THE MAYORALTY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 10439, 19 April 1912, Page 4

THE MAYORALTY.

DR THACKER'S CANDIDATURE.

MEETING AT ST ALBANS PARK. Dr Thacker, who is a candidate for tlie Mayoralty of Greater Christchurch, addressed ail open-air meeting at St Albans Park last evening. There was a good attendance, and Mr "NV. H. Gulliver, president of tlio St Albans Burgesses' Association, occupied the chair. Dr Thacker, in the courso of an address on the general lines of those predelivered by hind, referred espetft&g to the necessity for doing more foster and encourago brass band nusic. In othei centres there was a good city band, and in Christchurch ho would like to see not only a good Garrison Band, but municipal bands in the ,various suburbs. If they were 'able to oonvince the ratepayers that a town Bjill was necessary, iJjey could put the city organ is the ball, and have sacred ( concerts «very Sunday night. He also wanted to see more open-air band concerts on week-day evenings. I Dr Thacker then outlined his proposals for reducing the cost of living, ;'and said that the newspapers, instead of criticising those proposals, had pass«d them over and suggested that he was "playing to the gallery." That was neither a fair nor a sportsmanlike | manner in which to treat what he had to propose for the benefit of the city and its people. Dealing, with the proposal to establish a email harbour at Heathcoto or Redcliffs, rendered accessible by deepening the Sumner bar, 110 stated that such, accommodation would reduoe the price of firewood by 10? to 22s a Cord and coal by 5s a ton. If he was elected Mayor he would see that when a householder paid for a ton of coal he got a ton of coal. Also he, would have public inspectors appointed to inspect the Gas Company's meters.

I Even if the proposed- little canal involved a rise in the rates, the lower price of certain staple commodities would more than compensate for that. He recommended that the City Council Should purchase the strips of land adjoining the railway between Antigua Btreet and Windmill Road, on which Vmoents old brewery used to be conducted. This would provide a railway would be of great beneS: to , th , e Clt y ln years to come. If they had this siding they could establish a cold store there and take the fash and other perishable focd straight off the train, for preservation. In regard "to the establishment of a municipal market, he was in favour of giving the retailers a chance. If they did not reduce their prices when cold storage made reduced prices possible, well, then they could consider a municipal market. Municipal milk depots, in which milk from various suppliers was distributed through a central agency were not advisable in the speaker's because if any supplier's milk ,was infected with disease germs, there .would be a risk that the entire supply would be Infected. The milk could be tested for adulteration in a few Winutea, but to examine it for bacteria tva£ a matter of some hours, and the knilk could not be detained at the depdt so long. He advocated the establishment of a Metropolitan Board of Works, to incorporate the City Council, Drainage Board, Hospital Board, Tramway Board, and other bodies. The late Mr T. E. Taylor had shown Christchurch how a Mayor should discharge hia duties. During his term of office there was scarcely a day passed but there was half a column in the newspapers telling what the Mayor was doing for the benefit of the city. The people ought to be given full information about their municipal affairs, in the way Mr Taylor gave it. The reason theye was apathy about municipal la'atfcera in Ohristchurch. was that the

people were not kept informed regarding such matters. In reply to a question the candidate said ho was in favour of having the street lamps lit every night, whether it was supposed to be moonlight or not. A vote of thanks and confidence was accorded to Dr Thacker unanimously. MR J. J. DOUGALL'S CANDIDATURE. ADDRESS AT THE~PHILLIPSTOWN SCHOOL. Mr J. J. Dougall, a candidate for the Mayoralty, addressed a meeting at the Phillipstown School last evening, Councillor E. Smith presiding. Mr Dougall said • that he thought personalities of all kinds should be avoided in a contest of that kind. It had been his intention at the beginning to say nothing of any other candidate, hut he regretted that he had t to depart from that rule and he did so wholly in self-defence. It was easy for a man to make a mistake, but it would be a graceful thing to recognise the motives underlying even mistaken actions. On Wednesday night Mr Holland had referred to him in a manner which called for a Teply. Since he had been Mayor he had at the request of several citizens propounded a road scheme. On the previous evening Mr Holland had criticised his scheme in comparison with the late Mr T. E. Taylor's. This was quite a correct thing to do, but Mr Holland ought not in his criticism to have made statements and attributed remarks which sliowed, at least, that he had a memory which was not retentive. Mr Holland was reported as stating that, believing in Mr Taylor's scheme, "he could not conscientiously follow Mr Dovtgall's scheme. He had prepared certain figures on tlie matter, and asked Mr Dougall if they were correct, but Mr Dougall had refused to compare his scheme with the late Mayors, or to dis-, cuss his scheme at all." Mr Dougall denied that Mr Holland had ■ showed him figures regarding the road scheme. He proposed the scheme on February 5 and each councillor had a' copy of it. A resolution was passed that the Council as a whole should consider the matter. On February 14 the Council held a meeting, when the scheme was discussed in committee for over two hours. Through the whole of the meeting there was not one dissentient voice. Towards the close of the meeting Mr Holland asked him if he would compare his scheme'with Mr Taylor's, and he replied that he would try to avoid comparisons, as it would lead to acrimonious discussions. The late MiTaylor, with all his great qualities, had the faculty of antagonising those who objected to his policy. He had said that he would be prepared to discuss it with Mr Taylor personally, but not with his disciples. Mr Holland's conduct in the Council had been worthy of a gentleman, and he was surprised that he should be guilty of statements such as he had made on "Wednesday night. His opponent had also said, "Mr Dougall had fought Mr Taylor's scheme every inch of the way right up to Mr Taylor's death. Mr Dougall had afterwards approved thft principle of tarred macadam, and that satisfied him that it was not the scheme Mr Dougall was fighting, but the man." He publicly challenged Mr Holland to substantiate this charge. The other day the "Lyttelton Times" took him to task for a little trouble in the Council, and said he should have gone before the public and held meetings reguarding the road scheme. He considered that until the Council approved of , the scheme it would have been impertinent to go before the public with

Then Mr Holland had said, Mr Dougall added, that the speaker fought Mr Taylor's scheme inch by inch. As a matter of fact, he congratulated Mr Taylor on the scheme, and seconded the motion to submit it to the Works Committee. But he ob-

jected to having the matter put through too hurriedly. He certainly criticised the scheme, and perhaps severely, but he did nothing else. The "Lyttelton Times" had said, discussing the scheme, "the points raised by Mr Dougall are all important." Since that day lie had said nothing adverse to the scheme, and had never attempted to hinder its progress. But now it was said that he had been animated, not by public spirit, but by animosity against Mr Taylor The insults to wliich public men were subjected in New Zealand were insufferable. One could travel the whole world over without finding public men with purer motives than in New Zealand. He thought it exceedingly wrong for a man like Mr Holland, with whom he had been working for some time, to make such a statement.

With regard to his policy, Mr Dougall said that he advocated cold storage and the construction of a town hall. He believed that a canal would be a good thing for Christchurch, but as a cautious man he would not like to have shares in it as a private enterprise, for he was sure it would result m financial loss. He had been taken to task on the matter of the canal in a morning paper by Mr C. Allison, who had said that the figures of tho Canal Commission would probably be found incorrect if subjected to actuarial examination. He considered that they had already been sufficiently considered by the Commissioners. As a practical man, he did not favour the canal. But he thought the propor course was to improve and inorease Christchurch to Lyttelton railway facilities. At the conclusion of the meeting a vote of thanks and confidence in Mr Dougall was carried unanimously.

MR HOLLAND'S CANDIDATURE. MEETING AT LINWOOD. Mr H. Holland, who is a candidate j for the Mayoralty, addressed a largely- | attended meeting in the Rolleston i

Street Hall, Linwood, last evening. Mr A. Graham occupied the chair. Mr Holland, in opening his address, said that a local journal yesterday had stated lie and one of his opponents were promising all sorts of things for nothing. That was contrary to fact. He had distinctly stated at hi 6 meeting on Wednesday that if he were returned as Mayor he would on many occasions have to refuse requests from citizens, not because ho wanted to refuse them, but because he would have to. Although he was entirely in'sympathy with the Labour Party's nlatform, he had refused to subscribe to it because he was of the opinion that a man should be free to do as he considered best in the interests of all classes in the community. The candidate was glad to be out of the clutches of the Citizens' Association, for the Association had done nothing except oppose every progressive measure brought forward by the Council. The Mayor had stated that ho had been instrumental in obtaining an increase in the wages of the Council's employees, but the Mayor's motion to that effect had been put before Mr Dougall was Mayor, and it had then been lost by eight votes to seven. The speaker had been one of those who had voted for the increase. He believed that the Council's employees were a loyal lot of men, and he did not for a minute believe the statement of one the councillors that there were men in the Council's employ who were not worth 7jd an hour.

Referring to the roads schemes, Mr Holland stated that he had studied both schemes, and if he had grasped the details aright the late Air T. E. Taylor's scheme was much preferable to that of Mr Dougall's. Mr Dougall had persistently opposed the late Mayor s road scheme, and had, on at least one occasion, definitely stated, "I am wholly opposed to the scheme, and the'more I think of it the less I like it." Yet within four weeks of Mr Taylor's death, Mr DouTall had turned a somersault and in the "Press" of August 9, 1911, he was quoted as saying that though Mr Taylor's scheme had been defeated, he (Mr Dougall) was convinced that it was essentially correct. The speaker criticised Mr Dougall's scheme at some length, stating tha% the financial saving proposed to be effected by the scheme was very questionable. Allowing that Mr Taylor had been £60,000 out in hia calculations, the saving effected by his scheme would have been sufficient to erect a Town Hall, valued at £IOO,OOO. The amalgamation of the various local bodies in Christcliurch with the City Council, the candidate said, would bring about a great in the administration of the city's business. He detailed the advantages which would accrue to the city when the Lake Coleridge hydro-electric scheme wa6 in operation, and stated that the scheme was doomed to failure if the Council did not take the matter up before the Government actually had the scheme working. The removal at night-time of the city's _ refuse, the desirability of the Council taking over the Public Library, the asphalting to thefull width of all footpaths, the necessitv for the erection of a Town Hall find of a. cool store, the widening of narrow streets, the reduction of the price of gas and the inspection of gas meters by a Government inspector were also touched upon by the candidate. ' At the conclusion of his address, Mr Holland was accorded a hearty vote of thanks and confidence.