GORE BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Mataura Ensign, Issue 1032, 13 May 1902, Page 2

GORE BOROUGH COUNCIL.

NORTH WARD NOMINATIONS. Nomination of candidates to fill the North Ward vacanoy in the Gore Borough Council caused by the election of Councillor D. McFarlane as Mayor closed at noon yesterday, the following being proposed Mr J. Ballintine (nominated by Messrs Andrew Martin and Jas. Holland); Mr E. B. Bowier (nominated by Messrs E. Wallis and A. Hartley). Addressing some twenty ratepayers presents Mr Ballintine said it was no new thing fgr him to seek municipal honors. He had grown with Gore, and with slight intervals had been a Councillor ever since Gore was a borough. He bad done all he could to advance the town. He was no retrograde. He had Assisted to bring Gore to its present advanced state on a Is rate. He added : "Itis me and others who deserve the credit." He had asked his present opponei t (Mr Bowler) as a personal friend what motive he bad for coming forward. Mr Bowler said because he lived on the other side of the ditch.—(Mr Bowler : Oh, Oh!) The North Ward people expected some other motive from him than living on the other side of the ditch. Mr Bowler was a good and feeling man and never withheld his hand, but if he was going to stand for North Ward for love and pure affection he was too good to live.—(Laughter.) No man on earth would do it. It was floating in the air that there was some other motive for his candidature. Regarding the bridge, the speaker said it was a well-known fact that at the end of bis term as Mayor he was in communication with the Government in reference to the matter, and bad received favorable replies. If be had been in office three months longer he would have got the Government to repair the bridge without any cost to the Borough or County Councils. He had objected to buying the electric light works four years ago when Mr Mac Gibbon advocated it. Instead of paying dividends at that time the concern was paying nothing. He hoped tho electors would not forget what he had done in regard to the Ardwick street ditch in front of the school. For years ho had tried to get that portion Hilled in, but without success. But at last be bad got it done, and took the whole credit for it. When he went out of office there was a debt of £6OO owing. He pleaded guilty to that. But when his friend Mr Hart on the day of the Mayoral election had said publicly in the face of a large crowd that he left nothing but debt, he felt it was time to make a stand. He would be accused of putting the money in his pocket next. He had spent £240 on the present Council Chambers, which had saved a lot of money, and had saved the Council putting up a £SOOO hall. On the East Gore culvert, near Flanagan's he had spent £35 ; £2OO on the East Gore drains, and £f>2 on river protection. As against all these items the present Mayor had only spent £4 10s on permanent improvements. On work* generally he had spent £672 as against £4OO by Mr Mac Gibbon. He had gravelled tbc cemetery hill (which was a disgrace at the time) and made it such a good road tbat anyone could roll on it. On the four first items of town improvements, £404 10s had been spent in Mr Mac Gibbon's term, and £1209 in his (the speaker's), leaving a balance of £BO4 10s in his favor. And not a single man in Gore knew more about those transactions than his friend Mr Hart. Mr Hart in his statement was telling a deliberate and malicious , he would leave them to fill in the blank.— (Laughter). He (Mr Hart) had Fat with the speaker in the Council when be had refused to take motions for expenditure because no money was available, and be bad been almost pulled out of the cbair. And Mr Bowler's object in standing was because he lived over the ditcb. He (the speaker) had his savings sunk in North Ward. His family and he lived there, and his neighbors would vote for him. That was the place to get a man's character. In East and North Wards tlii'y would not forget they had been robbed of their post office. The people who held sections in North Ward had bought the post office, as it was shown on the map when they purchased their sections. He said they had been robbed of the post office, and he defied contradiction.

Mr Bowler said his reason for eeeking their sulTrnges was because he had been asked by il large number to come forward. Ho bad a stake in the town, and he felt it his duty to take more interest in public affairs than he had previously done. It might be urged against his candidature that he was not a resident of North Ward. His interests were directly connected with North Ward, and ho thought that if elected he would be able to do his duty as well as if he livid in the Ward. It might also be urged that he had had no experience in municipal matters, whereas Mr liallintine had done yeoman service. Although that was so, he thought il not altogether wiee that they should continue to keep the same men in otlice. The Council would get groovy and the town would get groovy. Owing to the growing needs of the town the Council should not pursue any policy of retrogression or standing still. The Council must advance with the town. That was the reason why he was standing and why he wished to be elected. The electors confirmed that at the poll on the loan proposals. He did not say he was in favor of all the proposals. Each should be carefully considered by the Council before plunging the town into any expenditure. The town was in need of a fair amount of expenditure, however, and a good sum should be laid out, instead of frittering away small sums in making more than one bite at the cherry. If elected to represent North Ward he would do what be considered best for the borough as a whole.