MUNICIPAL BODIES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15706, 7 March 1913, Page 5

MUNICIPAL BODIES.

APPOINTMENT OF EXPERTS. HON. MR FISHER'S SUGGESTIONS. REPLY BY MR PARR, (Per United Association.) AUCKLAND, March 6. Referring to the Hon. Mr Fisher's remarks yesterday regarding municipal government, the Mayor of Auckland (Mr C. J. Parr) said that it was very obvious that Mr Fisher did not know what he was talking about. Tha Minister spoke about the need of important city services being under the control of experts. A short reply to Mr Fisher that already all the big municipal departments in Auckland were controlled by experts under the council. At present there was, to his mind, a happy combination o£ expert and local authority. The best of experts needed someone to keep them in check or to spur them on occasionally', and the elective council furnished the necessary stimulus. The honourable gentleman, said Mr Birr, would abolish the council and leave an expert to boss the show. The people of Auckland at least were not likely to give up tho priceless boon of self-government for such a fantastic scheme as Mjr Fisher promulgated. Mr' Fisher urged that cities should b<! ran on "business lines." It would be time enough for th'o Ministers to give advice when they proved that they knew how to run the countrv on business lines. Was the spending of half a million in putting <1 tunnel through tho Alps defensible as a business proposition? Was the building of hundreds of" cottages for workmen to be let at 18s and £1 per week good business, and so on ad infinitum. Mr Fisher could not bo taken seriously. The Minister had had no experience whatever of municipal government. If Mr Fisher had put in a dozen years on some city council lie would be better equipped for his work than ha was to-day. As it was, people would only say: " Oh, it is just Mr Fisher. He has broken out again."

-MAYOR OF CHRISTCHURCH INTERVIEWED. N ' (Per United Phess Association.) . CHRISTCHURCH, March 6. The Mayor (Mr H. Holland), interviewed regarding the Hon. Mr Fisher's remarks at Auckland regarding elective municipal bodies, said that he would agreo with Mr Fisher if that gentleman urged the appointment of experts by the Government- to small boroughs which could not afford to pay high salaries to professional men, but he thought that the Minister's remarks were quite inapplicable to large centres. He did not think that control by Government officers would be acceptable to the people or satisfactory to anybody. It was an American idea-, and in that country some municipalities seemed to favour, control by commissioners, In New Zealand, however, different ideas and sentiments prevailed, arid he was confident that the citizens he.re would not tolerate any proposal which would rob them of- the rights and privileges they enjoyed. The Cnristchnrch Tramway Board was an illustration of the way in which municipal control succeeded. That body managed its tramways much better than they could be managed by Government officers. Just now the board was not paying a dividend., if he might put it that mi v. but that was on account of the enormous increase in wages brought about by the decision gf the Arbitration Court, arid the same conditions would have existed if there had been Government control. As a matter of fact he did not think that the board's position was nearly as acute as it was represented to be, and he felt that it was a subject for regret that the position should be made to look so bad, as it was a reflection upon the citizens. On the Christchu;ch Fire Board, on the other hand, the Government, through its representative, hold the . balance of power, and he certainly thought tot the position there was not,as satisfactory as the position of the Tramway Board.