour. They would shortly fill up the vacancies in the Council, and if he found the new Council adverse to him, lie would resign and let them elect another in his place. Mr C. E, Dudley with the permission of

the Council, bogged to stato that his father had no intention of standing for the office, R nil would not accept it. jlr Kerr considered it wag very bad taste for members to propose any gentleman without first obtaining his consent. jlr tlrani had only the previous evening been M to understand by l)r Dudley that lie «ould stand, and declined to withdraw his nominee. The Chairman put the names of himself and l)r lhulloy to the Council, when Mr Hall was elected by 3 to 2.

Mr 1 Miileu resigned his seat in the Council. It was resolved that the sum of £BO due to Mr liowinaker, be procured from the Bank of New Zealand, the clerk giving his personal guarantee for the amount. The Mayor announced that he intended to issue the no'ice required by the Act respecting tilling the vacancies in the Council.