CORPORATION BUNGLING

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4315, 26 March 1901, Page 4

CORPORATION BUNGLING

i E vdryone.'is familiar witfi tlje'saying that i Corpofations-have no bodies ftp. bo kicked I und’}ib)'kouk to he condemned to.perditiimVs bui ; this truism ' does riot' imply that''gross incompetence ’ and neglect on the .part of Peroration.officials should, go unpunished. An attempt—and in the j very -worst-.tastd, since it emanates from • a; rival;claimant to municipal honours—has been made to'fasten upon the Mayor I of- Wellington tbdresponsibility foV a ! iecent'sin, otomissior^ : c'n/tjhe r parb of a : City Council ■employee. Therd is, of .course, a, sense in . which ;Mr Aitken, as ! the civic head,"may be justly hold! answerable- for ' all the evil, done, as he would expect, to, he’ accented credit for all tlio J good, achieved, under his regime. ;It cannot, .however, be contended in fairness that ho should be blamed for, say, the carelessness’ bf a scavenger, the ' defalcation'of a cleric,' or any other individual dpreliction of duly by a subordinate official; It is therefore very doubti.ful tactics, even from (an electioneering ( point of; view/ to -soek to discredit Mr J'Aitken’s unsolfish r: labours iti the public ? interest, because “someone has blundered even, though ’ that blunder should involve the city in . considerable

monetary loss. 'Ae tna same time, it is imperative that the bungle should be. put right, and that the person responsible for it should be- sharply dealt .with. The chairman, : of a.-beard of. directors—and the position bears a close analogy to that of-the Mayor of a city—Cannot personally supervise! every act of every employee under his.control; . but he is responsible to the extent that he is expected to keep them up to the mark of efficiency-arid to promptly got rid of the careless and incompetent. The time to find-fault with the Mayor of Wellington will have* arrived* when it, ahnwii 'that

ho has not taken propqr steps to keep the Corporation officials efficient, or when he fails to'ideal, with,proved incapacity according, to its deserts- For the deplorable bungling now disclosed in tho' city’s alfairs some individual must be rssponaiicT it 7 is l tho-bbunden duty of the Mayor and • Councillors to, adopt- such measures as."will;piake a recurrence impossible.- - •• -:rr ' ' ; The-'apathy : 'so : far displayed, iu. regard to .this serious lapse ..is not creditable, to- tho peojjle’s-. oivio representatives’. f There ■ ought, ere now,, to have been a,, searching inquiry into the mat. tor, followed by drastic action. ..If this! action-is not. taken, by. the Council at its forthcoming meeting, we foresee a sterm : of indignation that will sweep away : every Councillor place ,in .power an entirely new set of men, more keenly alive to their duties and responsibilities as trustees for the people. We have no desire that the -Mayoral and municipal contests now pending should turn upon a scandalous lapse from duty.

and we, therefore, tnst that the Council will awake end purge itself of all appearance of blame in. this matter. It is desirable that our civic rulers should be chosen because of their own merits, and not because;. of the dements of their predecessors in office. Another matter that calk for prompt action by the City Council is the appointment of an efficient person, to take charge of tho Corporation business during the contemplated long absence of tbc Town Clerk. If there is disorganisation and inefficiency under a gentleman with tho long experience and repute of Mr Pago, •it is not pleasant to consider what may happen in the absence of a head of any kind. If the Mayor and Council do not at once display a- desire - 'to set their house in order, wo shall expect to see an indignation meeting of citizens called to compel them either to do their duty or resign the charge entrusted to them. The Ratepayers’ Association has dono its part by calling pointed atton. tion to the need for reform. If tho new Municipal Association is not a more electioneering machine, it also will do something in'the same direction, and assist in compelling immediate action on tho part of the Mayor and Councillors. The interests' of this important and rapidly-growing city are too vital to be left in thq hands of those who are proved to bo incompetent; and wo trust further scandal will bo averted by tho Council instituting a thorough inquiry, and following it up by drastic reform and reorganisation in tho Town Clerk’s department.