MANAWATU DAILY TIMES FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 1919. MUNICIPAL CONTROL.

Manawatu Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 14189, 25 April 1919, Page 4

MANAWATU DAILY TIMES FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 1919. MUNICIPAL CONTROL.

1 On Wednesday next the Palmerston * borough elections are to be held, and it * is hoped that the voters will take full I advantage of the circumstance and go I to the poll determined to strengthen the j hands of the more competent of the I men who have exhibited their public I spirit by offering their services as citi- ‘ 7.0n. 5. There are difficult days ahead. ’ The municipalities will bo met with, * problems calTing for competency, sourcefulness, and fearlessness. The local council that has just left office 5 has, ou the whole, been lacking in these ; qualities, with the result that the borough lias got on to the wrong side of 1 the°lodger to an extent which is causing some concern. When these representatives took office in 1917 the overdraft i was £5313. In 19.18 it mad mounted to j £9508. It is now £13,518. In addition I to this tho council last year raised { £2IOO out of a special rate of three- * eighths of a penny, and also raised a

special rate of £IIGO to make good its contribution for hospital and charitable aid. If there had been anything exceptional to show for the drop back of £11,725 here disclosed, the position would not have been so bad, but unfortunately this cannot be claimed. The administration has been slack in several respects not only in regard to the finances but in regard to general oversight and control. The Mayor and councillors well know whore the weakness existed, and Councillor Crabb made an attempt to allocate the responsibility, but nothing came of the attempt to reform the system. To redeem the position we must have a stronger council. The effect of this would be to stabilise local control.

Mr Nash, as Mayor, and chairman of the Finance Committee, must take the major share of the blame for the position disclosed because in a council where weak men have predominated numerically, his word has been law and* his method has prevailed. But the electors must take their share of the blame. If they hal been alert to their interests they would have got better representation and more satisfactory results. There is this much to be said in Mr Nash's favour: the war placed an enormous load upon his shoulders and he was naturally not able to exercise the personal control over either the staff or the finances which he must otherwise have done. Ho should have departmentalised the work and shared the applause. Instead of that, he has monopolised the responsibility and the blame. That tho overdraft should have increased was in all the circumstances inevitable, but that it should have reached its present despite increased taxation, and tbo strict limit to taxable resources, is alarming, and makes it imperative that the borough should have a radical change in the management. The fact that the Mayor has added to his responsibilities an important political function, should make the electors more alert to strengthen tho personnel of tho council. Wc should under the circumstances advocate the elimination of Mr Nash from the Mayoralty, if that did not entail the preferment of Mr Thomson. We cannot conscientiously support Mr Thomson’s claims because ho has given no indication of cither stability or executive capacity. To-morrow we shall discuss the merits of the councillor candidates, and indicate to our readers the men to whom wc think they should give their support.