MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS.

Southland Times, Issue 1768, 18 July 1873, Page 3

MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS.

The nominations for the vari ous offices of Mayor, Councillors, and Auditors took place at the Council Chamber on Tuesday, 15th inst., at noon, when the proceedings were conducted by Mr Thos. Pratt, the Returning Officer appointed by the Council to conduct the Municipal elections. There were but few persons present when the business commenced, the number, however, increased until the chamber became fairly filled. As was expected, there was a walk -over for the Mayoralty, no other candidate than Mr George Lumsden being proposed for the oC«e, and he was therefore declared duly elected. The following gentlemen were nominated as Councillors : — Mr George Goodwillie (for re-election) by Messrs A. M'Nab and G. Dalgliesh ; Mr H. T. Hoss (for re-election) by Messrs T. Watson and M. M'Kenzie ; Mr W. P. Porter, by Messrs N. Johnson and T. Perkins ; Mr W. 11. Hall, by Messrs C. L. Frederic and J. B. Mackay ; Mr H. E. Osborne, by Messrs T. Perkins and J. "W. Bain ; Mr C. L. Frederic, by Messrs J. Pay and A. Brown ; Mr «f. W. Mitchell, by Messrs H. Jaggers and J. Hare. There were three nominations for the auditorships, namely, Messrs Flemington, Macrorie, and Perkins The several candidates then addressed the meeting. Mr Goodwillie, in offering himself for re-election, said that the Council had plenty of work before it for the next year, whoever was elected to perform it. The drainage of the town would have to be attended to, and as they were aware there was the introduction of gas. He complained of a statement in the Southland Times of that morning that dissatisfaction was felt among the ratepayers, bolh as to the localities of expenditure and the way in which work had been performed. He said all large works had been done by contract, and of course there was a good deal to be done for which they. must employ day labor. He admitted that it looked as if the northern part of the town had not received its fair share, but the Council had difficulties to contend with. They bad lost their engineer, and had to get another, and time bad been lost. He preferred that the management of the gas supply should be left to tbe Corporation rather than entrusted to a private company. He thought the outlay for bridge and road in Conon street was judicjpus, and was in favor of setting apart h portion of the reserve fund for keeping the public gardens in order. Mr H. T. Boss, as a servant of the public, offered himself for re-election. He thought a disposition existed to reflect on the way the Council had done its duty, but he (Mr Boss) did not see any ground for such imputation. He

would be glad to serve them again if elected. Mr W. H. Hall said he was in favor of dividing the town into wards, and considered by. that means the efficiency of the Council would be much increased. The several portions of the town would be better looked after by residents in the different localities. He thought the drainage of the town bad been neglected, and that it was now necessary to initiate a system of permanent drainage. The question of water supply was one which ought soon to have the attention of the Council. He was, however, in favor of doing effectually whatever was attempted, and would rather see a smaller portion of really permanent work done than to make a* larger show at the expense of j efficiency. He wished to see gasworks j erected, and did not much care whether j they were in the hands of the Council or of a company. If elected he could , assure the ratepayers that he would always be at his post, and could appeal to their previous experience as to his attention to his duties in respect to other matters entrusted to him. Mr Osborne was not at all disposed to make a speech of which the elements should be fault-finding. He had told them twelve months ago of the folly of the expenditure upon the gardens, and he now repeated it. He would not grumble that Conon-street had a bridge, but he thought it would have been better to have attended to Dee-streefc first, in wbieh the original rushes were still growing, which reflected anything but credit upon the authorities in the judgment of strangers. The time would come when the gardens would have to be conserved out of the rates, and while, as he could mention, that a ratepayer in Dee-street paying au £18 rate could not have bis premises drained because of the defect in the Dee-street drainage, these important matters ought to be first attended to. He thought instances might be pointed out in which money had been wasted, such as the bad gravelling of the Eak-street footpath, and the putting down gravel as a temporary footpath in Leet street, which he thought useless. He wi hed the work that should be attempted, to be carried out thoroughly, and thought the time had arrived in which a law should be passed prohibiting the erection of any more wooden houses or buildings. If it would pay Dunedin to import stone from Oamaru, they might depend upon it that if the Council would take the initiative by such a measure as he proposed, the Seaward Downs stone would bs very soon utilized here. He was in favor of wards, and would like to spend the rates collected in a locality upon the locality as far as practicable. He had a fair stake in the town ; he paid rates on fourteen sections, and if elected his intereat was theirs. In the matter of gas supply, he believed the best site would have been near to the railway, for many reasons. He had been over the Port Chalmers gas works recently, and he had noticed how useful these works had been to the town in providing the material for " asphalting" a certain portion of the footpath, a plan which be would like to see carried out here. He had no objecton to a fair share of the revenue of the town being laid out south of the Puni Creek. Mr C. L. Frederic said he did not come before the ratepayers ofchoice, but as some of them wished him to represent them he had been induced to do so. He preferred Btone or brick drains to wood. He agreed with some of the other candidates that the town should be divided into wards. He would have the streets, to whatever extent they might be made, thoroughly and permanently metalled. He thought the south portion of the town entitled to its fair share of the rates, and would do his best to serve the public if they chose to return him to the Council. Mr J. W. Mitchell did not approve of saying any more about the gardens. If a mistake had been made, it was now made, and there was no appeal from it, and we niustmake the best oi it, although he woi 11 rather that the money had been laid out on the Town Belt. In the works that needed to be carried out he thought that attention should be paid to the natural features of the town or district, and adapt the outlay accordingly. This was a matter upon which the Council should be careful to instruct the Engineer, as attention to it would be the feature by which tbe value of the work would be increased or lessened. He thought that the Northeast portion of the town had not received its fair share of expenditure, and on this ground as well as others, he was in favor of dividing the town into wards. He thought that some work recently done by the Council was comparatively useless, because the work stopped just where it was most required, and the connecting link between it and other finished portions was wanting. He hoped that stone or brick would soon take the place of wood in the construction of sewers, and metal be substituted for gravel upon the roads. He would strenuously urge forward the completion, of the permanent drainage of the town, upon a uniform system. Mr W. P. Porter did not disapprove of the expenditure upon the gardens, and was in favor of the erection of the town into wards, for which many reasons might be urged. He agreed with the previous speaker as to the necessity for permanent drainage, which he thought one of the matters essential to be at once attended to. As regarded the question of gas, it was desirable to have it, in fact its utility was universally admitted, and it was immaterial to himself whether the work were undertaken by the Corporation or by a company. The Eeturning Officer declared the Ist August to be the day fixed for the poll, and the inseting was closed by a vote of thanks in his favor.