The Mayoral Nominations.

Southland Times, Issue 4484, 23 November 1882, Page 2

The Mayoral Nominations.

♦ The nomination of canidates for the oflice of Mayor of lavercargill for the ensuing year took place at noon yesterday in the Council Chambers, in the presence of quite a number of citizens. The Returning Officer (Mr W. B. Scandrett), after reading the formal notice convening the meeting, said he had received two nominations, one signed by Messrs Henry Wilson and Bernard Ekenstein, nominating Mr John Kingsland, and the other — signed by Messrs Peter Gilkison and Alexander Storric nominating Mr J. L. McDoaald. As there were two candidates a poll wonld have to be taken on the last Wednesday in the month. Mr Scandrett then called upon Mr Kingsland to address the electors. Mr Kingsland said there was no necessity for him to make an apology for asking their suffrages. From the very birth of tlie municipality it had always been considered that the office of Mayor should be a rolling one, and it had likewise been generally considered that, all things, fitness being equal, the one selected for thnt honor should have some knowledge of Corporation business, and should have been for some little time a member of the Council. His qualifications for the post were that hehad served an apprentership of twenty years to public business in Uhe town. He had been a member of the Council for five years, aal heJrcfleot Q d with what he considered was a justifiable pride that there was hardly an institution in the town which he had not helped to build up. _ Although his connection with the municipality extended over live years, that did not represent the work he had taken part in in the town — in connection with its schools, its Athemeum, its hospital, its fine brigades, and indeed almost every public improvement in the town. He thought all who enjuyed the privileges of society were bound to do a fair share of the work which those privileges entailed. For his own part he had fe't it his duty to pay attention to those duties which naturally fall to a citizen. He could hardly sympathise with any man in society who refused to perform th» obligations which thus fell to his lot. He did not think it wise to enter at any great length into questions of general polities at the present moment, the les3 so, as be intended to address them on another occasion in a public hall, wheu they would have the opportunity of crossexamining him to their hearts' content. It bad been said that there were no very burning questions occupying the attentiou of the Corporation and of the town, at any rate, so far as municipal matters were concerned. This was, no doubt, true, but there always remained those questions of tbe administration of the funds of tha council, of the proper prosecution of the work, and those matters which concerned the progress and advancement of tbe town — which necessitated constant care and attention on the part of every member of the Council, while ; upon the Mayor for tbe time being devolved the duty of seeing that everything ordered by the Council was faithfully carried out. The speaker then proceeded to address tlie electors with reference to the New River harbor, on which subject it was said that he was not sound. He believed on the contrary tbat he was one of the soundest men on this question. He had persistently held to his views throughout, and he would give theni the figures on which it was based. The total amount of revenue of tbe harbor amounted to £531, of. which sum £250 came from the. jetty, and he was not awure that this total could be materially increased, however much they improved the harbor ; for, supposing they could get ships of ono or even 5000 tons to come up to the jetty, he did not think there was anything for tbem to do when they got there. The traffic could ho but little extended, and that extension could only take place if tho water were deepened to about 14 feet — that beiag the greatest draught of vessels that could get over the bar. At present the receipts — £534 : and the expenditure — taking into account tbe interest on the £5000 loan, and tbe loss of £300— balanced ono another. The question then aross, would the extension pay ? He had stated that h» believed np action they joould take

would v£ry much increase the revenue. : Who then would bear the expense of having a larger class of ships and greater c argojes4 at the Invercargill Jetty ? Certhe ratepayers who would not ihe;.only ones to receive benefit therel /bufc the inhabitants of the whole ~ -clistri'ik The present order of things should be done away with ;fh& , Council .sho^d not hold the : government of the - New River Harbor as it now did, but this should be in the hands of the whole sur-; rounding country, which ought to bear its sbare of the loss which would undoubtedly occur.: "-Between £1,900 and '£2,000 Zroin ; * the ordinary rates-of-. tbe;town had "been expended on the harbor." *" Uuder ordinary circumstances ratepayersrinight have ex pectecl this sum ; to have been spent on the streets of the tow;n..- He thought that any further expenditure on the New Eiver entered into should be regulated by the answer to the question whether the revenue therefrom would pay the expense of the extension ? At the present time there was a contract iD hand for the training walls, and the, extension of the jetty, .which would leave a balance available for further expenditure of about, £1,600, If tiiis sum was. expended on the deepening ofthe channel, so asto allow vessels having a draught of 14 feet of water to" get up. to town, a 1 that was desirable would have been accomplished. They had all seen theresuit of tbe experiment to make a £22,000 jetty at Mokomoko for receiving cargo which was never intended to arrive there, a mistake which he hoped they were not going to repeat. The. speaker then proceeded to criticise the wisdom of the policy of entrusting the spending of the sum of £5000 to Mr J. T. Thomson, the consulting and working engineer, and also a member of the Council, for carrying out his experiment in connection with the improvement scheme originated by him. Personally he believed in Mr Thomson's good faith, and he did not doubt that the experiment had been a success, but he considered all the same that it was a violation of the principles of local self-govern-ment to allow a member of the Council to have uncontrolled expenditure of the money. The speaker then proceeded to expatiate on the necessity in having a good system of water and a good system of drainage, as also on the utility of beautifying the tovvn as much as lay in their power, all of which improvements could be easily obtained if they would economise their resources for the present, and wait for a short time before launching out into further expenses. The speaker concluded by saying that if he were elected to what h) considered tho highest position in the town, he would endeavor to follow in the steps of some recent Mayors who had done good work for the town. No questions being asked, the returning officer called upon Mr McDonald, who said he intended to follow the example of the last speaker, and addiess the electors on a future evening in one of the public halls. He would only say at present that he had done his best as a member of the Council, aod if he was elected to fill the position of Mayor, he would endeavor to fill it with credit to himself and to them. He would only say, in the meantime, that he did not hold such a gloomy view of the improvements to the New River as the last speaker. The interests of tho town were bound up with the shipping interest, and if the town were ever to take well it must be as a sea-Port. The proceedings then terminated.