A DENIAL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11028, 17 March 1914, Page 7

A DENIAL.

LYTTELTON'S REPRESENTATION ON HARBOUR BOARD. PROTEST AGAINST MB G. W.'RUSSELL'S STATEMENT. Recently Mr (J. W. Russell, M.P., was reported to have made statements concerning Lytic) ton's quote of representation on the Lyttelton Harbour Board. The Lyttelton Borough Council took exception to the statement, with the result that Mr J. It. Webb, Mayor of Lyttelton, yesterday.forwarded the following letter to the Hon F. M. B. Fisher, Minister of Marine " I beg to draw your attention to n statement made by Mr Russell, M.P., at a recent deputation which waited upon you in connection with the representation on tho Lyttelton Harbour Board. Mr Russell's statement, as reported, was to the effect that Lyttelton borough controlled the election of throe members of the Board. My Council feels that, as representing the residents of Lyttelton. it cannot let tliis statement pass without giving :t an emphatio denial. " Thft real position Is that, while Lyttelton is the centre of the Harbour Board's operations and is undoubtedly entitled to a representative of its own on tho Board, it is almost entirely' disfranchised. _ Lyttelton is only a unit in a- combined district comprised of five boroughs and three counties, and although it is the largest and -nost important district in the combined area it was denied tho compliment, of being appointed the principal authority for the combined district, thus being J laced second to a purely residential istrict whose interest in the port must be very small as compared with that of the central borough, " Tt happens that the representative of the payers of ships' dues is a resident of Xyttelton, but more than threefourths of those who elect liim are resident in and carry on their respective* businesses in Christchurch. "The late Government nominee was also a resident of Lyttelton, but this, too, was a chance circumstance, so that instead of Lyttelton controlling the election of three members, it controls about one-fourth of ono member, and could easily be disfranchised altogether by districts whose interests might be quite opposed to those of tho electors of the port."