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Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume I, Issue 56, 30 January 1877, Page 2

The " battle of the keys " was fiercely fought out to its bitter end at the meeting of the Borough Council of Akaroa held on Wednesday last, The Council seems to be particulaiiy unfortunate in dealing with keys. Some little time since the Council resolved to take possession—vi et armis —of the Road Board office, and, accordingly His Worship the Mayor locked the door, and put the key into his pocket; subsequently the Town Clerk was directed to write to the Road Board, requesting them to remove their goods and chattels instantly—and then, after waiting a while, the end came—the Council had to cry peccavi, and to give up the key ! The affair out of which the battle on Wednesday arose was, if possible, more ridiculous. We are not going to enter upon the details, they are too fresh before the public to require reiteration, but we perfectly agree with Cr. Wagstaff when he said, "tha*: the discussion would not tend to elevate the Council in the eyes of their fellow townsmen." " The idea of moving a vote of censure on His Worship the Mayor and Cr. Penlington, on such grounds as those, set forth by the mover of the resolution and its supporters, is so ludicrous, that one scarcely knows how to regard it, whether with pity or contempt. It is all nonsense to talk of acting on principle —doing battle on principle is all very well, when the principle itself is worth fighting for, otherwise, it is acting like the gentleman, mentioned in the " Pickwick Papers," who, on the authority of no less a personage than the illustrious Sam Veller, blew out his brains in vindication of the great principle that " crumpets ivos wholesome."