TRAMWAYS COMMITTEE MEETINGS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 84, Issue 178, 31 July 1940, Page 4

TRAMWAYS COMMITTEE MEETINGS

ARE SUFFICIENT HELD? DEBATE AT CITY COUNCIL TABLE The opinion was expressed by Cr. , S. J. Harris at a meeting of the Wanganui City Council last night that the Tramways Committee had not m often enough in recent months to pc. mit members of it to obtain a thorough , grasp of w hat is being done in that tie- j partment. This view was supported! by Cr. J. J. Scott, but the chairman ot ' the committee (Cr. R. E. Cuthbertson) | was of opinion that meetings were • necessary only when there was business to transact. Debate on this subject arose when, • in accord with a request made by Ci I Harris and approved by the council, the town clerk (Mr. C. R. White) laid on the table a return showing the number of times the various committees had met in the periods between May, 1938 and July 1940. Committee Meetings Held. Between May, 1938 and March, 1939. the Works Committee had held 13 meetings, the tramw ays six, finance 11. gas four, reserves four, and tnu !, library, Opera House and gallery seven. Between April, 1939, and h March, 1940, the Works Committee .< had met 13 times, tramways twice, ‘ j finance 12 times, gas four, reserves j. once, and the library, Opera House • anti Gallery Committee 11 times. Be- 1 tween April and July, 1940, the Works i Committee had held six meetings, the tramways one, finance six, gas three. . reserves one and library, Opera House and gallery three. The total number of meetings held by each committee I, from May, 1938, to July 1940, was:' Works 32, tramways nine, finance 29, j gas 11, reserves six, and the library, . Opera House and Gallery Committee |. "I feel that I am not in touch with tramway matters and that that is due i to so few meetings being held,” said I. Cr. Harris, explaining why he had ; asked for the return to be made. “While I appreciate that Cr. Cuthbertson has other interests and has to give those interests his attention, even , more than to the committee, 1 cannot help feeling that to keep in toucn with tramway matters the members of his committee should meet more often. I have brought the matter up, not as j a violent protest, but as a mild’pretest that tramways matters arc being ne- j glected, and I do not use that word ■ •neglected’ in any vindictive sense.” | Cr. Cuthbertson said he could not I congratulate Cr. Harris on the round- ' about way he had gone to get the in ' formation. If he had asked how many j meetings of the Tramways Committee ' had been held he would have been 1 told, and should have known. “Meetings are only necessary w hen I there is business to be done,” said Cr. i Cuthbertson, if Ci. Harris wants a meeting once a week to let members' feel sorry with one another about thf» poor state of the finances of the tramways, I am sure others do not. We have an efficient engineer. If the engineer can show’ that tramway business is be- ■ ing neglected I am willing to take my full share of blame for that. Items of Correspondence. Cr. Scott, after analysing the return, j turned to the list of outward correspondence dealt with by the tramway department. He mentioned pertain items of correspondence—“ Letter from J. Coull regarding Jost property,” “A petition from Mosston for a bus service”—(“That is the first I have heard that anybody at Mosston wanted . a bus,” he commented)—“complaint regasding the staff,” “loss of tickets by an

employee," “letter from a witness of an accident" —(“It is the first I nave j heard of any accident," Cr. Scott addled). He also referred to 5s conscience 'money, with interest, which had been isent to the department. “These are all matters of interest to the committee,” he said, “and members should have information on them.” He thought the committee (should meet more often. ! Cr. Harris, replying, said that he 'had asked for the return in open 'council and had in no way been unlaii [to the chairman of the committee. He , fully recognised the ability of the eni gineer and said that no one better !could hold the position, but it was a ! poor argument to say that the tramway undertaking should be left to him to run. "What are we here for?” Ci. Harris asked. "I feel that lam not able to give 100 pei cent, service because of a lack of knowledge of what is being done.” He mentioned that the committee had to meet the men s assessors regarding a new award and felt that he could not oe in a position to see justice done to both sides without the fuller knowledge obtainable lonlv from meetings. The Mayor (Hon. W. J. Rogers, M.L.C.) said that he had felt like I interposing when Cr. Cuthbertson had •said that he could not congratulate Cr [Harris on the method adopted to obtain the return. “But I felt that you I did not want in any way to be unfair 'and took the stand that Cr. Harris ■ could stick up for himself," said Hi'Worship to Cr. Cuthbertson. Not Fair to Make Comparisons. 1 Cr. Cuthbertson said that what he meant was that if a return of TramIway Committee meetings was all that [was wanted it should have been asked for. but it was not right to ge? a return of other committee meetings and make comparisons. So far as the new :award for the men was concerned, all the meetings the committee held would not alter the position that the committee was placed in, of having to the matter on the basis of i the old award. i The report was received.