COOK COUNTY ELECTIONS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2660, 16 November 1909, Page 7

COOK COUNTY ELECTIONS.

HON. CAPTAIN TUCKER AT

MATAWHERO

Tlie Hon. Captain tucker addressed the electors for the Gisborne Riding •of Cook County at Matawhero last night, iMr. A. J. Cameron presided, and there was only a small attendance. The lion. Captain Tucker thanked the electors for the assistance they gave him last election, and said ho hoped for the same support at Wednesday’s poll. He remarked that this election . had aroused great interest in Gisborne, and the key to the situation was because the seat on the Harbor Board was in question. The other side were lighting against him for it. On the Harbor Board they had on one side live and on the other side four. The policy of one side was for an outer harbor.. If the river silted urn they would have to have an outer liabror, but he said the whole of their trade was efficiently served by the present facilities. It would be nice to have an outer harbor, but that would cost money, and they would have to consider whether it was worth it. They would have to keep up their river trade and working as at present. To keep up the river trade—-the Harbor Board ordered a dredger. They had been brought to task for going to this great expense of £40,000, but he would answer- that it was necessary. The agents of the big steamers had been consulted as to an outer harbor, but only the passenger steamer companies said they would use it. Others said they did not want it, as they got quicker and better despatch in Gisborne than in any of tlie four great ports. He did not see that the outer harbor would add anything to the farmers’ produce, as they, would not save anything on freight. "Therefore lie did not see what the farmers would gain. The promoters of the outer harbor would say they could get the harbor without a penny cost, but no one could believe this. There had never been a harbor constructed for the estimated cost. There were some people who said that before the harbor was ready it would cost a 'million, but he did not say this, but they would need half-a-million, as there would be more oxypenditure necessary after tlie £350,000 had been expended. From some source they would have to find interest and sinking fund, and none of them wanted ' the rates back. He hoped that they would be enabled to go without a harbor Tate, but this could not be done if they went in for an outer harbor. In answer to a question, Captain Tucker said that they would be improving the river when tlie new dredge arrived, and would be quite able to cope with the trade. The inner harlx>r was the happy medium between retrogression and extravagance. as they would be able to carry on till the loan would not be a burden. Reverting to county matters, the speaker said that a.s regards the discontent at "NVaikohu, the ,people who lived, in the back-blocks saw that most money was spent on. the roads from Gisborne upwards, but this had to be so. It was said that most of the money was spent in the Gisborne Riding, but they had . great additional expense in Gisborne, such as clerks, office staff, engineer, and advertising. Therefore a part of the money taken in rates from the other ridings could not be given back to them. The cry had always been that the interior riding got more than its share, but this was not so, as the Gisborne Riding had to keqp ,up the roads for the outer ridings, so it was proper they should contribute something. The cry had been that Gisborne Riding had more than its share, and that was why Waikohu went off and wkv Tologa went off. He had never advocated expenditure in Gisborne Riding knowing that the money would have to be spent. If he had thought it necessary he would have spoken up. He had heard rumors that he looked after hi.s own interests, but- he assured them that during all the time he had been on any local body he defied anyone to show, one instance where he had advocated anything for his own interests, but he had sometimes, at some cost, constructed roads that were of no benefit to himself. Quoting figures the speaker said the valuation of Cook County, European .part, was £3,089,806, Waikohu £1,396,041, Native lands £307,308, and increases l in valuations £366,445; total value on Ist January, £5,159,670. The borough had a value of about £1,000,000, so that the rating for a harbor would be on £6,159,706. This would need, a rate of about Id in the £, and lie did‘not want this. The Government gave assistance for loans, hut on-ly up to £6OOO. There was a limit of £500,000 to be lent by the Government, and this had to bo spread over the whole Dominion. Therefore he thought they were better off with Government grants tlian by the § per cent, interest they would allow. The county overdraft On 30th September was £15,420, but. a great deal of this was for advances, and this was always going up and down, their ensuing rates would, clear it off, then their expenditure would send it up again. The speaker then quoted the overdraft for several years, and said the reason they had been brought down to £SOOO in 1904 was because they- practised economy then. As there was a clamoring out for works that were necessary the overdraft was considerably increased. In 1907 the overdraft had been brought lower than ever before, -to £4754, but in 1908 it went to over £9OOO. They now had, as a result of this* new steel bridges in place of the old wooden ones, which had lasted their turn. These were the results of his terms of office. The whole of the rating and other revenue for 1909 gave a working revenue of about £IB,OOO. ' He did not claim credit for what had been done for the benefit of the riding, but they could not reproach him. There was another thing that caused discontent — the tyre by-law. A Councillor was anxious to alter this by-law, and there were many meetings in the Council to consider it. Deputations came to them and as a result he opposed, successfully, the new tyre by-law. and the tyre bylaw was not altered. The tramway , ~ Patutahi to Gisborne, hau aroused'controversy. There were many consultations between the borough and the County Council, hut they Rad all fallen through. The county Then inaugurated the tramway proposal, ■ hoping that the borough would take a certain amount of metal from them, but the proposal haid been knocked on the head by the Gisborne people, whom it was to benefit. In conclusion, the speaker emphasised that the -fight was for a seat on the Harbor Board, there was a strenuous eoffrt.to put him out of the chairmanship of the Council because if he got out of the Harken Board they would be put under a burden bv an outer harbor, and increased He asked them to consider whether it would benefit them or not, as he did not think it would- It the} wanted the harbor he asked them not to veto for him, but lie would .do Ins v beet to improve the. present facilities. ‘ A number of questions were, put to tlie speaker ami answered. Mr! A. F. Matthews, at the request of*the Hon. • Caplain Tucker, also cut-

lined the reasons why:the tramway proposals had been "thrown out. The meeting closed' with a vote of thanks to the chairman and thq speakers.

MR. C. J. PARKER AT WAERENGA-

A-HIKA

Tliere was a fairly largo attendance in the Waerenga-a-liika Hall last night, when Mr. C. J. Parker, who is a candidate for election for the Gisborne Riding uf the Cook County Council, addressed the ratepayers. Mr. 11. J. Rougher was voted to the chair, and introduced Mr. Parker to the audience.

Mr. Parker, in opening, craved the indulgence of tho meeting on the grounds that he was not a public speaker. He was sorry to say that a County Council election had degenerated into, a Harbor Board election. Tlie,administration of the Cook County Council might have been much better conducted and there were secessions and rumored secessions of several of the addings. The, Council had blundered badly in the matter of finance. Their overdraft was up to the limit, and they were paying up te 51 or 6 per cent, although they anight have obtained money at cheaper rates from the Government in tho last couple of years. As it was, there was no hone of wiping off the overdraft. He thought also, that, in view of the Council’s financial position, it was wholly unnecessary and unjustified to erect large and costly Council offices in Gisborne. This money would have been much better spent in relieving some of tho backbloclr settlers or in improving a piece of a road, say from Makaraka to town. He had practically decided, on these grounds, to oppose te Hon. Capt. Tucker, but since then other features had been introduced into the contest. Last year the Council and charitable aid rate Mvas the heaviest ever struck, also 1-Jd in the £, and this yoar the lion. Capt. Tucker had said that the rato had been reduced to Id, but he (the speaker) held that they could not carry on, considering that the overdraft was over £14.000. He did '.<(■ believe in spending the rates pi The Arai riding that should be spent in Tologa. There should be some - "system of distribution, and if they returned him as member lie would not stop on. the Council unless he could see the rates paid in the ridings expended in those ridings, except under exceptional circumstances. He did not want to say any more on Comity matters, as through no fault of his the election had resolved-itself into a harbor question. The Hon. Cpat. Tucker had said so in his address, and directly opposed any harbor loan at present. He did not think the bon. gentleman need have mentioned this, as there was no possibility of the outer harbor question coming before the Board for at least two years. He considered that with tho dredge, and preparations for it, extension of the breakwater, etc., over £60,000 would be swamped before the present works would bo completed. The extension of the breakwater was only an experiment, and he thought tho question should have been put to the ratepayers before it was decided upon by tho Board. A voice: How does this affect the County Council election? If Captain Tucker is- returned, be may not ho chairman. Mr. Parker: Captain Tucker says it does affect tho election. He says it is a harbor election. Continuing, Mr. Parker said that if tho dredge proved to be a failure, he would vote for an outer harbor and seo . tho matter put before the ratepayers. He thought that a good many other members of the Board would do so also. Tho extension, of the groyne had been undertaken without expert advice. The whole harbor question had merely been raised in the County election as a bogey to frighten electors from voting for him (tho speaker). He did not think tho Council should have reduced the rates, with a large overdraft. He did not want to say anything bad about Captain Tucker, but it seemed to him that that gentleman had thrown over the finance and management of tho County for the sake of the Harbor Board. The question had, however, been raised, and be (the speaker) must reply to it and defend himself. At the conclusion of Mr. Parker’s address, questions were invited. In reply to one, Mr. Parker said that about £BOO or £9OO had been spent last year on tho stock track. To Mr. Clark: The Council could have borrowed money f.rom tho Government at about 4 per cent, with the Government, paying £ per cent sinking fund. The "Act was passed a year or two ago. Mr. Clark: I wish you could tell us what Act it is. If what you say is truo the Council is certainly to blame. Mr. Harris: The Act was passed twelve months ago. Some discussion then took place on the question of the extension ' of. the groyne, Mir Clark stating that the work had been carried out under the supervision and according to the plans of Mr. Napier Bell, although Mr. Parker „had stated early in the evening that tho work 1 had been carried out without professional advice. He offered l to forfait £5 to the hospital if liis statement was not correct. He would not have mentioned harbor matters at all if the statement had not been made. . Mr. Harris explained that Mr Nanier Bell had warned them that the extension of the groyne would cause a “run” in the river. In reply to further questions, Mr. Parker said he was not at all in favor of the Council’s by-laws dealing with wheel tyres and heavy traffic. Ho thought they were hampering the settlers unnecessarily. He thought that if tlie tramway from Patutalii had been brought round by Matawhero or Makaraka. it would have been a good thing, but .bringing it, as was proposed, by the abattoirs, Tt could not have served any oilier purpose than te bring metal in for the Bbrough Council. The meeting was brought te a conclusion by the passing of a vote of thanks to and confidence in Mir. Parker, proposed by Mr. Clark and seconded by the Chairman. 1 A similar compliment was paid to the chairman on the motion “of Mr. Parker.