VINCENT COUNTY COUNCIL

Dunstan Times, Issue 1100, 25 May 1883, Page 3

VINCENT COUNTY COUNCIL

1 A *pecial meeting of the Council was held on Wednesday, the 23rd inst.; at noon, in the Council Chambers, Clyde, the full Council in attendance. , .Or. Macginnis, from his seat at the table, said in terms of arrangement entered into when he was elected to the chair, he had handed in bis resignation. The Council accordingly was without a Chairman, and it now devolved upon the Clerk to conduct the business: Mr Evans, the Clerk, took the Chair, and after reading the circular of meeting, and the resignation of Cr. Macginnis from V the office of Chairman, called for nominations. Or. Stbonach said it was very evident that the Council was very evenly divided on the question, and suggested an adjournment to talk the matter quietly over before any motion was put. Cr. Colclougii saw no use for any more private talks. Whilst on his legs he would suggest, that it he decided that who ever was elected to the chair he should not exercise his casting vote when the office was again vacant. For his own part he did not care which end of the County had the chair, and knew no reason why others should if the I'oimty funds were fairly and equ’tahly spent, and the general County business properly conducted. The meeting adjourned till 2 p.m. On resuming at 2 p.m., the Council went into Committee of the whole, where they remained till 7 p.m., when an adjournment was made to 8 p.m. Oil again resuming, the Council attain went into Committee, and continued until 9 p.m., when they again sat in Council, the Clerk occupying tlie chair. Cr. Mackellar rose and proposed that the Council adjourn till Thursday, June 7th. He commenced to assign his reasons 1 for adjournment, but was ruled out of j order. Cr. Jolly proposed that the Council adjourn till 1 p m. on Thursday, 24th.— Lost, 4 voting for,, and 4 against. Or. Colclougii sai I he had now made up his min i to say “no” to everyth ng until 2 o'clock in the morning, and called on Cr. Mnckel'ar for a song. Cr. Wei-sford proposed tkat-tbe Council adi mu rill 24 hj inst. at 9 a.m.—Lost. Mr. Colclougii proposed that Cr. M’Phail take ihe chair.for this’meeting. Seconded by Cr. Jolly. Cr. M‘Cinnis proposed IhatCr. Welsford be Chairman of the meeting. Seconded by Cr. Stronach. Roth motions were lost. Or.-MacGlNNH,flajd there was no possibility of coming to any um erstanding. He would propose that the meeting stand adj aimed till Monday, 4th June, at neon. Seconded by Cr. Stromach. —Lost There was now a cessation of over a quarter of an hour, when Or. Jolly rose and proposed that Cr. Colclougii be elected Chairman. Ho said He was ex re uely anxious that a Chairman should be elected, as a very serious question had arisen since the last meeting, and o ie that mighi involve the Conned in the expenditure of a large sum of money, and probably in a law. suit. Cr. M acg'NN-s said the matter alluded to by Cr. Jolly was an. act of his own doing, and if I he Council was involved in any expense through it, be should be made personally responsible But for the.remarks of Cr. Jolly, lie would not now have alluded to the matter. Cr Mackellar said, after whatihal been done to-day, he was more inclined tlnm ever for separation, and alter the acdon of the late Chairman in signing a voucher in favour of Crummy an I Co. for £C-K) when there was a notice of motion on the table for rescinding the vote thus giving eff -ct th-hi* casting vote.' it was high time there was a change in the conducting of the affairs of the Comity. He thought it was the most, shameful thing that ever had been done. These were ill" reasons he would support, the candidature of Cr. Colclougii. who, though hj id he voted lor the item, wm 11 not have issued llie-Vi ueher just on the eve of his resignation. Cr. Pitches snia reason he would vote against Cr. Coiclongh w. s that if any great mistake had been made, he was a party to it, inasmuch as by signing the 1 cheque. Cr. Colclougii said two of a trade seldom agreed, and he attributed Cr, Mackell.ar’s opposition to that faet. He would remind Cr. Mackellar of the special request he himself had made to the late Chair- ' man- viz, that before he left office to have a thorough clearing up of everything in the office, and the payment o f all debts in arrear, adding not to forget the Councillor’s t,-availing exnenses. Com- ■ cillor Jolly also supported the request, and if for no other reason than that, tinlate Chairman would actually have done , ■wrong if he had not issued the voucher. Moreover than that, he said, since the vote was originally passed there had been four 1 attempts to rescind it, out of which it had ( been confirmed by two full Councils, and , o lv negatived twice, when one or oth-'r ! members of the Council, who supported it, were absent It was, therefore, the voice of the Council that the money should be paid. As to the motion now on the paper for rescinding it by CrStronach, the motion was virtually Cr Mrckellar’s, as he dis- ' '■inotly heard the latter ask Cr Stronack to able the motion. If it was an act purely on the casting vote, he would not justify it; 1 but looking on it as a treble vote of the full 1 Counc’l., he would support it. 1 Cr Stronaoh was never more astonished when he learnt that the voucher was issued. 1 He denied the assumption that he was dictated to by Cr Mackellar in bringing up the 1 motion for rescinding the vote, He thought. ! it was an act, qf discourtesy on the part of the late Chairman to him, for issuing the voucher without first consulting him, and he should support the Treasurer (Cr Jolly) in the action he had taken iu stopping payment. Cr. Welsford thought the late Chairman Ji bad only carried out the-direct instructions of the Council in issuing the voucher. The wording of the original motion was “that the money be paid when funds were available ," and it being only now that funds i were available, the motion was given effect to ; and ho thought rightly too. The claim - was recognised by the Council as a just one, and the Engineer had said that if not perfectly legal, it was an equitable claim, and 1 he could but reiterate that by issuing the voucher, the distinctly expressed order of the Council was only being carried out. Cr. Mach ell ar, as a personal explanation, said that in speaking to the late 1 Chairman ab >ut having a -'thorough clean np, he had never entertained the slightest idea of the amount in question being in- 1 eluded. .... ( Cr. Macginnis said that when in clearing ( off ell the old arrears before vacating the office, he distinctly bore in mind the i request made him by the Treasurer and Op*--M‘Kelhir, and he contended "that hi* act would bear tne light of day. He said ■ it had been hurled at him that he took advantage of, hia position, and that he should not have in this instance exercised his casting vote. He could only pity the Council whoso Chairman had not the courage of hia own opinion so far as to use that prerogative. Be was quite prepared to

shoulder all thq odium Crs. Jolly and Mackeßar may attempt to foist on Rim, being fully convinced that all honest-minded ratepayers would endorse his action. He had nothing to be ashamed of, and if the case occurred again, he would again do what he Rad done, and ha was perfectly convinced that if the Treasurer had been left to himself ho would never have taken the step he had in refusing to sign the cheque iu ques tion. Cr. Jolly here interposed, and denied having been coerced by anyone, and said that on his accord he had ordered the b3nk to refuse payment of the voucher until it was accompanied by the special order provided for. Cr. Macginnis continued : The whole action of Crs. Jolly and Mackellar was to injure him in the eyes of the ratepayers at this particular juncture, hut he would challenge anyone to say but tbat he had acted in a straightforward and honest way since he had been a member of the Council, His actions would bear as favorable a scrutiny as any at that Board. Oie thing for certain he had never acted as Councillor and contractor. He had been annoyed and provoked onough to say more than he had ; but the matter was uotfyet dropped, and he wouM have another opportunity. So far as the Treasurer’s (Cr. Jolly) action he was virtually setting aside the orders of the Council bv refusing to sis.n cheques when issued for j ist claims on the County. Mention had been made of a report by the Engineer. None had been asked for, and accordingly none was prepared. He,as a Councillor, ha 1 for hia own information asked for a report, waich he had, and intende I to keep. He had nothing at all to regrd, and if the time came over again would do the same again. Cr. Jolly, in reply, said, in alluding to the subject, his onlv motive was to get the Council to elect a Chairman, so as to meet the difficulty that presented itself. He firmly believed that Cr. Macginnis’s action was for want of judgement and not through any lack of honesty, the which he would lie sorry to impute, and he maintained that the course he himself had taken was right and justifiable. Motions for the election of Crs. Oolclough and Pitches respectively to the chair were both put and lost four and four voting in each case. It hemg now I am. the Council agreed to adjourn tiff Monday, the 4th June, at noun.