INSIDE INFORMATION.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 420, 6 December 1911, Page 5

INSIDE INFORMATION.

<j, A BOROUGH COUNCIL EPISODE

At the conclusion of the meeting of the Borough Council on Monday evening last the Mayor intimated that there was one point which had arisen during the discussion on the question which should be cleared up. At the council meeting on November 12th Cr Young had read an extract from a letter to the effect that a draft report of Messrs Niven and Co. on the lighting question had been sent and that it recommended petrol gas. In the interests of the council and in fairness to Niven and Co., it was right that the matter should be investigated and he (the Mayor) had written to Niven and Co. relating what had transpired. He had received in reply the following letter, which directly refuted the statement contained in the letter read by Cr Young: "Dear Sir, —We are in receipt of yours covering statement made by Cr Young, that the writer had written some friend and made the statement that 'our report recommended petrol gas.' We are pleased to inform you that although it is possible that Cr Young may have received such a letter his informant has made a deliberately false statement, and we hereby give an emphatic and direct contradiction to the statement. The councillors have sufficient proof themselves to contradict the portion alleging that a draft report had been submitted, they n»ver received a draft as one was never sent, hence it is safe for you to assume the rest of the statement to be as reliable as the one quoted apart from our flat denial. In the matter of protecting our own business reputation, we intend taking legal advice regarding the obtaining from Cr Young's correspondent proof of his assertion providing we have your permission to make use of a statement made at a council meeting." —Jas. J. Niven and Co., Ltd.

Cr Young said he had nothing to say on the matter further than that he held the letter which had been sent to him.