Municipal Elections.

Southland Times, Issue 19539, 19 April 1905, Page 4

Municipal Elections.

BOROUGH OF INVEROARGILL.

THE NOMINATIONS.

Nominations for the position ot Mayor (for tho ensuing year) and councillors (for the ensuing two years) dosed at noon to-day, when tho Town Clerk intimated that tho following had been rtn ceivtd for the Mayoralty W. B. Scandrett, nominated by D. Todd and John Kingsland; and It 18. McKay, nominated by Colin McDonald and J. B, Kissell ; while, 'for seats at the Council table, the following 10 candidates were announced : Messrs J. Hatch, James Allan, W. A. Ott, F. G. Ston'e, George Frogatt, D. Roche, I. L. Petrie,.E. Bastings, S. McDonald, R. Cleave, W. Stead, James Walker, J. Stead, A. Bain, W. Martin, and J. F. Lillicrap. There would therefore be a poll for Mayor and councillors on Wednesday next. THE BOROUGH FINANCES.

Mr Scandrett, addressing the meeting, said that at the last poll the main questions were the town hall and I’uni Creek drain. Within a few weeks tho contract for the first was lot, and it was now making very steady progress. The Council had no difficulty with the contractor, the architect or tlio inspector. The other matter was also nf great importance, and tho difficulty lay in apportioning tfcio cost among the various boroughs affected. Eventually they had recourse to the Magistrate, v hose division Was very mucli what tho Council had thought a fair thing. That enabled the work to be gone on with. In connection with both these proposals the finance was already assured. Of tho town Ciall loan, £13,500 had been paid into the bank, and the other £2500 would be Paid in. in July. £2OOO had been allocated to tho Puni Creek) drain from loan moneys, and as their share was £2200 they would have no difficulty in regard to finance. As to tho General Account of the borough, they were in tho very happy position of having for the first time in their experience lived within their revenue. In past years this account had always been m a struggling condition, and .many special works such as the Fire Brigade station had been erected out of tho General Account, which had gone to the bad year by yoar, Eighteen months ago the Council and the Finance Committee set themselves to put the matter right, with the result that while last year’s revenue was £10,040, tho expenditure vias £lO,038. The Works Committee was also entitled to a share of the credit, us they had been careful to keep expenoiture within the amount available. In a year or two they would come in lor a windfall In 1906, £30,000, "on whfeh the borough paid 6 per cent., would fall due. They had in London an equal amount, on which they paid only 4j per cent., and negotiations were proceeding under which those who held Ihe G debentures would take up those at 4} per cent. If they wanted their money, however, the Council would have no difficulty in paying them by selling the 4$ per cents, at their face value. At present the interest on those 6 per cent, ran into£lBoo’. After 1906 the cost to the borough would only J>o £l3so—a saving which would make an appreciable difference to the finance. Coming to the special accounts, the abattoir revenue was £•77 Itos than in the previous year, but that was due to the dispute with tho Southland Fritzen Meat Co., the corporation's charges, against which c.mld not be legally enforced. As to the harbour, Mr Scandrett related the history- of the stifne tqalls and the purchase of tho dredge, which left the town with a heavy interest burden. There was, however, a profit on the actual working, and the mere fact that the harbour was there meant tilfat the business people secured the advantage of reduced freights over tho railway}. The increase in waterworks revenue last yoar was £370, due to tho increase in the number of houses. The gasworks had had a very successful year. The old difficulty of inadequate storage capacity and inadequate mains had been got over, with tho result that the revenuo last year showed an increase of over £lOOO, and tho profits an increase df a similar amount. Now ttiat they were on this footing, he expected even better returns hj the future. The ratepayers, would therefore see that the position of tho town finance was extremely satisfactory, and the returns for last year were more than gratifying. If elected ,at the foil, he would be glad to give the same time and attention to the duties as lie lad done in the past.

Mr F. W. Wade asked Mr Scandrett ii he was'aware that the men who removed lefuse from tho houses were very neglectful outside of the main streets. They left the tins out from day to day, and ratepayers went repeatedly to tho office to complain, without satisfaction.

Mr Scandrett said tf-fat this was the first intimation he had of it. Tho inspector had reported that tho work was being very satisfactorily done. However, he would enquire into tile matter. Mr McKay said that 12 months ago lie announced himself as a candidate for

tho Mayoralty, but retired in favour of Mr Scandrett, thinking that, after the usual term, he or sdmo other councillor could take up tho running. Unfortunately, he did not ,quite understand Mr Scandrett, who now, like Oliver Twist, was asking for more. He thought that tho office should be a rolling one, and there was no necessity rqhy it should be otherwise so long as there were councillors capable of filling the office. Tho Harbour Account was their white elephant. They had to pay £615 in Interest. That money had been sunk somewhere, and they were now paying for somebody’s folly. However, the argument that they should close the harbour up was foolish, because on actual working there was a profit of about £lOO. Mr McKay touched on the powder magazine dispute, urging that u site about 15 chains from the gasworks would be tho beat place. He had tcomo out because he believed that the Mayor should be a general overseer. The present Mayor was a good man and a busy man—too busy to be Mayor. A Mayor should bo able to devote a lot of time to tho town, becoming conversant with its requirements from one end to the other, and seeing that the work vas conducted economically.- He had plenty oi time to do all this and he thought he had a certain amount of ability. He certainly had interest, and if elected ho would continue to carry out his duties us fearlessly and as faithfully as he had as a councillor.

It was close upon 1 o'clock before the Council candidates were called upon to address the meeting, so they were not able to do. more than generally touch upon one or two matters. THE COUNCIL CANDIDATES.

Mr Hatch said he did not intend to promise that he would do ai great many things. The finance seamed to bo fairly good, but some of the ratepayers’ money did not seem to have been' spent very carefully. There was, for instance, the house at the abattoir, and work in connection with the harbour reserves. They showed that the expenditure would be none the worse of close scrutiny. Mr James Allan said that although the gaswjorks had returned a handsome profit last year, the outlay for replacements was large, and even now some .£6OO or £7OO was authorised. £lOOO should be set aside every year for eight years in order to bring the amount of the loan (£51,000) into lino with the actual value of the works. Increasing the sele of gas was a question that should bo considered, alnd ho thought it could be done by supplying gas to the adjoining boroughs. If judiciously handled. he thought that scheme Could bo brought to a successful issue. It would also enable them to reduce the price of gas to the large consumers—a policy which ho thought would result in increased revenue. The waterworks had also paid well, but the question of augmenting the supply would have to bo faced within tho next year or two. It was suggested that by sinking another Hvoll they could double their present supply. It might therefore ba possible to largely increase their resources without very much expense. Mr Ott thought that the town was to be congratulated on the healthy state o

its finances. In the past there had al- I ways been an outcry in regard to their position, but now that they were living within their revenue, and this after handing ever £lOOO to the harbour amd £350 interest .on harbour loan, showed their finance to be in a very healthy condition. Gasworks and waterworks had both prospered, and in connection with the latter the'cost of the new reservoir had been paid out of revenue. As to the abattoir, . the expenditure on tho house had been strongly opposed by him and by the Finance Committee. How.wer majority must rule, which showed that individual members must not bo blamed for many matters. Over this particular matter they lost Councillor Meluer. The action of tho corporation in again obtaining control of the land between Woodend and Greenhills was commendable. That area was an JXro “o everyone who travelled on the railway However, tho leases foil duo in eighteen months and it was the purpose JI Council to cut that land up tnto areas of, say, M 0 acres, and he hoped that they would soon have smiling homesteads between Bluff and Invercargill P n^ S<> ’? Referrin ff to an old loan of £l~,ooo, to cover the interest on which a ra>te of 2d was struck, Mr Ott said that the rate had been rather high, and there was now an accumulation of £14831.; in the loan account, however, there was a debit of £9OO, and tho Council would apply to tho Auditor-General to with), draw that £1483 and apply it to tho purposes of the loan, so that the ratepayers in the south would have their asphalt, etc., made in accordance with tho loan schedule. (Hear, hear.) Mr Stone said he had had experience on the Council, and he know something about the town. He had lately learned much from a trip to Hobart, and if returned his experience would bo willingly given for the benefit of the town. In regard to the'gasworks, it was true that ‘hey had paid last year, but it was at (he discomfiture of the ratepayers. On Sunday weeki the visiting Army band could not see its way round to the barracks, and last Monday night Ihe people «iero groping about in tho dark. There vas no necessity for that. Mr Roche looked upon tho position of the town as extremely satisfactorv, and Ihero was no doubt but that Invercargill compared favourably in regard to convenience and cleanliness with older towns of a similar size in other countries.

Mr Petrie thought that a town of this size, which was indexed to the extent of £200,000 and which paid 5J per cent, to the bank’, required very careful oversight. Business men should be scrupulously careful not to waste public money. His ideals were very higto in that respect, and they wanted men who would spend the public funds as cautiously ns If they were their own. The offices in connection with tho town hall would, he believed, be a heavy burden for years. Tho Council had also blundered in connection with the powder magazines. Tho other night he saw the Council waste half-an-hour discussing the trivial matter nf a. vote of thanks to: an bfficer who had done his duty, but an important matter like the powder magazines was allowed IJ puss without a, word.; although it had placed some people in a position of danger, and might yet cost more than the town hall. The house for the abattoir inspector should not have been erected, or if erected the inspector should have been charged rent. lie believer! there was room for saving. He believed he had common sense, and he sought to be useful to his fellows.

Mr E. Bastings said there was one thing wjhich should be kept strictly in view. Invercargill required the support nf the surrounding districts, and the inforests of the country must be fostered. They had lost a great portion of the Mataura district through the Hose connection of Dunedin and Gore, and now Dunedin was frantically striving to get the trade of Roxburgh. The present members of the Council had been energetic in the matter, and he hoped that the incoming Council would be no less active. If dected he would do nil bo could io add to Southland trade the produce of the Roxburgh district. Water, gas and drainage would also have his earnest attention. As a large -.■atepnyeihe was interested in seeing that <he expenditure was economical. Tie had Veen here five years, and sd far as he could tsll he intended to make Invercargill his future home.

Mr McDonald said that all the Council could do was to- exercise prudence. Their finance was circumscribed by Act, of Parliament, and their whole course of business was practically arranged for them. Their chief object therefore was to exercise all tho care possible. He was sorry that the nominations did not take place after the balance-sheet had been placed before the public. (Hear, hear.) At present they w-cre quite unable to discuss finance.

Ml- W. Stead said ho placed his four years’ experience on tho Council at the disposal of the ratepayers once more. Mr Walker said he had no nxo to rjrind and no grievance against tho Council ; hut it was the duty df a ratepayer to take some part in the management o! municipal affairs. He had had experience on the Hospital Trust and in a suburban borough, and if elected be would do his best for the citizens. He thought tho time was ripe when they should extend their boundaries to absorb, if not. all the suburban boroughs, at least those adjacent to the tdwn belt. Mr John Stead suggested as one way of making the harbour pay that the ''ci’ncil should take in, hand the supply of coal to the retail merchants. That was the Glasgow method, and besides obtaining a profit on the coal it would no doubt be brought in by way of the harbour, and they would receive a. revenue in that way. Mr A. Bain said he had come out at the request of a number of ratepayers. He had severed his connection with South Invercargill Borough, and it could ndt now be said of him that he was in the position of a man serving two mas* ters. If elected he would devote the same time to tho business of the town as he had ddne in connection iqlth other local bodies. No matter how many bodies he had been connected with at the same time believed that he had never neglected any of them. A vote of thanks to the returning officer brought the meeting to a close. SOUTH INVERCARGILL. Interest in municipal affairs In this borough, judging by the number of nominations received, is small. Mr A. Bain, whd has been Mayor for 15 years, did not offer himself lor re-election, preferring to make room for new blood. Two nominations were received for the Mayoralty, these being : George Richard Hilton, nominated fry Hugh Derbie and John Stewart ; and William John Perkins, nominated by William H. King and Malcolm Robertson. For seats on the Council the following were nominated and declared elected :—North Ward : William Martin (nominators, M. Robertson and A. Bain), Thomas A. Cushen t’M. Robertson and T. Crawley), and Gilbet Brown (W. Martin and J. Sterrltt). South Ward : George Holloway (E. Pol-; lard and G. B. Webb), W. Peace (D. S. Meffan and A. Couling)-.- No nom nation wpre received for the Middle Ward, aid one more councillor is required fcr tVa South Ward. The new councillors arc Messrs Martin and Cushen, both of the North Ward) The town clerk announced that the election of Mayor would b? held dn Wednesday next, and that stops would thereafter bo taken to fill tho vacant seats on the Council.