LOCAL GOSSIP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15906, 1 May 1915, Page 1 (Supplement)

LOCAL GOSSIP.

f.; ' -~, ,!..,"Br 'MERcrrno.''-.=-},;■'.:;.v ■. I"; Ihe men in possession evidently had a , strong i hold on the electors on Wednesday }. last. The Grey Lynn members, who recently took seats at the City Council, had } thus an exceptional ■ opportunity, of secur- •} ing wide support; and most of thorn, were returned. In fact, the recently 1 incorporated parts of the city are strongly represented in the new council. Grey} Lynn, in addition to'a number of sitting members, has a new representative in Mr. Holdsworth, an ex-Mayor of Grey Lynn, while Messrs. Dempsey, 0. W. Murray, and Moore-Jones will be able to look after ".lie interests .of Remuera. ; ,• ■■

Many people were doubtful about the soundness of the advice given to electors in this column last week, viz., to vote only for candidates whom they were satisfied would make good councillors. . It waa contended that unless citizens stood together and voted a lull "ticket," small cliques might secure representation out of proportion to their strength. This fear proved groundless. It is evident from the figures that a great many electors' did not exercise the full 21 votes, and tho effect of this was to give weight to tba suburban vote, and bring the suburban men into prominence. By this. means, Remuera and Grey Lvnn secured several ■scats, and it is well that they should. . •;

In the interests of go. J citizenship and apart altogether from the results of Wednesday's polling, the " ticket" habit should be condemned. It leads to unthinking and unreasoning voting— doing as you are told. From voting somebody elso's ticket it is, only a.step to tho American system of accepting the ".ticket",prepared in the form of a ballot paper and dropping it into a ballot box. We are a. long. way. ahead of this in New Zealand,/ and \we should be careful to keep ahead.". That the Auckland electors 'did not take ." tickets" very seriously may be seen from the fate of the two generally circulated. The ma-, jority of the old councillors" would have succeeded without- organisation; -. ; their "ticket" did not save one of their number from » very, low. place ip the list of the unsuccessful.;. The i other'"- ticket" contained six names. '. The--electors selected three lor seats on the Council, -and left the .otter? three out. The most popular candidates on ;;this "ticket" polled bftoa votes; the least popular of the six had only: 3506. j It is evident that the sgreat majority of the electors of ; Auckland :: prefer to.-: exercise their ".own * judgment. ■■'^

In his address on : the announcement of the result of the Mayoral contest on Wed* nesday evening Mr. Tudehope stated an objection : to", the New Zealand \ method 'of. electing Mayors, by popular vote. It i* true that New Zealand ,is singular this respect: The generally;followed British method is ■*■ for;, the ; council ;: to I elect the 31?yor;pThere are'.advantages^and disadvantages both ways",' and possibly most Weonls, will incline to the belief that New Zealand has improved 4''opV ; ' the >' English v method. Mr. TudehopeY objection to our . system ■is that it ■■ opens ;the Mayoralty to in outsider. This is not really a fault* for, ; other things: being equal, electors ; : will always I incline to an 1 experienced member of the council as against an: outside candidate. A glance at the list of Auckland Mayors will ; show' that ■ the? few/who went direct |to ihe Mayoral chair were exceptional : men, with > rare experience of public life. Moreover, ; the method advocated by r Mr. Tudehope has V this drawback, that the Mayoral' contest is : , commonly fought through the: councillors, '~ the council elecf> • tion is dwarfed,, and the council itself- K. split inW|»rties. Under such a >• .' wc; would have had on Weduesdav ■v; beach of council, candidates; as- " "■ supporters of Mr. Tudehope and another bunch rapporting Mi:. Gunson, To get ' ." ' Mr. Gahaon elected Major we would have ■' .'■'..;.. had Lto send, & majority of his. supporters " iff the council.' As ! a matter of fact the j citizen,"; got they wanted is a more j '': .; dared, way, 1, and they got ii, without split-1 tiaglths council down the middle oil party I lines. :- " :■-'* .|

: ',:'' "English Woman" writes for'informafy-- tion regarding? a statement made 'by* Dr. Florence Keile? s that || In ;Ne*§ Zealand/ h- •women are not cognised as having any Kationality/|On tftis question • a woman is ;', , what t her husband'cho&estojniako-her.''. The form in which Dr. Keller "stated) her I" :- grievance Isaa heedlessly, alarmed "English Woman.".^Theilaw % to which Dr. Keller" ' ; referred, is'not specifically a New Zealand 'v'., ' lew; it is BHtuh lew.- New Zealand s-',.! *' "I' women, married j or; single J are recognised f • as- having nationality, but the lavr seems ; to consider it advisable that husband arid iw wife should be of the same nationaliw, §->.'.' : 'and to secure : this it'is provided that the wife should follow the husband's nationI'a v alitv. This faes not affect any, New Zealano' woman, unless she happens to marry i 7 '■ ■' •- - H1 1 ■'-■ .1. -■ •■«•'., ■ "i ■■-;-*':: *i ~' ... » 'foreigner. ._, < ..-; i v. A >-j ( . , -J^Uv4^

... • : i The cost olliving,has been, a 1 much-difi-i ;.' • cussed' question "since the 'commencement si V i; : The cost of living has been a much-dis-cussed 'question since the commencement of the war,-and, in Auckland, the recent advance in the price of butter has caused k ; the 'j; harassed ' ■ housewife- some janxiety. ; Those, purses were not equal to'the I 1 (train decided, probably for the first time P : in. their lives, to dispense with butter to a ;.:> certain extent, and a demand set in for yj- ■:,' the homely but wholesome beef dripping. i": In England margarine; is a popularsubst)-' ■ 1 •*■. tute - for tie dearer : article, and I- by a >■■;■■< ■'' grange coincidence -: its manufacture was *y:> directly • attributable to war. ' "Napoleon f.-Zi :.. 111.,' realising the position /his numer%.%}'"'ous poorer subjects, and the fact, that they t-' X could not "afford to purchase i butter,"con-. J £■■■ eluded • that.it would be better for them | k& '•■ to consume a wholesome and nutritious t : ■■■:•■■' substitute, in preference to a dangerous and |v. adulterated article. The outcome.of. this ?:••:-;; was the concentration of efforts , upon WV solution of the problem, which culminated £.' ; v-M: the perfection of a* process for the •>.. -T" manufacture .of * margarine from animal If Vri fats. ' ■'•In' New. Zealand the margarinef; ;k making industry was once. attempted, but & ■<.'- the project .failed : owing ( to. lack-of; deIthe project -inch owing to lack of demand. Had such a factory been in existV ence to-day it would probably have reaped \> ' y:.i.- a, rich harvest. % *'.' t. ■'. ' My- ■'-' '

The recent fire at Craig's- stables, has been a much-discussed topic. It seems almost incredible that out of some two hundred <M horses only two could be saved and that a building.supposed to be as proof* against fire" as possible should ■' hare burnt as fiercely as so much Under. Bat, apart from the fire.itself, the disposal of- the carcases of the animals caught in ■ . the deati-trap has been the cause 1 of ift numerous complaints. Several have been ;'■' washed ashore on various beaches, and r •• have thus undoubtedly become a menace to public health. It has. been said that the weather experienced immediately after they were consigned to the /water off Tin was unfavourable, "and"could[-; not be anticipated. '. But those who remember the stranding. of the Kaipara and the fact that carcases of sheep taken from the < cargo to lighten the vessel, and disposed of in a similar manner, were subsequently *Lr> found bv picnic parties at Waiheke, W Brown's 'Bay, and other'pleasure' resorts, M will have cause to doubt the efficacy of the &R-) excuse put forward in the case of the |f| recent fire. ' .. ' r .'■

(& "In the conv of the Heeald containing wt ttie results of the last. City Council elecigj lion, held two years ago, there is an inIP teresting cablegram from Berlin. It pif|j porte ft debate in the Reicktag on the ||f increase in the. German Araiy.. In the W coarse of the debate Herr von- Jagow, said i« Belgian neutrality was guaranteed by pp international agreements • to,' which Ger?T many was "resolved to adhere. - This is r '-;•' the saipe von JagoV who, on August 4, to d :-"• Sir Ed-ward Gcscheir that Germany could '; • not agree to refrain from violating Bel- :'■ gian neutrality, and who .*justified in- :.-''•-. violation on the ground that the German A: Army could riot ; get to France by any ptherroute., without enooontering.'-fornuo-. oßotfta eoiaaiAj great kM «ta»