CITY COUNCIL.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVIII, Issue 18584, 10 December 1920, Page 7

CITY COUNCIL.

EEPRESENTATION OF SPOUTS' BODIES. That sports bodies should bo able to elect one or two members to the City Council under the proportional system next April was ihe view expressed by members of the Athletic and Cycling Union on Wednesday night, and it was decided to convene a oonierence of delegates of sports bodies for the first Tuesday in February to nominate candidates for the council. The chairman, Mr W. J. Walter, B aid that it was time sportsmen woke up to their own interests. With two or three members on the City Council much might be done for sport in Christchurch, in the way of seeing, that the various grounds were property set out, and in the way of helping sport generally. Grounds like St Albans, Linwood .and Sydenham parks might easily be made first-class grounds for all kinds of sports. Under the proportional representation system sports bodies would easily succeed m electing one or two members of the council Sport had been dragging, behind for Borne time, because it was not properly organised. The idea was to elect men who would look after the sporting, health, and civio sides of the tommunity at once, and men who would not represent merely one body of sport, but who would work in the interests or Bport generally. Mr B. S. M'Kenna said that a sportsman took a broad outlook on life in general. How sport in Christchurch bad been neglected, and how the sympathies of llio public in regard to sport generally had waned, had been proved Hast year when Lancaster Park was declared open, as a lasting memorial for Canterbury sportsmen, who had gone to thewar. On the occasion of ttic opening, instead of an attendance of 20,000, there had been a paltry 4000 It was time that the community woke up and elected to the council men who would take an interest in the health, as well as the civic aspect of the city. It was decided that the North Canterbury Centre of the New Zealand Athletic and Cycling Union should convene a conference of two delegates from each sports body in Christchurch, including cricket, football, hockey, tennis, croquet, bowling and every other branch of sport, to meet on the first Tuesday in February to discuss the mattcrj and to nominate as many candidates as vras thought fit for the next City Council election.

MOTOR UNION'S VIEWS. Proposals that sportß bodies should be directly represented on municipal and country councils were endorsed at last evening's meeting of the executive committee of the South Island iMotor Union. The chairman (Mr J. S. Hawkes) said "1 see that proposals have been made to elect sportsmen to the City Council. I think it quite time that motorists generally looked after themselves at the various county council elections, because, if we can get good men on to the councils, wo will be sure of getting more satisfactory' work. We have found that out already. Any council having _ a majority of motorists is quite different to deal with. You can cet speed limits on a more reasonable basis. We should pay more attention to this matter." Another member of the council said manv bv-kw committees should he altered. Some of > them knew nothing about road conditions. , Mr ITawkes: And the councillors that know nothing will not be guided by those that do.