ENTERTANING ROYALTY

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4309, 19 March 1901, Page 3

ENTERTANING ROYALTY

THE FINANCIAL PROBLEM. COLONIAL TREASURER v. CITY COUNCIL. CREEK MEETS CREEK. WELLINGTON AGAIN SCARIFIED. ITS GENEROSITY IMPUGNED. THE MAYOR IN DEFENCE. A dopiili.l.iiui, conri-,1 iny of t liM.ivor of Wellington (Mr.l. G. W. Aitkon) and (’'.'unciUm - ;- Anderson, J. IN Luke and W. A. Hv.'ds, and Uie Town Clerk, wa.it-<-il upon the Cabinet yesterday mornin''.

Tlic Mayor said (hat at a meeting of fily Councillor:-! and citizens on the previous Thursday the question of finance in connection with the impending visit of the Duke andDuchf ss of Cornwall had been gone into, and a careful computation slowed that .something like £4OOO would ho required to make anything like a proper display. Tho quc-Hon of wayand means had at onee, to he faced, and lie had been asked, as Mayor, to mention it to tho City Council. Ho had done so, and there, was a clear indication given (ha!. Hie Council itself was not prepared to face (he liability. Councillors did not Hunk it. was right or just or proper ; (hat the ratepayers cf Wellington should I." called upon to contribute such a largo rum as that. Mo thought the Council would not object to spending £2OOO, but I ho question arose nis to how that amount con hi bo obtained. Of course, it could I’ ■ provided out of rates, but tho Municipal. Corporations Act forbade tho cs-

!'f'ii(iitur ! of more than £2oo in one ve.-ir for purposes outside the ordinary functions of municipalities. As a matter of foot, part of that allowance for this veer had already been spent, and, fnrI her sums would bo required for purposes quite outside the reception of the Duke and Duchess. It might bo thought by some that the situation presented '.-cry lit tle difficulty, but if tile Government Auditor came along and found that the municipality bad exceeded its statu. t'T.v limit there would be trouble, and i. was quite' within (be rights of any ratepayer to take' action against the Council, either collectively or individually, to force them to refund the aumimts illegally spent. There was a strong feeling that the Government ■should not ask the Council or any other local body to accept such a responsibility. Another pojnt of view was that the term of the present Council expired on the 24th April. Supposing an entirely new Council were elected, and a new Mayor; and .supposing the new Council and May,or repudiated the action of their predecessors in .spending so large an amount of the .'ratepayers’ money, would not the members of the old Council, who had rendered themselves personally liable, bo rather in a I’m? The Council as a whole was strongly of opinion that if the Council provided £2OOO, the Government ought to contribute- the remainder on a £1 for £1 basis, and also give to the Council some sort of an. indemnity in regard to their expenditure over and above £2bo. Councillor Izard had suggested that the 'Government might advance the necessary amount in the meantime, and afterwards introduce an indemnifying Bill, which would enable the Council to, pay the Government back. Councillor Luke said the Council was bound 1 to do something of a decent character for the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, but under the Act their bands were tied, anil bo thought the Mayor's proposal a fair way out of the difficulty.

Tho Mayor pointed out that in; tho face of an emergency like this tho Council was in tho same position as tho .smallest borough in tho country, in regard to its expenditure. He pointed out that that was an. anomalous state of tilings. Councillor Anderson said the sum i f money required “would he ai mere bagatelle for the Government to fork out.” In a rich country like this tliey ought not to make a song about spending a few pounds on receiving royalty. Nothing should ho allowed to occur to mar the reception to their lloyal Highnesses. Tho Premier, in reply, said tho matter had received every consideration at the hands of the Government, which had come to a fixed determination, as indicated a few days ago. Tho Government did not see that tho circumstances had altered, or that an insuperable difficulty had arisen to lead tho Government to come to a conclusion that it would subsidise the local bodies. It ciimo as a surprise to Ministers that tho wealthiest borough in the colony—‘'the Thnpiro City, which you all claim it to he”—was in this respect different to the other largo centres of the colony. He did not say it in any way disrespectfully to Wellington. Ho did not say that Wellington was treated differently from other places, except that it got more done for it than any other place in tho colony. There was more public money spent in Wellington than anywhere else. Thousands and thousands of pounds hod come ho Wellington in connection with the various contingents which had be.cn despatched from here for months past, and the Government got the best thanks for it. Ho might as well speak plainly. Yet. when tho Indian troops came here the Government had actually to pay for the horses they node on. Wellington was tho only place in the colony whore the Government had to provide horses for these troops.

The Mayor, (interrupting, said the City oF 'Wellington had never been asked to provide horses until within twontyFeur hours of the arrival of the troops. When he (.Mr AitkciQ got a telegram from Colonel Ponton asking him to find bom's, ho immediately rang up the Defence Department, which replied in response to his inquiries ns to the number required, that the furnishing of horses was in the hands of tho Agricultural Department. Tho Premier said he was not alluding to tho Wcllinetoni Council, .but to the people of Wellington. Tu other places those people who had riding horses sent them. .'dong. Ho only alluded to the general spirit, and he said, again, as he haul repeated time after time, so far ua. (In' miblic spirit of the wealthy men of Wellington was‘ concerned “it was wanting.” There were men in this- city who could have provided £4OOO, and got the Council out of its quandary, and would never have missed it. Wellington was in such a position geographically that everything centred here. Mow. that was what lie could not understand. With tho advent of their Royal Highnesses, thousands and thousands of pounds would be made in this city. Well, if they wore going to have thousands of pounds made, surely those who wore going to make it would not object—not because they were going to make money, but because they were going to bo honoured with a visit, from our future King, and Queen —to spending some of it in connection with tho reception. That was the way

it should bo looked at. Ho undertook to say that if tho candidates a; the forthcoming borough elections were asked ; “Are y.ou prepared to support the action of your predecessors?” the one that would say he would repudiate their actions would never he returned. It wodfd ho an everlasting shame and disgrace, and ho (the. Premier) did no" believo that any candidate would take such a. step in respect, to men who had shown their patriotism by taking the risk. However, it was rather far-fetch-ed to imagine such a contingency possible. though, after the debate wnieb had taken place at the Council tab!a :e----i.ently, he could understand the ch nutation feeling a little nervous a- to i what might transpire.' It was steed, so he read in the papers, “That tho Premier had invited their Royal Highnesses hero, and it was the duty of the Pro- | inier to make provision for their re -option.” Well, the Premier and the C;.v-B-nini’iit very cheerfully accepted tho responsibility. Tho matter had been submitted to Parliament three years ago. and tho represontati ves of tho people bad decided to issue - an invitation to the Duke am! Duchess to visit us. It was now the duty' of tho colony, as it was tho duty of tho various places which they visited, to see that the reception was one that would do as credit. Ho iegret,ted that the time the Duke and Duchess were boro would not permit of j them vi.-iting the smaller boroughs, such as Timaru, Oarnaru and Palmers on

North. There would he no deputation from those places asjting tho Government to entertain them! Now, the nest thing was: Would the Government advance tho money? If tho Government had a small expenditure such as iho boroughs were called upon to hear, it would not, matter. But Parliament had voted only -£6OOO. That was not going very far. If £4OOO was required fur Wellington, they could imagine what ,'t would cost tho Government throughout the colony. Flo said there must be rv> parsimony-, and no extravagance. Ho was not going to criticise tho statement that it was going to cost £-1000 in Wellington. He had his own opinion, tut where they had local bodies spending G/Jcomment moneys there were idwry . plenty of people well able to spend ;i, and everything possibly chargeable v»< charged. Auothoi 1 .speaker at' the Council meeting had said that ha would Lks to have the Premier’s promise of an indemnity in writing—■ \ The Mayor; Ho was only rounding if a sentence. Tho Premier said at all events it h :.l got into tho -public prints. If tho account of-that meeting cf the City Council reached the hands of their .Royal Highness os, they would naturally k the question: “Is it safe to go therein it safe for us to visit such a place; 1 " Anyone reading the report would .say: “Is tliis the sort of people they have hi New Zealand?” The sentiments expre • cd at that meeting reflected the opinions of very few people in this colony. Me hoped, himself, that such “socialistic opinions” would never gain ground rn tins country under tho British flag. Underlying sentiments of the kind expressed at that meeting was a spirit which he- was very sorry to see. As in I tho indemnity question, tho local bodies here wore in practically tho same po-i-

tion as the Corporations in Sydney and Melbourne, which, were working mid w similar Acts. And yet those Corporations had no hesitation in spending very large sums on such occasions as the Commonwealth celebrations. The Mayor; The Government does j! ; I ho Government does everything in Sydney. The Premier said his Worship was very much mistaken. Besides’, what was done by the private citizens of Sydney the Municipal Corporation spent in ivlative proportion £lO to every £1 they proposed spending here. In his (tk i Premier’s) opinion, if they spent £2oi-l in Wellington it would make a very good show, indeed. Tho Mayor could not agree with the Premier. The Premier : I say so ; and I say s o advisedly. Councillor Luke: I hope you won’t forget the children. Provision has to bo made for them! The Premier: A little medal will le given to every child in tho colony, whether they are present at the reception or not. Dunedin, and that is the first oitoil! this colony there is no doubt about that, although— The Mayor (laughingly): They are a bad lot. They come from tho wrong country. The Premier said they were “canny” and very careful, and alt that, but with it was patriotism, and with that came the doing of justice to Dunedin, to the colony, and to Otago. They had not hesitated to - prove that in respect to the contingents and the Indian troops. It was being arranged at Dunedin that all the children possible were to be brought in, and the Government offer to give them a medal would be accepted too.. Tho Government knew that these medals would bo expensive!. They had already secured peace medals for distribution, and they had cost a lot of money, but tho children would treasure them until they became grey-headed sinners like himself and other members of the deputation. The Mayor : The Mayor, for instant:' . The Premier went "on to say that the Government could not-give a grant lo one place and refuse it to another. Tho Mayor : I don’t think you should ! The Premier said no other place had asked for it, and l ho didn’t think thrv would. The people! of Dunedin would think it derogatory to them if there was any suggestion of the sort. They woo'd resent it: and properly so. A great portion of the expenditure on an occasion of this kind could not possibly be questioned 1 by any auditor. He did not believe that £ooo would bo required outside tho Municipal Corporations Act. Tho Mayor: But tho Act won’t allow us! The Premier: If you spend money in connection with tho streets you can erect what vou like. The" Mayor: Do you mean to say wo could erect platforms for the children and charge it to street construction? The Premier replied that he did not moan that, but a-grpat deal of the expenditure would be legal under the Municipal Corporations Act, and ho knew ns well ns any man in this colony. Thev wore fearing difficulties which would not eventuate. Thcly were perfectly just - lied, however, in asking the Government to promote a Bill providing the T ' saw indemnity. On an occasion or tkikind Parliament, like the deputation, would rise to the occasion, and there

I would be no question of who would bear the brunt of it. He suggested that places like Napier and Taranaki might ba asked to assist. If these places were called upon to erect arches typical of their districts, there would be more and better arches in AVellington than in any other part of the colony, or even Australia. The Government were with the municipalities in this movement. The Government wanted to help and co-opc-rate in making the reception a success, but they could not subsidise in the mann*r proposed, as they would exceed their Parliamentary authority. Of course he recognised that as a corporation, the deputation had only done its duty in coming here, but the other day statements had been made at tho Council table— The Mayor said tho feeling of the Council was not one of antoganism. The newspapers had no doubt made the most use of certain remarks, but theiy had had no real bearing on the question of tho Royal reception. Councillor Luke said the majority of the Councillors were in. agreement with what the Premier had Just said. The Premier said the remarks made, if printed and commented on in Australia, would prejudice this colony and give strangers a bad opinion of us. What should be aimed at was to keep this colony in the van. He asked why no appeal had been made to local residents, who would make thousands of pounds out of the visit of the Duka and Duchess ? No. Well, why were they there? It was asi a last resource, and not as a pre-

: liminary measure, that the Government ■ should have baen approached. If a thousand pounds could not bo raised here to help the Council, then it must be said that Wellington’s central position was forcing tho place ahead of the people who wore trying to keep it back; and if that were so, it scarcely deserved the name of the “Empire City.* If they had agreed to the subsidy question, they ought to have done it at first. The Mayor : Hear, hear I The Premier: But it is going to cost the country at large a lot of money, and tho country will bear it cheerfully. We are boasting of our prosperity, and yett wo start haggling about a few pounds on an occasion of this kind. Councillor Evans did not think the city of Wellington would bo second, to any in the colony in regard to its expression of loyalty to the Throne. He would bo sorry for a contrary impression to go abroad. The reason for their approach to the Government was to be found in the Municipal Corporations Act. In. order to pub themselves on the safe side, they had made the suggestion that the money might bo advanced by tho Government and repaid by the city. With regard to an appeal to the citizens, a very great many demands had been made upon-them ini tho past in regard to the various contingents, and those who were in tho habit of giving bad been woll-nigh drained. In every oty there were only a certain number prepared to respond to appeals made upon them.Tho Premier: I know that. And those aro not the people who have the most either. Councillor Evans wont on to say that that was Just the reason why tho Mayor had announced that he could not see big way clear to make a further appeal to the citizens. Ho (Mr it vans) had no doubt, however, that if the’ responsibility were thrown, upon the city, the citizens would rise to the occasion and do their duty. Tho Mayor said they had raised all sorts of funds in Wellington during the Inst year. There (had been patriotie funds, more men funds, send-off to- contingents funds, and now the Queen’s Statue Fund.' The people had responded very readily to tho calls made upon them, and he did not think for one moment that there were any of the citizens making more than they were giving. He could l not tell who made the money, but he fancied that most of the people who had subscribed money to the various funds had mad© nothing out of it. Personally, he had not mad® a penny, hut it had! cost him a penny. (Laughter.) He could not allow the statement to pass unchallenged that the icitizens of Wellington had not risen, to tl i© occasion. As a mater of fact, the people had l done remarkably well, considering it was always left t© a few to do it. His interpretation, of the Municipal Corporations Act and that of the Premier did not agree. If the Premier’s contention was right, then the Act was of no us© for the purpose of putting a check on reckless expenditure of any kind.

The Premier replied that he was prepared to prove in connection with the (“quipping and! sending away of contingents that Wellington had £3 for every £1 expended elsewhere, but as to being the best givers to- the funds to send them off that was another thing. As the deputation would remember, Canterbury had practically furnished a contingent, and Otago did the same. Wellington had not done so. The Mayor: In what sense ? Tho Premier: In furnishing everything. I refer to tho Third Contingent. "The Mayor; We did: the same in. Wellington in regard to the Fourth, Mr Premier, excuse me. Tho Premier said he did not see how the Government could have done differ, outly. Wellington was not under a compliment to the Government in the matter. It was through its geographical position that it happened; but there could be no. question Wellington had had the advantages. In tho same way it would have the advantage in regard to the lloyal visit. Visitors would flock here right away down from Gisborne on one side and from New Plymouth on tho other. Tho expenditure of the citizens of Wellington in preparations would not bo 1 per cent, of the receipts. The Mayor: It does not come into the exchequer of the Council. The Premier;- No, but it goes into the pockets of the ratepayers. There would be no difficulty in 'getting the money if the right people were canvassed, but people had got so used to going to the Government for money that it was not to bo wondered at that they had tried to get it from tho Government first. The Mayor said that was not the po : sition. They had l felt, apd ho himself felt so still,'' that the exchequer of the colony 1 ought to have borne a part of the cost, seeing that people from the surrounding country would take part in the reception without having to bear any portion of the expense. The Premier said he liad offered to share the total expense with the local bodies of the colony. The Mayor said he would not have objected to that. The deputation and the Premier at this stage drifted off into an irrelevant argument anent the payabloness of the Wellington trams in connection with the contingents at Newtown Park. Tho deputation eventually thaifked the Premier and his colleagues, and withdrew.