CITY’S JUBILEE

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 58, 5 February 1938, Page 13

CITY’S JUBILEE

LOSS OF £675 DISCLOSED. FINAL MEETING OF COMMITTEE. A loss of £672 11s lid, which is to bo met by the ratepayers of Palmerston North, was disclosed at the final meeting, last night, of the Diamond Jubilee Committee. Criticism was voiced of the manner in which the expenditure had mounted in connection with the Maori section of the programme and the meeting elose'd with | a motion to present the statement of accounts to the City Council. Speaking of the Maori section of the celebrations, the Mayor (Mr A. E. Mansford), who presided, said that the committee had been assured the cavalcade would not exceed £9O in cost, whereas an account had been run up to £373 11s 4d, of which amount £9O was for transport, benzine, and taxi hire. At one country store, goods, which included sardines, pickles, tobacco, etc., to the extent of £6O 15s had been bought. The speaker did llot know that the committee should ac-cept-liability. It was “over the odds” altogether. The stores had not asked if the Maoris were entitled to this credit.

Mr J. A. Nash asked if any orders had been issued for benzine.

Mr Mansford: Benzine costing £29 12s 2d was bought at Rangiotu. The organiser (Mr H. E. Bennett) said no orders were issued for anything. The Mayor: It seems there was a weakness in our organisation which has brought this about. It is very disappointing that we have to face this loss of £673.

Mr C. N. Rabone said one car could have travelled 6000 miles on the benzine bought. The Mayor: It was bought to go to places like . Kakariki and Wanganui, and includes waiting time. Mr G. Tremaine: Taxis? The Mayor: Yes.

The organiser said ho had tried to have one of the Maori officials attend the meeting and explain the various items of expenditure, but the gentleman would not.

The Mayor: It was he who gave the committee an undertaking the function would not exceed £9O.

Mr Nash said some allowance had to be made for the extra night the Maoris were held in Palmerston North owing to the wet weather. If that were put down at £SO the committee would be very liberal, said the Mayor. He added that nobody knew-the goods had been bought until weeks afterwards. If the stores had telephoned inquiries a check could have been put on the expenditure. Instead they quietly went on supplying -the goods and the committee received the accounts for them.

Mr Rabone: The whole of the Maori portion was to have been under the strict supervision of a sub-committec. The Mayor: And none was exercised. Mr Nash: How could the sub-com-mittee supervise what they knew nothing about? Mr Mansford said most of the other jubilee events were very successful. It was the Maori cavalcade and general preparations in connection with the decoration of the streets which had run away with the money. In reply to a question by Mr Nash, the Mayor said the City Council would be taking over the flags and other material, which was worth about £l5O. That was all the ratepayers would get for the £673. The fact that no orders had been issued left the whole question open to abuse and it was abused. Mr Tremaine remarked that business people had dealt with the Maoris entirely in good faith, though they had been wrong in not getting , m touch with the committee. However, it Would cast a reflection on the whole of the celebrations if the committeee refused to pay some of the accounts. The best thing would be to pay thern.Mr J. Batchelar: The Maoris must have had a fairly decent tangi. Mr Nash did not think there was much to complain about when the Maori-portion of the programme was not considered. Seeing that it was the diamond jubilee of tho city, the expenditure had not been very great and he did not think the ratepayers would complain. Had there been a meeting of citizens prior to the celebrations he believed they would have authorised £IOOO. Mr Nash spoke of the great deal of time put in by the Mayor and town clerk as well as others. The celebrations would always be looked back upon with a great deal of pride. Mr Mansford agreed that the celebrations had been a success, but he was inclined to think something would be said about the deficit. Mr Mansford expressed appreciation to members of the committee for their co-operation throughout the jubilee. Mr Hardie had been a most efficient secretary, and always' willing to attend to any detail whether large or small. The committee had been fortunate in having such an officer. The Mayor also spoke of the work of the organiser (Mr H. E. Bennett) who had had a hard job and had been left on his own many times to carry the burden. The meeting closed with a motion to present the statement of accounts to the City Council.