HUTT AND PETONE

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 6624, 14 September 1908, Page 9

HUTT AND PETONE

WHAT OP THE GAS ? MAYOR PETERKIN STILL UNCONVINCED. (From Our Resident Reporter.) “Wait till we have our meeting,” said Mr Peterkin, Mayor of Lower Hutt, to the “Times” reporter on Saturday, ‘T'ii show you that they were absolutely wrong in everything they said. Why, it's absurd. There's a little borough of aboiit seven hundred acres, and here are we with nearly, four thousand, and we’ve got to depend on them for crur gas I There's no doubt about it, the time hss come for us to have our own gasworks. Mr Petorkin refuses to look upon Friday night’s meeting os a representative one. “I'm going to call my own meeting this time,” he said, “and I’ll take care it's not packed ‘with people from Petone. X can see what's under all thisThere’s a clique, and they're trying to i run the borough. .Don't you- make any mistake —we’ve got the ratepayers as a body behind us.” Mr Petorkin oould not say upon what night the meeting would be held—probably Friday.

THE RATEPAYERS’ MEETING. The downright determination displayed at Friday night’s meeting must have been as great a surprise to the leaders of the opposition as it was a shock to Councillors. Several of these latter had been deluding themselves with the notion .that the agitation was, at bottom, no more serious than a rebellion on the part of residents in the neighbourhood of the proposed works at the prospect of having the air polluted with the emanations of a gasworks. That a section of the audience, possibly |a (considerable section, had an open mind on the question, and had come to the meeting for enlightenment, hoping to hear the Council's justification for its policy, was apparent from occasional interjootions, but when the resolution was finally put the volume of the answering chorus of ayes was such that at least seventy-five per cent, of those present must have helped to swell it. One tremulous voice piped out a lonely “No,” and tho crowd, which was in humorous mood throughout, ear© for one brief period, laughed. Despite its keenness for humour, the meeting was in no mood for verbosity. “Brevity is the soul of wit” was its motto, and any speaker who essayed to disregard it ; was speedily brought to his bearings. Undoubtedly it was a great blunder on the part of councillors supporting the scheme not to have seized Hie opportunity to put their case for building works. As a tactical move. Councillor Baldwin's course was absolutely foolish. Councillors, both the ''out and outs” and the more circumspect, will have learned wme wholesome lessons from the incident before they aro through with it. In respect of the first-mentioned their views have perhaps been sufficiently emphwised already, but it is only just to point out that the.familiar Scriptural “Rive were wise and five were foolish” division is not wholly applicable here. Councillor Russell appears to have been alone in his opposition to new works when the original offer from Petono of 4a Dd and 4s Gd was being considered. The amended offer brought Councillors Ross and Hughes over to his side. Councillors Ward and Hodgins refused to entertain a seven years' agreement, and favoured building work®, but not till the ratepayrs had given their (sanction. What has been markedly lacking throughout has been a determined stand on the part of any one Councillor against the (proposal. Councillor Ross has shown fight enough since the reduced offer was made, but Councillor Roe® is too uncompromising to successfully lead a party. Had he shown a little tact on Monday night last and supported Councillor Hodgine’fi proposal to ascertain the wishes of the ratepayer® without submitting any. actual loan proposals, the chances are a majority would have agreed to that course, and the Council escaped being placd in the invidious position it now occupies. Councillor Hodgina showed cither a lack of conviction or a lack of attention to business when ho recorded hie vote for Councillor Baldwin’s final motion. If he didn't know the motion had‘not been amended to include a plebiscite of the ratepayers ho should nave.

COUN CIDDOR BAUD WIN'S DISCOMFITURE. "You say, sir," commenced Mr Baldwin,.with a pleased Look "you say, sir, that the £4500 mas. raised to build gasworks ?" "No, I did not say it was raised, replied Mr Bunny. "I hope it was never raised, and never will bo raised." The audience laughed, and Mr Baldwin adjusted his thinking cap. “Wei!, you say that £4500 of the loan was to bo applied to the erection of gasworks?" , "Provided it became necessary to build gasworks,” added the chairman. "I’ll accept the addition of those words," said Mr Baldwin, magnanimously. “Now, sir, there is a document in this room that will prove to you that there mas no mention on the ballot paper .of any Bum being alloted for the erection of gasworks. Mr Purser" (addressing the ‘ Town Clerk, who sat amongst tho audience), "will you road out that ballot paper you have in your pocket?" Mr Purser showed no disposition to obey, and the chairman,' instead., read the resolution carried at the public meeting preceding tho taking of the poll, which set ont, in clear terms, that the sum in question was to be raised and applied only in the event of inability to come to terras with Potono.

It was "only a newspaper report” that Mr Bunny read from, as Councillor Ward pointed out, but tho extract, nevertheless, appeared to carry conviction to tho audience. "Mr Baldwin is surely on bad ground," proceeded the chairman. "Surely it is humbugging tho ratepayers to say that because of a technical omission from a ballot paper their wishes, so expressly stated, are to be deliberately set at naught." (Loud applause.) Mr Baldwin was beginning to lose some of his confidence by thie time. "Tho borough councillors say,” he pursued, returning to his point, "that they have never been bound by any pledge as to the disposal of the A! 11,000 loan, excepting that portion of it which was to bo devoted to buying the reticulation from Petone."

He again, amid come uproar, appealed to the Town Clerk to read the ballot paper, and. that official again demurring, proceeded, amid remonstrances, to address Mr Purser in somewhat peremptory manner. But Mr Purser would neither read nor "come up hear/' as he was invited to do. Then rose the chairman to end the distrubance and administer the nicest coup de grace imaginable. "Let us concede, then, that the ballot paper did not say the .£ISOO was for the erection of gasworks. What does that meanP The Act stipulates that loan moneys must be devoted to the purpose for which they are expressly sanctioned. The Council, therefore, has no authority to devote money from that loan to building a gasworks/' The audience laughed long and loud, and the discomfited councillor was moved to promise, as he retired, that he would call a meeting for the next week and giro them ''the real facts of the case." THE MAYOR ON HIS METTLE. Mr Peterkin's familiar grey belltopper wag seen waving its owner's protests in the rear of the hall very soon after Mr Bunny had commenced

speaking, and. as Butt's wortliy Mayor likes above all things to bo right in tho thick of whatever is going on, it w.is inevitable that ho should presently figure in a front scat. Ills first use ot his improved vantage point was to put in a plea for a better hearing for Councillor Baldwin. When tho latter retired Mr Peterkin mounted the platform. "It's not my to address you on tho g-as question,” he beRi "Well, you ought to,” volunteered one of the audience. "Who's making this speech, you or IF returned the Mayor, "It I'd known some weeks ago that your chairman hero and Contain McDonald brad so much gas in them I'd never have thought of building works hero.” Angry hoots greeted the sallv, so characteristic of Mr Peterkin's mod© of controversy, and really not meant offensively. Those who knew him only laughed, for he can no more restrain such little jokes than, to use his own favourite metaphor, ho could fly. "Ladies and gentlemen,” resumed tho Mayor. (A voice, ironically: "There are no gentlemen here.”) "I'll take the oppoitunitv during next week of placing the wholo matter before you. (Cries of "Resign.”) If I don't knock Mr Bunny and Captain McDonald here into a cocked hat, then I'm a Dutchman!”

Mr Peterkin then proceeded to deal with the relative elzos of the bank overdrafts during: hie and Captain McDonald's occupancy of the Mayoral chair, but was invited by some of tho audience to ©tick to tho gas. and concluded by reiterating hie promise to make mincoment of the opposition. "If I don't refute the whole of their figures and facts, then I'll—I'll—(a voice: “Itoeign." and laughter)—then I'm mad!" and Mr iVterkin stood down. The chairman read a strong protest against the scheme from Dr J. M. Mason, who was absent in Auckland. Dr Mason emphasised tho moral obligation upon the Council to respect tho covenant embodied in the resolution (of which h© was tho mover and Mr Peterkin tho seconder) passed at the meeting of ratepayers stipulating that tho £4500 for building works was only to be used as a last resort.

Acceptance of Petono’s offer, said Mr Bunny, would moan that they would be able to reduce tho price to consumers to 6s Od immediately and to 6s fid at tho end of three years. Councillor Ward was careful to remind Mr Bunny that "immediately" meant August Ist. 1909 —the date of the expiry of tho present agreement. HCTT BOROTKxH FINANCE. SOME COMPARISONS. "This is not the time for experimontincr; this is tho time for going slow." Mr Bunny had used tho same warning words a month previously when addressing tho Council in support of the objections to its policy, but apparently without effect, Mr I/undon, in endorsing the chairman's ’attitude on Friday night, took an extremely pessimistic view of tho position. "I am sorry to say," he commenced "that Mr Bunny'e warning has come too late. Tho borough is in the unenviable position of being th© most highly rated per head of tho population in tho Dominion, and that without our having many of th© common utilities that many much more lightlyrated communities enjoy." Tho annual rate per capita for Lower Hutfc. he proceeded, was X2 4s, whilst for Petono it waa onlv £l. The gross expenditure for Lower HuH for last year vras approximately £33.000; of which salaries absorbed over 6 per cent., for Petono the expenditure was £20.000, salaries absorbing a little over 4 per cent. Mr Bunny pointed' out that In the past seven years the population of the borough had nearly doubled, while tho broongh had b*com* immensely wealthy, "One would have thought," he continued, "their burden of taxation would have grown lighter. You have all had your rat© notices. (Laughter.) I know mine gave me a shock." The Council's revenue had increased nearly tenfold, yet rntefl mounted no. Ther» must be an end to this. The Council must devote itself to seeing if it could not do ’ something to cut down expenditure and get fho rate® down to a reasonable amount. Banding gas works was not th© way to do it. Instead, this would mean still further expenditures over and above those it immediately entailed. Captain McDonald, in the course of his remarks, quoted tho following figures from the general account for each of the past three and th© present yours: Total General Debit Eeoeipts. Bates. Balance. 1005-06 6375 4647 5*39 1906- 5572 4115 49^7 1907- 9753 7358 - 4170 I 1900-09 9623 8225 5102 j (estimated). Tho current year's estimates. Captain McDonald pointed out, did not include th© £2OOO with which tho amount available for gas works is propose to be supplemented. To throw further light on th© position corresponding figures for tho two preceding years and further details arc appended: Total General Debit Eeccipts. Bates. Balance. 1003-(M sfsO I°3B 345 M 1904-05 9156 5385 339