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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 6501, 16 February 1882, Page 2

"A point of some importance is raised by “ Ratepayer” in his letter published in our 'issue of the i4th instant, as Id "whether the City Council acted in accordance with the Municipal Corporations Act, 1876, in granting six l months’ leave of absence to Councillor J. S. M. Thompson. It is not to be supposed that in giving this permission the Council would do anything that did not appear, after due deliberation, to be in harmony with law and consistent with the .interests, of ,the Borough. ■ But to satisfy our correspondent, as well as others who may be interested iii the matter, we shall quote the clause of the Act referred to, on-which the action of the Council was doubtless founded :—“lf a Councillor is absent without the leave of the Council from four, consecutive ordinary meetings! thereof, his office shall become vacant.”! This clearly implies that, while a Councillor might absent himself from three consecutive ordinary ..meetings, he could be absent from four or any greater number of such meetings only by the Council’s leave, and that the' Council ( haa authority either to grant such i leave or to ref use it/: as may ’be deemed expedient. This disposes, of the, question of the legality of ' the Council’s procedure which “Ratepayer ” raises. As; to the expediency of the proceeding, it appears that this was amply justified by the. circumstances of the,case/ In the month of September last,, Mr Thompson re-1 oeived a, requisition, ’ signed, by' a; large; number of the burgesses, to allow himself to be put in nomination for the office of Mayor, and in our issue of the 3rd of that month he:, published a reply'.thereto,' giving as his reasons for declining that he meant to visit the old country early in 'IBB2, and that, if elected, he would be under the necesaity of resigning, the office and putting the citizens to the trouble of electing a successor,- With the knowledge of this.r intention . on, the part of Mr Thompson, the ratepayers of Lambtofi ..Ward nevertheless re-elected him ai their; 'Councillor without opposition. That . would .have been the time- to have urged such objections: as thosoTmentioned by “Ratepayer ”in his letter!; - but/as none were then put forward, both Mr Thompson and the Council were entitled to conclude that the ratepayer®' in Lambtoh Ward were consenting parties to the leave of absence afterwards properly asked and granted. . Consent having in‘ this ,way been previously given/ It became uhnecesjsary for Mr Thompson to call together the ratepayers with'a view to’ obtain their concurrence in ;hiS;;abaence,, This might -have been -.a. very. proper .course:,had Mr ; Thompson’s been -unexpected} but as they elected him with a knowledge of his intention to depart, all ground for" • complaint' "at his not taking that course is completely removed. The circumstances are . very similar ,to those in which the late Ur., Lang, of Sydney, was once returned to theN ewSouth Wales Parliament. / Notwithstanding ap announcement that he was .about, to leave for England and would be absent a'whole session, that gentleipan was/at a , general election, returned at the head of' the poll for one of the city constituencies, and afterwards obtained 'from - Parliament the necessary leave "of absence. .To; haye afterwards brought the voters together: to obtain their consent to hisVgoing ' -to (the Old Country would have been, precisely as it would have keen in Mr Thompson’s case, a reflection on their previous deliberate action., ■ ,1 i , r : 7. ‘ i