OFF TO CONFERENCE

Manawatu Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 2298, 17 November 1925, Page 7

OFF TO CONFERENCE

BOROUGH EMPLOYEES MUST PAY OWN WAY.

At its last meeting, the Palmerston North Borough Council gave P s^, 3 ' eion that either the chapman of the library committee or the iloran should attend a conference cf the Libraries’ Association to be hold - Dunedin during the time the Exhibition is open. The Mayor and town clerk are already booked for the muni, cipal conference. Since then, similar applications have been received from the Borough Engineer, gas manager and electrical engineer to attend con forences which likewise, are to he held at Dunedin during the Exhibition. On the recommendation of th© works committee, these latter decisions were approved, provided these heads of departments took their annual holidays at the same tim e and paid their own travelling texpenses. Cr. Eliott sought last evening to reverse the decision the Council had come to with regard to tjie Libraries Association conference. In speaking on the matter, h e questioned the bene, fit that the Borough would receive from allowing Its employees td attend and considered their exptenses would result in more benefit to the ratepayers if spent in other directions. It was a remarkable thing that all the conferences were synchronising with the Exhibition. Cr. Fitzherbert supported th|9 motion. Cr. Oram (chairman of the Library Committee) explained that in any case he had no intention of going down to the conference, but ho thought the librarian should go. There were many matters of importance to bo discussed, among which was that of Government subsdies for libraries, and that of the purchasing of books. In addition, the Dunedin library was one of the best equipped In the Dominion and a visit there would be well repaid. Cr. Hodgens agreed with the prln. ciplo of sending employees to confer, ences, pointing out that an engineer, to take an example, was more or less isolated in his own town. It was only by visiting and learning what other people were'doing, that improvements could be effected and the ratepayers would ultimately reap the benefit. The motion to rescind the previous decision with reference to the librarian was lost.