Mr James Polherick, jun , one of the candl dates for the Mayoralty for the city for tho ensuing year, addressed ratepayers at the Newtown Music Hall Jiast evening. Tho chair was accnpled by Mr C. F. Worth, who briefly introdveed the candidate to the meet ing which was a moderately large one. Councillor Petherlck, on rising, said that it gave him great pleasure to meet bis Newtown friends lor the first time. His advent was occasioned owing to Mr Fisher continually coming forward as a candidate for tho Mayoral chair, who had bandied him very roughly during the present contest, which he trusted would be conducted on thoroughly good terms. He (Mr Pe;berick) claimed bis appeal to the suffrages of the ratepayers, not only as being an old resident who had grown up from boy hood in their midst, but also because be bad seen abuses growing up in their midst. Mr Fisher he remarked had recently been 111, and the bitter beer or tbo gentian root had affected him seriously. The mattsr of drainage was a thing, which affected them more closely than any other quest ion which bad come before them. He recollected as a boy fishing for eels in Newtown. (Voice : <k What are you fishing for now!”) The drainage loan had been badly manipulated by the present Mayor to the detriment of the ratepayers, and Mr Page, the City Treasurer, had been exceed ingly roughly handled on account of the drainage account. The Te Aro drainage boxes bad gone into the harbour, and the boxes of the Newtown drains had also been lost. Some time ago the City Reform Society had been started, and that society and the ratepayers generally were indebted to Messrs Quinn and Retford for their action with re gard to the question. Mr Fisher bad called him a monstrosity, but he considered that Mr Fisher was a greater monstrosity than ho (Mr Petherick) was. Mr Carter: Webster says that a mon strosity is a person who refuses to pay for bis mother’s burial.
