AVON ROAD BOARD.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXIX, Issue 9969, 23 February 1893, Page 6

AVON ROAD BOARD.

TO THE EDITOR.

Sir,— Knowing your readiness to expose abuse in any form, I venture to ask you to take public notice of the action of the Avon Road Board with reference to their late clerk. Shortly put, the matter runa thus: Some time ago the Board thought fit to dismiss their olerk. The Clerk considering he had a certain claim upon the Board for compensation, brought an action to recover, and lost the action, and was cast in the costs. One would have thought that the Board wonld have been satisfied with this, but not so. They, in retaliation, instituted criminal proceedings, involving five distinct charges of embezzlement against the Clerk, with the following results One case was dismissed by the Magistrate, and four cases were sent for trial. Of these four cases three were thrown out by the grand jury, and in the fourth case, the petty jury having hoard the evidence for the prosecution, found “ Not guilty ” without calling on the accused for any defence. Is It possible for the public to look upon this action of the members of the Avon Road Board except as an attempt on their part to make use of their official position to utterly ruin, both as to character and finance, a late servant, whose only crime was that he dared to think he had a pecuniary claim against them P—l am, &o„ R.H.H.