Poverty Bay Herald GISBORNE, THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 1907 A GOOD TEAM.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10955, 25 April 1907, Page 2

Poverty Bay Herald GISBORNE, THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 1907 A GOOD TEAM.

The burgesses of Gis'borne are to be congratulated upon their choice of Mayor and Council. The selection was, in our opinion, about, the best that could have been made, and tlio people of Gisborne have as their representatives' a body of men who will tackle the problems of "municipal go-vernment-with intelligence, energy, and enthusiasm. The Council is. thoroughly representative in clmracter so far as locality <s concerned, and'-hiid Gisbprne' been under tiio ward system a lnoie equal distribution of voting power could not have been obtained.- Messrs Mann and Dr. i Williams may be said to! represent the' Wlnatiiuboko— and regtirding the latter gentleman's election 'wc would, say that, in view of Uie drainage 'proposals, the; Council is fortunate ,in having amongst its ranks one with the technical knowledge tthat, Dr. Williams WiU be. able to bring to bear on this subject — Messrs Harding and Bright the Kaiti, Messrs Townley, Miller and Sheridan the central ward and the business ' interests, whilst Messrs Whinray, .Somervell,; .and ..Sawyer may, 'be depended upon to guard the interests of the West End. It is interesting to note that Mr Townley holds the remarkable record of having sat continuously in the Council since its establishment in 1877, and .he has held th© office of Mayor, uninterruptedly, since 18S0. Cr. Whinray follows ; the Mayor in the position ;' of seniority on the ';" iCduiicil, having had close on thii;ty -yefirs' service iu municipal government." Cr. Wliinr'ay is "the'.veterahl of many election battles. He has never had a walk-over, but has had to fight every election, and has* been returned sometimes at the head of the poll and sometimes lower down, but always returned. Similarly,' we believe if the records were consulted, it would be found that Mr Townley has on almost avery occasion had to fight his .way. The substantial majority by which he was returned yesteiday as Mayor'for the eighteenth successive occasion attests his popularity. , though , this can hardly be measured; by the figures of the poll", for tliere wero many who, though according Mr Townley .the .-greatest esteem" and respect, still voted against him because of an insatiable desire for cliange, which is inherent in human nature. We do not believe the burgesses will regret replacing Mr Townley in", the Mayoral chair. 'Ihe wheels of progress will. still reWive, and important proposals, such as drainage, tlie outer harbor, and municipal gasworks, will be considered as carefully, and carried out as expeditiously, as tliey would have been under any other Mayor and Councillors. In many respects we regret Mr Lvsnar's absence from t^tie Council. Though lie monopolised a great amount of time at the meetings, he devoted himself with great energy and (unselfishness to public affairs, and perhaps went, to more trouble to prepare himself on any given subject than did any other member, of the Council. Councillor Miller is to be congratulated upon having " scored the dis- ' Unction of gaining the head of the poll, whioh is proof, of the all-round popularity of . one ' of . the mostx<mergetic of councillors:ylt is' satisfactory to record that the elections passed off so harmoniously, and i that a good spirit of friendliness was pre- - served amongst the candidates for mayoral and municipal honors both before* and ; after tlie ]>011. W<? trust this may be , taken as a favorable augury for the' pre- ; seryation 'of harmony in the Council, t whicli should «et to work with expedition 1 on the several important proposals tliat 1 have to be taken in hand. (