THE COLONIST Published Every Morning. Friday, April 15, 1910. THE MAYORAL ELECTION.

Colonist, Volume LII, Issue 12769, 15 April 1910, Page 2

THE COLONIST Published Every Morning. Friday, April 15, 1910. THE MAYORAL ELECTION.

i*HB burgesses of the cij>y who attended Mr Pettit'smeetinglast night listened to an impartial and diupawionT ate review of municipal affairs daring the I six years the present adininisbration. lias held office, Mr Pettit, it must be admitted, -treated his opponent magnanimously. As during the last few years/of hi* connection with th© Council, his attitude on all .questions has been marked by studious moderation, so lafi, nighi he' fore,bore to press home on^ the- meeting many points which, would have told immensely with the sympathetic audience he was addressing. His speech, however, lost nothing in effectiveness on that account. Those who have been brought into contact with the candidate during his. many, years of residence in the city, and have been in. a position to observe the honesty of purpose and the ability her has brought to bear on municipaL questions as a city councillor,; will need no election addrtsses to convince them that the large number of rfttepayers who invit«d;Mr Pettit to contest tha Mayoralty, selected a man in every way worthy of tk* compliment. W« shall soon, no doubt, be "treated to a repetition ad nauseam of the »hibboleth» ;the friends of the preseni- administrsition have used to such good' effect, in past years^he needlesshess of ; : ;change ; swapping horses in the middle of the ; stream, and so on— but the electors should by now be in a position to realise that a change is very needful indeed. Writing on the present ;subjecfc twelve months ago, we urged that the existing regime; had done nothing to justify a continuance of- the electors' 'confidence, and that neyer" in the'liißtory of the city had there been greater . necessity for; a business ■ man being placed at the head of; affairs. .The experience of the year" just passed has made the necessity eren more apparent than it was then. The Msyor, it is true, has been mindful of his pjedge that the rates should rot be increased ; but^an equivalent to a sixpenny rate.. Jsag been added, toj the. oyeridr aft, 1 the ; lQtesrest : qn which has; Vecbme>n ihtoleTabie burden «nd impedimeat to" progress. "It \i time the, ratepayers . realised'. l^ihat ,"-■ jwhile ~j. the rates are reduced/for 'reifiain'.stationary, the overdraft . must go up, _ and that by returning year after 3 r ear an administration pledged to keep down the rates, even if the pledge in its technical sense is sedulously respected, they are not saving their pockets. 'Another' point on which Mr* Pettit wag oji firm ground was in deprecating Indefinite tenure' of publio office. It is not a desirable thing except under very exceptional circumstances which' do not obtain in the present instance, that . any position in the gift of the people should come'to be' regarded as the right of a particular individual, whatever his qualifications, as long as he chooses to ask for it. A Mayor who has held office for six consocutivff forms Bhould surely be content to stand aside aiid allow another to take the reins. Mr ..Pettit- has laid tn« burgesses a policy the" pursuance ofwnich would beito the great benefit of the. city, -arid' we hope they will give tim. an opportunity of carrying it in-tb'-e'frecit- ' \.X.