THE LIBRARY SITE.

Waipa Post, Volume 45, Issue 3215, 11 August 1932, Page 4

THE LIBRARY SITE.

Shy-*lt came as rather a surprise to read in your issue of Tuesday .ast that me Mayor had altered his'previous policy with regard to l.brary questions and permitted a resolution to be passed fixing definite y the library site. In the past His Worship has quite rightly ruled that a not.ce of mo .ion was necessary; but now, for some reason unexplained in your report, he has adopted another policy and permitted " shock tactics " to be indulged in. That the triangle site (despite remarks to the contrary) is not warued by the major ty of the residents was very clearly shown at the between Mr Spin ey and Mr Armstrong and further at the Council tab.e, where the Mayor's vote was necessary „o sway the decision. The question is too impor..an: a one to be treated as it has been, and before it is final y settled it should be more ful y threshed out without any " feeling "or " east v. west" com ng into the ques.ion at all. Recently the Young Men's Institute wrote to the Borough Council offering its section in Market Street as a library site, and also suggesting a basis for negotiation. Apparently no move was made by .he Counc : l to negotiate with the Institute, and the letter was pigeon-holed, as the Institute to this day has received no repiy to its letter. Perhaps .he Mayor can explain why the Institute was not written to official y stating that its offer had been accepted or rejected. The fixing of a site for the library has been held up so ong now that a few months more will be neither here nor there; in fact, the life of the present Council is so short that it is questionable whether it should undertake the expenditure in the dy ng' stage of its reign. It is no secret that an effort is being made to bring before the Council the advantages of the Institute sie in preference to the two that have already aroused so much heartburning. A petition s at present being circu ated, and will be presented to the next meeting of the Council and every effort wi 1 be made to have the question thoroughly investigated, so that perhaps the " shock ■ tactics " mentioned above wll be in vain. At all events, let the question be approached with an open mind, and if nece~sary allow the ratepayers to take a poll on the sites under review, thus gaining a fair indication of the wishes of the people. In cone us on, I would like to know whether the Mayor was in order in accepting and allowing such a resolution to be passed, seeing that there was no mention of the library 01 the agenda paper. Surely the question of the selection of a library site is of enough importance to be mentioned and not be classed under the heading "and general." As this quest'on is of such importance to the town I would request you. Sir. to keep this column e'ean and above board, all future correspondents to do as I am doing and sign their proper names.—l am etc.,

GEO. M. BLAIR.

(The question at the Council meeting on Monday really originated by way of report from a committee. In any case, the subsequent discussion was defined by Standing Orders, clause 25 reading, "No member shall make any motion initiating a subject except in pursuance of a notice entered on the order paper, or by consent of the council given without a negative voice." Therefore it was for a Councillor to raise objection, and as none was raised, the discussion was permissible. The Mayor's previous insistence for a notice of motion was in terms of clause 26, debarring discussion of a motion which had been decided within the period of six months previously. —Ed.)