EXTRAORDINARY PROCEEDINGS AT SOUTH DUNEDIN.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVII, Issue 36, 7 September 1899, Page 19

EXTRAORDINARY PROCEEDINGS AT SOUTH DUNEDIN.

The Borongh Council of South Dunedin — or rather a bare majority of its members — has succeeded in immortalising itself. The facts of the case are tersely put in the following editorial horse-whipping given to them by the Dunedin Evening Star of Monday under the beading of ' Contemptible tactics ' :—: — ' Our attention has been drawn to the very extraordinary conduct of the Mayor and certain' councillors of South Dunedin last week, who, with the deliberate intention of disfranchising residents who bad lodged claims to be placed on the burgess roll, absented themselves from the meeting convened in accordance with the Act of 1899 for Thursday evening, and from the adjourned meetings held on Friday and Saturday There is no question whatever that the Mayor and the members who thus absented themselves did so with the determination of preventing the 150 claimants from having their names placed on tht roll, and thus in direct contravention of the intentions of the Legislature and the purpose of the Act these oitizens have been deprived of municipal rights. It would be difficult to find language strong enough to denounce in fit terms suoh flagitious and contemptible tactics — such a gross perversion of official duty as has been perpetrated. The burgesses of the borough should rise as one man and demand the immediate resignation of the Mayor, his aiders and abettors. The object of the Munioipal Franchise Reform Extension Act has been entirely defeated in South Dunedin, and might be so in any borough where a majority of the Council object to the extension of the franchise. We hope that the Government may take note of the matter, and bring in a short Bill declaring that the seat of any borough councillor who is absent from any two successive meetings or adjourned meetings of the Council without having obtained leave shall be ipso facto vacant. Monday evening's meeting of the Council was a breezy one. Th« missing councillors turned up. At the close of the business they were called upon by Mr. Marlow to offer an explanation for their absence from the previous meetings. The Mayor (Mr. Fiddis) said he was very sorry th*t he was one of those who had not attended the meetings (says the Otago Daily Times). He had other places to go as well, that were as much benefit to him as the South Dunedin Council, and he thought he did exceedingly well if he kept away. He added that if he did not want to go out of a night it would take a screw jack to shift him. One of the councillors (Mr. Scott), who had absented himself from the meeting said he kept away out of utter contempt for the Government and the Act they had parsed. Another (Cr. Bottmg) said he had engagements on Thursday and Saturday, and he was not going to postpone them for a thing he did not approve of. A third (Cr. With^rford) declared that the spirit did not move him to attend ; whilst a fourth (Cr. Stirling) was not permitted by his medical adviser to be out at night, and had sent an apology to the Mayor. The latter intimated that he had ' put it (the apology) in his pocket to treat those four men (the councillors who attended the special meeting) with the contempt they deserved.' From these remarks it is quite evident that the Mayor and some of the councillors of South Dunedin absented themselves from the meeting with the avowed intention of defeating the provisions of an Act of Parliament. We hope that the intelligent and fairminded burgesses of South Dunedin will see to it that the Krugerism will not be permitted to be carried on with impunity in the borough, and that Mayor Fiddis will be speedily relegated to that obscurity which he is so well fitted to adorn.