MR FISHER'S SCHEME

Southland Times, Issue 17289, 8 March 1913, Page 6

MR FISHER'S SCHEME

MUNICIPAL REFORM. MAYORAL CRITICISM. (Per United Press Association.) AUCKLAND. March 7. Referring to the Hon. F. M. B. Fisher’s remarks regarding municipal governmen. the Mayor of Auckland said it was very obvious that Mr Fisher did not know what lie was talking about. The Minister spoke about new and important city services being under the control of experts. A short reply to Mr I-'isher was that already all big municipal departments in Auckland were controlled by experts under the Council. At present there was, to his mind, a happy I combination of expert and local authority. The best of experts needed .someone to keep them in check, or to spur them on occasionally, anti elective councils furnished the necessary stimulus. The honourable gentleman would abolish the council, and leave the expert to boss the show. The people of Auckland at least were not likely to give up the priceless boon of self-government for such a fantastic scheme as Mr Fisher promulgated. Mr Fisher urged that cities should he run on "business lines." It would be time enough for Ministers to give advice when they proved that they knew how to run the country on business lines. Was the spending of half a million in putting a tunnel through the Alps defensible as a business proposition? Was the building of hundreds of cottages for workmen to be let at ISs and £1 per week good business? And so on. ad infinitum, one could quote instances of the fatuity and inefficiency of Government management, Mr Fisher could not he taken seriously. The Minister had had no experience whatever of the municipal government that he ventured with such confidence to criticise. If Mr Fisher had put in a dozen years on some City Council he would be belter equipped for his work than he was to-day. As it was, the people would only say, "Oh, it’s just Mr Fisher—he has broken out again." CHRISTCHURCH. March 7. The Mayor (Mr H. Holland), said that he would agree 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 hy Commissioners. In New Zealand, however, different ideas and sentiments prevailed, and he was confident, that the citizens here would not tolerate any proposal which would rob them of the rights ami privileges they enjoyed. The Christchurch Tramway Board was an illustration of the way in which municipal control succeeded. That body managed the 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 way, but that was on account of the enormous increase in wages brought about by the. decision of the Arbitration Court, and 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.