THE DEADLOCK IN THE NEWMARKET COUNCIL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7722, 21 August 1886, Page 6

THE DEADLOCK IN THE NEWMARKET COUNCIL.

The Counoil, whieh bad adjourned on the previous , evening without transacting any business, in consequence of » number of members leaving the room, and leaving no quorum present, again assembled last night. There were present: Mr W. J. Suiter (Mayor of Newmarket), Councillors Kent, Morgan, Edgerly, Bishop, Clayton, and Whisker. There were also present a number of ratepayers and Mr. Why man, with regard to the placing of whose name oh the. roll the embroglio ensued. We also noticed the burly form of Sergeant Gamble in plain olothea, and Mr. La Koche, one of the Auckland councillors who was perhaps in attendance to observe the mode of conducting municipal matters in suburban boroughs. The Mayor, in opening the proceedings, said that as councillors were aware that this was an adjourned meeting, and it was their duty to start where they had left off, and he therefore moved that they should start with the next business the reading of the letters. . Mr. Bishop claimed that the business on hand should be disposed of first, , ' , The Mayor said the business on band had been disposed of last night. ' ~ Mr. Clayton asked the Mayor whether he had the burgess roll? The roll was handed to Mr. Clayton, who said that lie saw that the name of Walter Weston Why man had not been initialled. He drew the Mayor's attention to olause 73 of the Municipal Corporations Aot, which provided that every question shall be decided by open voting, and decided by the majority present. He considered it was the Mayor a duty to put the motion to 'the meeting, ana Mr. Bishop had olaimed the right that it should be put. ' The Mayor : What motion is that ? Mr. Clayton. : Mr. Bishop is here, and can speak for himself. . Mr. Bishop said so far as he could recollect it was that the rate roll should be produced, and , Mr. Whyman's name initialled. ~ . The Mayor: There was no motion in writing. , ... ». Mr. Whisker : You did not rule that before, but you ruled that Mr. Whyman was diiqualified, and not eligible to be an elector. The Mayor : No ; what I ruled was that he was not a ratepayer, and not entitled to be on the roll. Mr. Whisker : la it too late now to have the name changed. ' . The Mayor : No, if he has purchased the property. ' , . Mr. Whisker: I contcnd that question does not arise, and that even a weekly tenant, if the owner of the property conseated, had a right to be on the roll. - Mr. Bishop then wrote out his resolution, and it was handed to the Mayor, but not read. He suggested that it might simplify matters if they heard Mr. Whyman, who was present. »' '' V s • . The Mayor said that Mr. Whyman had already been heard on this subject, and they oould not hear him again. At the last meeting of the Council he was heard, and his contention was that he had always paid the rates and that his name had been struck off the roll. His name.had never been on the roll. Mr. Clayton : It was on the roll last year, and for years previously, ' i The Mayor : It was not. Mr. Clayton asked to have the burgess rolls for the last few years produced.'. While the Town Clerk was away in search of the records the Mayor said that Mrs. Whytnam's name had appeared for one property and Mrs. Edgerley's for another at the back of it, but Mrs, Edgerley sold to Mrs. Whyman, and her name was put on. • The valuer appointed by the Council found the property was Mrs. Whyman's, and there was no appeal from her, even up to the present, to have ber name taken off the roll and that of Mr. Whyman substituted. How would any of them like to have their wives apply to have their husbands' names struck off the roll and their own substituted? Mr. Clayton had told them that he was a sort of walking lawyer. -• ■ ■ i Mr. Clayton said he objected to personal language being used. Mr. Whisker said he also objected, as the Mayor's remarks would lead the public to believe that there was something between Mr. Whyman and his wife, and that he was trying to force himself on the roll. The Mayor mid that Mr. Whisker Was out of order, but Mr. Clayton insisted that be was not. Here the rolls were proddoed. It was found thai Mr. Whyman was on the roll for the year ending 3lßt March, 1885, and also for that ending 31st March, 185$. In 1883 Mrs, Whyman's name was on the roll.

The Mayor said it was not a question of whether Mr. Whyman's name was on the roll for 1884, 1885, or 1886. They had appointed Mr. Randerson valuer. Mr. Clayton : That is'going outside the question. The Mayor asked Mr. Clayton to ait down as he was addressing the Council. . He had told them that the roll had been compiled by an independent gentleman, the time allotted for objections had been fixed, and no objec> tion had been made, and now, when an election was pending, it was discovered, either „by accident or design, that this name was not on the roll. They had an exhibition last night of five members leaving the Council. He did not think that either they or he were sent here by the ratepayers for that but to do their duty and abide by the law an far as possible. Some few of the Councillors seemed to be looking for some loophole to upset what he and those who supported him did. Mr. Bishop : I rise to a point of order. His Worship, over-ruling the objection, proceeded to say that they were now trying to get him to do an illegal aot so that they might pounce upon him but if the Council adopted an illegal resolution he should exercise his executive powers, and in this case he had taken solicitor's opinion, and it supported his action. Mr. Clayton : I contend it was not an illegal act. I wish the Mayor to use polite language. The Mayor said that if Mr. Whyman's name was placed on the roll,' and he was elected to the Council, steps would be taken to oust him, and the borough would be put to the expense of a fresh election, and his object was to prevent this. He would read to them the written opinion of counsel. Just then Messrs. Whisker, Clayton, Kent, and Bishop left the chamber, leaving only the Mayor and Meisrs. Morgan and Edgerley. They, however, remained in the anteroom for some time, and the Mayor proceeded to read the document, whioh is as follows :— ' ■

Auckland, August 16,1886. To th« Clerk Newmarket Borough Council. Dear Sir,—Re Burgess Roll, in reply to your letter of 13th instant, we hardly think you have given us sufficient information upon which to give an opinion. It is quite clear that by section 2 of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1876, Amendment Act, 1884, you luive the power to amend the burgess list at any time in the manner prescribed by section 46 of the Municipal Corporations Act. 1876, and assuming the case of a person whose wife is owner of the property, and it it! entered in her name in the valuation roll we do not think tho husband entitled to have his name entered as occupier Instead of the wife, unless the wife has parted with the qualification she had when her name was entered on the valuation roll. Section 41 of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1876, provides for the Town i.'lerk making out " a list to be called a burgess list containing the names of all persons . . . whose names appear upon the valuation roll as occupiers of the several tenements therein mentioned." and from that we judge that the fact of a parson's name appearing as occupier entitles him and not the owner to vote. if the husband and wife both occupy the tenement and the husband is owner, we think he would bo entitled to be entered as occupier.— Ac., Hisketu and .Richmond. His Worship proceeded to say that in this instance Mr Whyman was not the owner. If he became so, no one would be more glad than he would be to have him on the roll, and it gave him all the more satisfaction in the action he had taken on' this account- It was a waste of time to carry on in this childish manner. If he (the Mayor) was acting wrong the law could be appealed to, and ha could be set right, but if he did what he was asked to do he would be doing wrong, and would open the door to abuses, as it had previously when Mr. Clayton got the names of his carters on the roll, in order that he might be elected at the head of the poll, and then refused to pay their rates. Mr. Whisker and the others outside might as well be inside, as they were still in the Council Chamber. The members outside then made a hurried departure, Mr. Clayton returning for his hat and umbrella. Mr. Edgeblet said he was sorry they had retired to-night. Once was sufficient, and lie would like to see the business go on. Mr. Morgan coincided in this view. The Mayor said that all he could now do j was to adjourn the meeting until Monday I night at half-past seven o'clock. If Mr,

Whyman desired to get his name on the roll there was nothing easier than for him to get a lease from his wife, and give proof of it, and then there oould be no objection < The meeting was ' then adjourned imtll Monday night. " „ .