Unseemly Haste

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Volume 59, Issue 55, 5 April 1930, Page 5

Unseemly Haste

Per Press Association.

C0UNTY COUNGIL'S VIEWS Proposal To Defer Consideration MR PEACOCK NOMINATED.

WAIPUKURAU, This day. The Waipukurau County Council at the monthly meeting to-day reviewed at length the impasse that has arisen in connecton with the Waipukurau Borough Council' s action in liominating Cr. W- A. Chambers as the district representative on the Napier Harbour Board, without consulting the County Council. The meeting opened by passing a motion of sympathy to the relatives of the late Mr E. A. Goodger, former district member on the Harbour Board. The chairman, Mr A. C. Russell, paid a warm tribute to tlie deceased gentleman, saying that for weight and inches he had never seen a man with greater 'brain power. Mr Goodger had servcd the public unselfishly. and liimself little. Central Hawke's Bay could ill-afford to lose such a fine and able gentleman. The motion was carried in silence. In connection with the appointment of a successor, Cr. Tansev moved that the matter be held over till the next meeting. He said that he would not give his reason for so moving, saying that the councillors knew the reason. The matter had taken such a turn it should be postponed. The ratepayers would not lose by such an action. The councillors would be cooled down by then. The chairman said that he wanted confirmation of his actions. Cr. Tansey: You have nothing to explain. Mr Russell: You are trying to gag the ends of justice. Cr. Tansey : No, bnt if we start making explanations the Borough Council will go on making others in reply, and then we will reply to that and so it will go on. NO NEED TO EXPLAiN. ' Continuing, Cr. Tansey said that the chairman had no need to explain anything. Councillors knew that anything the chairman had done was dcne in the interests of the county. Mr Russell: Do you want to reduce us to the level of the people who have done this thing ? I think it is a terrible thing — a horrible thing. Cr. Tansey: We must not talk about levels. We must credit the other people with bemg decent, honest people, iike ourselves. Mr Russsll: Not on this occasion. In reply to Mr Russell, Cr. Tansey said that the reason for the suggested postponement was that if the county dropped the matter the borough would too. He had complete confidenec in the chairman and what he had done, but he wanted the matter dropped. Cr. W. T. Edgecombe expressed the opinion' that the .chairman wonld be well advised to let the matter drop. Cr. Tansey said that if the chairman desired to make a nomination for the vacant position on the board the council would unanimously adopt it, but explanations were not wanted. They would only perpetuate the unseemly wrangle that had arisen between the county and borough. Mr Russell : Between the chairman and borough ! Are you sincere or are you speaking from the other side of the fence? Cr. Tansey : No. I only want to see the matter dropped and not handed on for years. I am not speaking from any side. Cr. Chalmers said that he could not see the idea of the postponement. _ The Borough Council had not been fair in burrying through the nomination without considering the County Council wonld he weak to back down. Cr. Tansey; They made an apology. We. must accept it. Mr Russell : You agree that we are right and tliat they are wrong ? INFLUENCE DENIED. Cr. W. T. Edgecombe favoured the postponement to give the members time to cool down, and s»y nothing they would regret. Mr Russell: YTou let the opposition gain their point and then allow them to walk over you without a protest. Continuing, Mr Russell said that if tho council passod the motion gagging the chairman it could accept his resignation. Was the council to allow the borough to walk over it? ' There was some influence at work to gag the chairman and prevent him defencling liimself and discredit him. _ Cr. Tansey denied that there was outside influence so far as he was concerned. He only discussed the matter with county members. Mr Russell : You asked me to drop the discussion in the interests of the other side. Cr. Tansey made reference to the newspaper reports, but Mr Russell said that the newspapers had given a truthfiil account of all the proceedings in the interests of justice. Mr Russell added that he desired to explain what had been done, and so secure the council' s endorsement. OBJECTIQN TO RATES. Mr Russell, when speaking, was several times interrupted by Cr. Tansey till he had to ask for the'protection of the meeting. Reviewing the whole matter, Cr. Russell referred. to the haste of the borough to fill the position, even though not offieially notified of the vacancy. Mr Goodger' s policy had been to support the Royal Commission, and Mr Chambers' policy was quite contrary. Despite the fact that the Loans Board had definitely vetoed the authority for the inner harbour he wants, everyone to knew tliat the chairman of the board was not the man to be stopped by that. It was common property that a dredge was still to be procured and that that was just a round ahout wav of sliowing a deficit as an excuse for calling up a rate. Anyone knew the county was opposed 'to a rate, or any party seeking to reimpose the rate. The whole circumstances of the matter and the memory of the deceased gentleman had urged him to take the matter up today. They had to nominnte a candi- ' date favouring no rate, and a pause in the construction work on the harhours. Discussing the telegrams, Cr. Russell said that he had suggested to the clerk the advisability of nominating, Mr H. R. Peacocfc, and the clerk had wired the Ministed: saying that the council nomiriatecl him. The clerk had acted in good faitli, but the speaker wired saying that the matter should be held over. MADE IN ERROR. As soon as he knew the postion, he 1 " - - L-.te*

wired the Minister, saying that the clerk' s nomination of Mr Peacock had been made in error. Notices of motion had appeared in the papers by Mr Chambers. Mr Chambers was making a big noise, like a big drum — a 'big hoilow and plenty of sound. (Laugliter). Mr Chambers was living on the shadow of the past, and living solely on talk. He thought the Deputy-SIayor had heen trapped into the position and the speaker desired to save him. The whole thing was a blot on Waipukurau and a blot that would stand for years to come. He would nominate Mr Peacock for the vacant position and had thought of nominating Mr R. * McLean, Mayor of Waipukurau, but the latter declined on the grounds that he did not desire to enter the partv strife. Mr Peacock was a man of grit and courage and would make a capital representative on the board. He spoke eourageoosly and would not be bought over. The unfortunate part of the whole matter was that such appointments were usually political. Cr. W. J. Edgecombe seconded the nomination of Mr Peacock. STRAIGHT SPEAKING. Cr. L. M. Monckton made a personal explanation. He said that his action had been inspired by the hope that the appointment would not be made before the county had an opportunity to make representations. Cr. A. W. Elliott asked the reason for hurrying the nomination of Mr Peacock before the county had a eliance to rnoet. Mr Russell, in replying, said that compared with the unscrupulous methods adopted hy the borough, the county had only to make a prompt nomination before the appointmentcould be made. Cr. Tansey asked questions as to why Atr Russell said at the conference that no wire had heen sent. Mr Russell said that the clerk sent the wire on assumption. Cr. Tansey said that the Borough Council would never believe that the clerk sent the wire on assumption. Mr Russell : You are just an emissary of the other side. Cr. Tansey : You could have made a decent and dignified protest. There was nor need for all this wrangling and bitterness, and you lost your head and said too much. Mr Russell : That appointment was an insult to the ratepavers who voted overwlielmingly for Mr Goodger' s policy. Cr. Chalmers: As far as wrangling goos it was them vdio started it. Cr. Tansey : You stated at the conference that a telegram had not gone and oue had gone. Mr Russell : You are not responsible for your words or actions to-day. You are drifting into had company. You can't accuse me of intriguing or lying. Cr. Tansey: I accept your w'ord, but you can't hlarne others if they don't. SOME CROSS TALK. There was some protracted cross-talk between Cr. Tansey and Mr Russell, till at last Mr Russell called the meeting to order on the grounds tliat Cr. Tansey was going beyond the bounds of deeency. The motion to nominate Mr Peacock was carried with one dissentient. In making an explanation of the sending of the telegram, Mr Price, the clerk, said that he had nnderstood the chairman to instruct him over the 'phone to send a wire nominating Mr Peacock. This was denied hy Mr Russell. Mr Pric© said that Mr Russell called at his office on Monday morning at ten o'clock and gave him instructions regarding the wires. Mr Russell denied that he was in the office in Monday. He was at his homestead^ Mr Russell added that he had given instructions for Mr Price to wait_ for rings on Sunday, but several rings sent to the house had not been answered. He denied that he had called at the elerk's office. Mr Russell said that he had heen Jet down and Cr. Tansey and the clerk had assisted. Cr. Tansey and the clerk were opposed to him in politics and had opposed him in this matter. In reply to Mr Price, Mr Russell sakl definitely that he was not in Mr Price's office at ten o'clock on Monday morning. Mr Price went to get the office girl to prove that Mr Russell was there, but the girl had gone to dinner. The chairman said that the clerk and Cr. Tansey were taking a hostile attitude to him. This was denied hy Mr Price and Cr. Tansey. STRONG WORDS. Mr Russell, speaking to Mr Tansey: Shut up! You are not a man at all. Mr Russell then said" that the clerk had treacherously betrayed him, though he had stood to the clerk for years. The clerk was telling deliberate falsehoods. This was protested against by several members. Mr Russell said that the clerk was opposed to him and he would resign. He left the chair, though he returned later. Crs. Kibblewhite and Chambers said tliat the whole matter seemed to he a nmundorstanding and it was best to let the matter drop. Mr Price explamed that he nnderstood that Mr Russell had instructed him to send the wire after consulting the councillors. He had only been able tr. see oue and then sent the wire. Mr Russell said that he had been told that Mr Price had shown the town clerk the wire, whereas Mr Price said that tlie town clerk mu-st have overheavd the wire being 'phoned. Mr Russell said that the clerk had traitorously betrayed the chairman, after the chairman had stood to him. Members expressed the opinion that the whole matter was due to a misunderstanding and expressed regret tliat the position had arisen. Mr Russell concluded tlie discussion hy saying that he held no resentment towards anyone. He very much regretted that tlie position between liimself and the clerk, to whom he had stuck for a long wliile, should have arisen. He then left tlie meeting. A motion that the discussion relating to the wires be kept out of the papers was not proceeded with.