Pahiatua Borough Council.

Woodville Examiner, Volume XIII, Issue 2318, 11 January 1895, Page 3

Pahiatua Borough Council.

THE VACANT CHAIR

The election to fill the vacancy m the West Ward, caused by Mr Job Vile being elected Mayor, was hold on Wednesday. There were two candidates—Messrs Crewe and 1-. Greville—both of whom had their scouts out endeavoring to persuade the " free and independent." The following is the result : Crewe ... ■•• Greville ■•• ••■ I-} In connection with this election, Mr Greville held a meeting on Tuesday night, for the purpose of addressing the burgesses, at which Mr Crewe was present by invitation. His Worship the Mayor occupied the chair. . , Mr Greville devoted a little time to what he termed " the moralising of the Herald," and with a jerk peculiar to the speaker, he said, " Just fancy the Herald moralising !" Incidentally ho remarked that all the Borough Council repoits that appeared in the Herald were jnckplaned to suit several members thereof, who were also directors of the Herald Company. Then he got on to the Borough advertising, where again he scored a poiut on the local paper (or its directors). He gave an instance where two contracts, amounting in all to about £lO, cos!: the ratepayers the nice little sum of £2 10s for advertising, and seeing that there were several directors of the Herald on the Council, this was in itself a scandal. For a CloOO job the Pahiatua County Council (whore there were no directors of the paper) paid £1 for advertising. Mr Greville also quoted from a lender in the Herald some time ago, in which it was stated that all joint stock- companies were swindles—got up for the purpose of tleeciug the public; the audience roared when the speaker said the Herald Company was no doubt included in the list. He also handled Mr Crewe pretty roughly, aud said that the editor of the Herald was running him because he war, ordered to do so. Mr Crewe was bolstered up as a great financier, and was expected to work a miracle if* he got into the Council. The speaker langhted at the idea of any great financier being required to expend £7OO a year—this was the revenue of the Borough. He then dwelt on the absurdity of paying £IOO a year for a clerk, besides 50 per cent, for coveting rates, when it could be doilr for very much less. The Council was paying over a £1 a weekinterest c'l overdraft, and he wanted to know why a loan had not been raised some time ago. when instead (w4>aying b per cent, interest they would only have to pay "> per cent., and the principal would be paid oil* at the same time. He was in favor of borrowing for drainage, Arc; the road from the Toritea through the Corporation Reserve should he opened ; the Council should go in for lighting the streets on winter nights ; an endeavor should be made to get the County Council to bridge the Makuri on the Te Aupapa Road, so as to secure the Makuri trade ; provision should be made for the inspection of meat before it was sold, as it was being found in other places that a great deal of cancerous meat was being killed. The speaker received avery patient hearing, and was loudly applauded on resuming his seat. A few unimportant questions wore asked, and then Mr Crewe mounted the platform. He said they all knew his views, and there was no necessity to repeat them. Mr Greville had been railing against the Herald Company. One tiring was very certain, that gentleman would be only too glad to be a director or even a shareholder ; and sometime ago he had asked him for a billet on the paper. [Here Mr Greville's face was a study.] Mr Crewe sat down after speaking about four minutes. Mr Greville rose to reply, and paid he did expect that such a wonderful financer as Mr Crewe would be able to speak for more than live minutes on public matters. About this billet he had asked for: It was a falsehood. The real facts were these, and the they were not very /Uttering to Mr Baillie. When the latter applied and got a rise in his screw, Mr Crowe had come to the speaker and said—" Look here, I don't approve of that man getting £1 a week ; you keep quiet and don't talk about us, and I'll get him out presently and put you in." The tables were thus completely turned, and the audience seemed to thoroughly enjoy the situation. A vote of thanks to the chair brought the meeting to a close.