TO-DAY’S ELECTION.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CIX, Issue 13113, 29 April 1903, Page 6

TO-DAY’S ELECTION.

Thebe is no timo now for regrets or repinings in connection ■with the,local elections. To-day is polling tiny, and what l energies the. citizens have thou Id be devoted solely to the work of securing the return) of their favoured candidates. Tho still-* hesitating elector may perhaps find in the further batch of “ views and opinions ” wo publish this morning an aid to selection. There* is still a disposition to protest against bodies like tho Trades and Labour Council catechising candidates for various offices, but the Council’s right is simply beyond dispute. It represents a great constituency of its own. It acts on behalf of the Unionists of the district, and if candidates will not take the platform of their own motion they must surely expect to have their opinions drawn from theral by other means. It says a great deal for tho life and energy of the Council that itl does watch its constituents' interests closely at election times, and the public generally owe it a debt of some magnitude for its services. It has raised, too, some questions outside the general issue of the election. Its primary object, no doubt, was to discover what candidates were sound on issues directly.and q>ecial!y affecting the workers, but the result has been to collect a very useful guide in brief to the municipal political tendencies of the candidates. There is just a disposition on the part of the average aspirant for municipal honours 'to agree with every proposition put forward, but wc are not going to' spoil tho harmony of a particularly subdued election by doubting the sincerity of any candidate. If raising personal issues were tho only means of inducing enthusiasm among the electors, we should prefer apathy. On this occasion we have no choice ; personal issue or no personal issue, there is no enthusiasm. The public do nob seem to realise that the candidates elected will control tho whole machinery of Greater Christchurch' for the next two years. It is true that .tin Mr.,H. IW .Wigtam we shall have a cour-: ageous,' energetic, enthusiastic and thoroughly capable Mayor. But the Mayor is but the chairman .of tho Council, and, in any case, Mr Wigram has quite justifiably asked to he relieved of some of the duties that have hitherto been demanded of the chief magistrate. For some-months tlie attention of tho new Council will be absorbed by tho work, perhaps intricate and difficult, of adjusting the. finances, staffs and general administration of the city, and tho councillors will need to be men capable of close application, quick appreciation of difficulties and business methods.. Early in its career, also, it will be called upon to discuss the water-supply problem and to. frame proposals to be submitted to the ratepayers. Oh the issue of that question will depend the arrangements for fire prevention. And even whijp these que-stions are being considered the Council will have to be preparing its plans for action regarding lighting and drainage. The municipal abattoirs have not been, very prominently before the public of late, but hero again the Council will have a difficult problem to solve, for the abattoirs cannot ‘be expected to succeed unless they are intelligently managed and supported. These are all matters that the electors should bear in mind when they are selecting candidates to-day. Their choice is not, as we have said before, quite all that we could have wished, but they will find oh their ballot-papers the names of gentlemen who would at least serve them with earnestness and fidelity. Among the candidates for the Central Ward, Mr Gray, Mr Loughnan and Mr Sorensen stand out as gentlemen who have done excellent work for, a number of years jon the City Council, and Mr Bcswick and Mr Cooper, particularly the former gentleman, as successful occupants of the Mayoral chair. The report of an interview with Mr Beswick,, which w© publish this morning, shows that his recent absence from municipal politics has lessened neither his sympathy with popular movements nor bis acquaintance with the needs of the city. Mr Collins has a. special claim upon the electors, in his years of service to them in another sphere, and we have no doubt that, apart from this, they will be glad to secure such a capable representative. The Sydenham electors have to choose four representatives, and, despite the other demands upon his time, will probably place Mr Ell nt_ the bead of the poll. Mr Ell, as one of our correspondents reminds, us this morning, was largely instrumental in bringing about the amalgamation of the boroughs, and if he is associated with gentlemen like Mr Hadfield, Mr Jacques and Mr Manhire, the interests of his constituents will not be neglected during bis absence* in Wellington. St Albans, with two representatives, has a rather wider choice than the other wards but the electors will,' wo should tiiiqk, hardly hesitate in selecting Mr Carey and* Mr Neat© as tho best qualified of the eight candidates who are seeking their suffrage. Tho task before the Linwood electors is even more simple. Mr Horsley and Mr Pearce are experienced business men, with a good knowledge of local government, and their return would certainly be acceptable to the majority of the- community. Tho gentlemen we have named would constitute a fairly strong

Council; the strongest, we think, that eouldl be obtained from the material now available, and they might safely, be trusted to| do their utmost to justify the experiment! of Greater Christchurch, .