TE AWAMUTU COURIER. Printed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. WEDNESDAY, 28th OCTOBER, 1936. THE CLOCK TOWER.

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 53, Issue 3826, 28 October 1936, Page 4

TE AWAMUTU COURIER. Printed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. WEDNESDAY, 28th OCTOBER, 1936. THE CLOCK TOWER.

A SEQUENCE of events suggests the probable date for the demolition of the clock tower at the post office and the removal of the clock to another location. The tenders for the garage buildings will, it is apparent, be a first step toward the removal of the old office which accommodates the linemen, and that in turn will free the site for the post office extension proper. Three or four, or at most five, months seem about the time that will elapse before the definite need for another clock location will arise. In the meantime, however, what ? The Borough Council has apparently silenced any further suggestion until it receives a reply from the Justice Department to a request that a portion of police departmental land be placed at the Council’s disposal. Valuable time may thus be wasted, because even if the Justice Department grants the Council’s request it has yet to be discovered whether the Council’s decision will have public approval. Perhaps the Council is playing against time in the belief that its own ends will be served by hasty action later on. But the Council has no right to deny consideration while there is yet time for inquiry to discover the best available location for the clock. If it be assumed that the Council will, at the eleventh hour, secure the site of its own selection, will that really be the end of the discussion ? The matter of finance has yet to be arranged, and how many people will subscribe readily to enable the utilisation of that site ? In the circumstances it suggests that the Council would be wiser to accept public opinion now instead of seeking to force its will on an unwilling public. The result might easily be a collapse of the Council’s scheme in consequence of a withheld subscription, unless of course a method of compulsory rate levy is intended. In any case the Council should not be a modern Star Chamber in a question of public utility; it seems too much to hope that this Council shall be guided by public opinion, but at least citizens should be consulted and afforded opportunities for stating their views. That, surely, is the keynote in every ideal of popular government; the alternative is a dictatorship which is hardly welcomed in our community life. Actually it may be questioned whether there really is need to remove the tower. True, it conforms with national policy which seeks to minimise earthquake risks, but a century of experience has demonstrated that Te Awamutu is not in the danger zone. It might even be, therefore, that all ends would be met if the existing tower was strengthened—a cheaper and a happier solution of the problem for everybody.