THE NEW TOWN COUNCIL.

West Coast Times, Issue 630, 1 October 1867, Page 8

THE NEW TOWN COUNCIL.

(PBOM THE DESPATCH, SEPT. 28.) Who shall be our Councillors, and who shall be our Mayor ? "Such are the current questions of the day. It has been decided by the Town Solicitor that all the members of the present Town Council will complete their term of service on the ninth of October next; and that nine now men will have to be -elected to succeed them, unless it isthe pleasure of the ratepayers to re-elect them or any proportion of them. It is to be presumed that several of the Councillors will offer themselves for reelection. Mr Bonar, the present Mayor, is not likely again to stand — his position, as Goldfields Secretary being obviously incompatable with Jus incumbency of the chief Magistracy of the town. Mr Fitzsimmons's seat has become vacant— not by his resignation, but by the due operation of the law. Mr Hungerford is lost to us, and Mr Cumming it is understood will not again be a candidate. There will be four fresh seats to be filled, even should the whole of the remaining' Councillors be re-elected. The latter include Mr James Anderson, Mr Shaw, Mr' Prosser, Mr .Ecclesfield, and Mr Clarke. We presume that all these gentlemen will be replaced in the position from which they retire. It would be greatly to be regretted if the principle were applied in this instance, of discarding old 'servants from a mere caprice, a love of change, a feeling of ingratitude for useful work'Sone. The o_Mce,_of a Town Councillor is an* arduous one. It by no means necessarily :follows Hhat the faithful discharge of the duties attached to it wins popularity. 'It confers no political position ; affords Htfleopportunity of gaining eclat by any great stroke off policy or the advocacy of any popular measure. The duty of a Town Councillor is to- levy rates and to spend them ; to make b} r e-laws.and to enforce them ; in other words, to Hip into people's pockets, and to keep persons within certain bounds of municipal law. If, holding; the position of- a Town Coun--cillor, a man does this duty faithfully for a year, it is scarcely within the bounds of possibility that he shall not forfeit a good' deal of .his original popularity and make a multitude of enemies. One set of men are affected by bye-laws, and'get a grievance accordingly. Another set 1 ape taxed, and see the rates to which they contribute spent somewhere out of their own particular street. They, have a grievance of their own, as a matter of course. And the result is this : — The man who has inos.t diligently and honestly discharged his duties, is often the most unpopular man, because he has trodden upon so manj r people's toes. Mow, the electors ought to rise above this feeling, and to appreciate honest and faithful service wherever it is rendered. No greater mistake could be made than to discard men who have worked hard and done-^thpir duty, for the mere sake of putfzng* in other men who Have no claim to support but theJdrfH promises they mak^ If there ,has'*been) any neglect of duty ; any gross breach of faith ; any malversation of trust ; the case is of course different; and there is a patent and intelligible reason for getting rid of j servants who have betrayed their employers, andfor sendingnewmen into office. But what is the present case ? We do not think that any considerable section of the ratepayers will dissent from us when we say, that the Councillors who will, within the next few days, retire from office have served their fellow- citizens - diligently and well ; that they have been active and energetic in the performance of their duties, and watchful over the interests of the town. If the wliole of the five Councillors — . who we presume will stand for re-election — are again returned to the Council, there will still be ample room for the indulgence of that particular weakness .of electors, the " infusion of new blood " into elected bodies. Four new men will surely carry sufficient new blood into a body consisting of nine members. The ratepayers may make their own choice between" the Brownes and the Bartletts, and the other candidates yet unannounced, without discarding any of the men who have served them well and truly for a twelvemonth past. We are speaking for a principle. We deprecate public ingratitude, and the fickleness of popular favor. \