MAYORAL ELECTIONS.

Christchurch.

OFFICIAL DECLARATION OF THF-

POLL.

The official declaration of the result of the polling for the office of Mayor of Christchurch took place in front of the City Council offices at noon to-day. A crowd of abont three hundred persons gathered to witness the proceedings. Mr G. L. Lee, the Returning Officer, announced that the result of the poll was &3 follows j—Aaron Ayers 636 Charles Locisson 631 He declared Mr Ayers duly elected Mayor of Chri-tchurch for the ensuing year. The announcement was received with cheers. Mr Ayers, who was greeted with cheers, said that he felt he occupied a very proud position, and had to thank the ratepayers again most sincerely for tbat position. He thought that, under the circumstances, the victory had been tbe moat signal gained in any contest for a mayoralty in Canterbury or in New Zealand. To have got the victory under such circumstances was almost more than they could have expected, and almost more than human to accomplish. As it had been done, he did not intend to glorify over the defeated candidate. He held Mr Louisson in high esteem. He had worked with him for over six years, and a good, faithful Councillor he had proved himself to be; he had served the citizens well and faithfully ; and if he (Mr Ayers) had any regret over the election, it waa in feeling that he had been compelled to oppose Mr Louisson. (Cheers.) No one would be likely to congratulate that gentleman, should he aspire to the offico of Mayor on some future occasion, more than ho would himself. (Hear, hear.) He would say now that ho intended, to the utmost of his ability, to forget that any persona had been his opponents, and to look upon them only as fellow-citizens and fellow - ratepayers, and to do all he could to eerve them in hia position of Mayor. (Cheers.) He held that after a fight waa over theae matters should be forgotten, and that no man was fit to hold public office if he carried spite and malice into that office merely because he happened to have had an opponent. (Cheers.) He had again to thank them for returning him, and to assure them that he would endeavour to do hia duty during the coming year. (Cheers).

Mr Louisson said that he appeared before them, he was sorry to say, as a defeated candidate, but he did not think that, if they looked at the figures of the polling, they would find that his successful opponent, Mr Ayers, had got very much to glorify about. [A Voice: He hasn't done it.] The election had been the most keenly contested one ever fought in Christchurch for the position of Mayor, and considering that there were only five votes between the candidates, he did not think that his opponent could congratulate himself upon the opinion of the ratepayers being very much more in his favour than in his own. (Hear, hear.) Public opinion was about equally balanced aa to which shonld represent the citizens. (Cries of "Yea" and "No.") Considering that Mr Ayers' majority was only five, he (Mr Louisson) thought that he might fairly say that the victory was somewhat of an accidental one. (" No, no.") However, having got in, Mr Ayers was perfectly entitled to all the credit of being the successful competitor. (A voice : Tou made too sure of it.) He wonld also say that though, perhaps, the greater honour was due to Mr Ayers in the position of Mayor, he (Mr Louisson) wonld probably have the happiest time, because the office of Mayor was not by any means a bed of roses. (A voice : Why did you want it ?) We often wanted many things chat were not very much for our own benefit. [A Voice: Don't yon make it a bed of thorns for him.] He would like to say a few words with regard to the requisition which had been presented to him. A deal of capital had been made out of it, very much to his disadvantage. [A Voice : It killed you.] It had been very much misunderstood by the public generally. (Cries of " No, no ! " and interruption.) That requisition wasperfectly legitimate and proper, but it had not been properly understood. (A Voice : It was not properly started.) | The members of the Council were sent there to represent the ratepayers, and their opinion was entitled to a certain amount of respect from the ratepayers, whether they agreed with it or not. The opinion of the councillors all along had been that the office ofjmayor should be an annual one (Cries of No! and Hulbert!] that no gentleman

Bhonld contest the .office for a second year. j Of course, if a gentleman was unanimously j asked to oome forward a second time, and j received no opposition, there was nothing : for it but to accept the office. The Conn- j eillors considered that there were so many , gentlemen in the Council who might naturally aspire to the office of Mayor, , that if each Mayor were to sit fori two years it would be rather too long j for some of them to wait. (A Voice : j Hosking ! Laughter. Another Voice : It j can't be such a rough thing then. A third : | Hulbert wanted it for three years ) It must j be remembered that the Councillors were j also ratepayers, and that tbey had a per- j feet right •to express their opinion as mnoh as any other ratepayers, and their opinion waa entitled to as much respect. Over 630 ratepayers of Christchurch were of opinion that he was entitled to be Mayor for the coming year. That being the case he was perfectly satisfied with having stood. He did not think there was anything to be ashamed of in his defeat. (No). He thanked those who had voted for him, and he hoped that the present Mayor's conduct during the , coming year -would be such as would j justify the action of thoee who had sup- j ported him. He begged to move a vote of j thanks to the Eeturn ing-Officer. (Cheers.) Mr Ayers had very great pleasure in j seconding the vote of thanks. Mr Lee was, ; he considered, an admirable Returning- j Officer, thoroughly impartial and in every ; way fitted for the position. (Hear, hear.) ; There was one thing which it would be j wrong for him not to say. He • desired specially to thank the ladies ' of Christchurch, to whom, he claimed, he J owed the success of his campaign. [A j Voice : He's a ladies' man.] (Laughter.) • The ladieß could see further than most of • the men, and were very seldom wrong in ! their decision. They had shown it by j doing as -they had done in this case. • (Cheers and laughter.) J Mr G. L. Lee briefly acknowledged tbe j vote of thanks, and the crowd dispersed. j