MANAWATU COUNTY COUNCIL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume I, Issue 22, 8 November 1878, Page 2

MANAWATU COUNTY COUNCIL.

A meeting of the Council was held on Wednesday last, at, the Council office.— Present — The Chairman (Mr E. S. Thynne), Messrs Macarthur, Sanson, Gower, Rockstrow, Halcombe, Snelson, M'Neill, and Dr Hewson. SPECIAL MEETING. A special meeting was held at which it was proposed by Mr Halcombe seconded by Mr Sanson, and carried: — " That a rate of 6d in the £ on the annual value of property in the Manawatu County for the year ending 31st March, be struck." CORRESPONDENCE. Letter read from the Railway Department declining to grant the County Engineer a free pass on the Railway. From the General Crown Lands office, granting the request of the Council for a lease for 21 years at a peppercorn rent of a site for County offices on the Court House Reserve. From Mr Udy, of the Otaki ferry, re complaints made of his management. From the Treasury, advising payment of the 20 per cent land revenue to the County. From the Chief Postmaster, re the unsatisfactory condition of the Waikanae, Otaki, and Ohau ferries. From same, 13 days later, thanking the Council for its prompt attention to the previous letter. From J. Aitken, contractor, No. 2, Kimbolton Road, requesting extension of contract time to 9 weeks. Applications for slaughter licenses were made by Messrs Easton and Davidson, of Foxton. TAONUI RIDING. The standing orders were suspended, to allow Mr Snelson to move in several matters of urgency, as he had to attend a Town Council meeting at Palmerston, that evening, and as he wished to see the business introduced by him regarding the Taonui Riding finished before the close of the Council. He moved :— " That the sum of money paid by the Government to the County Council for the Karere-Jackeytown Road, be expended on that work, and that the Engineer be instructed to lay it out to the best advantage at once." Seconded by Mr Halcombe, and carried Mr Snelson moved, seconded by Mr Halcombe, and carried : — "That £192, being the 50 per cent of land revenue due on the 9th September to the Taonui Riding from the quarter's returns received from the Government be paid over to the Manawatu Highways Board to expend upon the road line from Fitzherbert Bridge, to Fitzherbert." Proposed by Mr Snelson, seconded by Mr Halcombe, and carried :— " That £192 of the Land Fund due to the Taonui Riding for the quarter ending the 9th September, be expended upon the Karere and Jackeytown portions of the County road, and that the Engineer be instructed to proceed at once with this work." THE FERRIES. A very long discussion took place upon the ferries, which resulted in the following resolutions being carried upon the proposal of Mr Sanson : — " That in the opinion of this Council, the present system of licensing ferryhouses on the West Coast Rivers is bad, and consequently the lives and property of the travelling public are often in considerable danger, and that at present this Council has no guarantee for the proper care of ferryboats, &c, now on such rivers at considerable cost to the County.

(2). " That in order to remedy the evil this Council respectfully urge upon the Government the necessity of charging the full license fee of £40 per annum for a license to sell liquor at such houses, in order that the Council may let said ferries, and pay a sufficient salary to competent persons willing to take charge of such ferries, and become responsible for property placed in their charge. (3). "That a copy of these resolutions be sent to the Chairman and each member of the Licensing Board at Otaki, with a letter requesting their earnest co-operation in securing better ferry accommodation at the rivers referred to, viz. : — Waikanae, Otaki, and Ohau." COUNTY OFFICES. The Chairman said that the Government had offered a lease of part of the Court House Reserve for County offices, and asked the pleasure of the Council in the matter. Mr Halcombe was opposed to £300 being spent upon leasehold property, as it was very probable Foxton would cease to be the County town, and then no return could be expected from leasehold property Mr Macarthur expressed the same views. Mr Rockstrow said that several eligible freehold sites could easily be obtained from people resident in Foxton. Mr Gower thought it would be inadvisable to vote the money for erecting the offices until the new Council met. He thought that Foxton would not always be the County town, although at present, with free passes, it was most convenient to hold the sittings at Foxton, especially for the southern members. No resolution was passed. COUNTY ENGINEER. A letter was read from the Couuty Engineer, asking to be allowed to do work for the Palmerston Borough Council. Mr Sanson thought it would be better to allow the Engineer to do the work, and charge the Palmerston Borough Council for it, adding the amount on to his salary. Mr Macarthur said if such a course were adopted, the Council would lose control of the Engineer. The request was granted, provided the Engineer's County duties were not interfered with. SLAUGHTER HOUSES. A. S. Easton applied for a slaughter license for a site about 1 1/2 miles from Foxtun. Application granted. H. Davidson & Co. applied for a license for a site on the Avenue. Mr Thynne presented a petition against it, but said he did not endorse the prayer. Mr Rockstrow strongly opposed the application, as there was no drainage, and the yards were very close to a dwelling. He moved — " That the application of Mr Davidson, for the erection of a slaughter-house on the section as named be rejected." Seconded by Mr Sanson, and carried. Proposed by Mr Macarthur, seconded by Mr Sanson, and carried—" That the County Engineer be appointed Inspector of Slaughter Houses for the County of Manawatu." RESOLUTION PASSED. Proposed by Mr Sanson, seconded by Mr Gower - That the Minister for Crown Lands be requested to proclaim the undermentioned piece of Crown Land a toll-gate reserve, as, in the opinion of this Council the toll-gate at the Rangitikei Bridge, situate between Sanson and Bulls, would let for a much higher rent per annum if said piece of land was attached to and let with it. Estimated area 20 acres, and bounded on the west by the Rangitikei River, and on she south by a native reserve ; on the east by a public rood, and on the north by the end of the Rangitikei Bridge. Proposed by Mr Halcombe, and seconded by Mr Macarthur — That the Engineer be instructed to call for tenders for work up to an estimated amount of £300, to be spent in widening and grading those parts of the

Gorge road within the Manchester Riding most urgently requiring it. Proposed by Mr Thynne, and seconded by Mr Rockstrow: — That the Engineer call for tenders for the formation and metalling of road from the bridge over the Awahou to the Railway Reserve near Burr's corner ; and also to have a coaling of gravel over the road at present metalled, to a depth of 3 inches. Proposed by Mr Halcombe, and seconded by Mr. Sanson :— That as the slaughterhouse on the Awahuri Road, near Feilding, is unlicensed, and is a public nuisance, steps be taken to restrain the owners from using the presmises in question for the purposes of slaughtering. Proposed by Mr Macarthur, and seconded by Mr Halcombe :— That in accordance with a resolution passed at a meeting of this Council on September 9th, the sum of £237 3s, being 90 per cent of the 20 per cent of land fund derived from the Kiwitea be paid over to the Manawatu Highways Board for expenditure on Mackay's road to Kiwitea. Proposed by Mr Gower, and seconded by Mr Rockstrow :— That all poundkeepers in the Manawatu County furnish this Council with a quarterly return showing stock impounded, and fees received The Council passed several accounts

matter must be settled one way or the

other. During the discussion that ensued, Councillor Macarthur stated distinctly that mat ers had gone so far that either F. Loudon or the Chairman must resign. The Chairman told the Council tha he did not wish for anything personal between himself and F. Loudon to be arrived at; but that in his position as their Chairman— a position in which he especially was supposed to defend their rights and protect their interests — he demanded their decision on the question before them, viz., the accuracy of the minute-book. In response to this demand; it was proposed by Councilor Sanson, seconded by Councillor Snelson, and to the honor of the councillors, carried unanimously (with, of course, the exception of F. Loudon) — " That in the opinion of this Council, the minutes of the proceedings of the meeting, held on the 30th May last, have been correctly entered in the minute book."

Councillor Sanson, in moving this resolution, remarked that the Chair man had furnished convincing proof, while F. Loudon could bring forward only his own bare assertion.

There was no equivocation in this expression of opinion from the Council. It was the most damning resolution that could be carried, as, of course, if the minutes were correct, then F. Loudon's pretended resolutions were incorrect, and the document presented by him in substantiation of his charge, as being in its entirety the original resolutions as passed by the Council, a base fabrication.

Nothing could be plainer than this, and after such a direct, decisive expression of the minds of councillors as was contained in the resolution then passed, there was but one course open to F. Loudon, who, saying, " If " that is the decision of the Council, " then I am not a fit person to be in "it," walked out.

This occurred during the afternoon sitting. On the Council assembling after tea, F. Loudon, seeing that his game was up — that deceit could no longer avail him— that the Council had in its resolution unmistakably passed sentence of condemnation upon him — placed his resignation in the hands of the clerk to the Council. This occurred on the evening of August 2nd, and on August 5th — three days later — he wrote this confession : —

To the Chairman, Council, and Clerk of the Manawatu Council. — Gentlemen, — It is my painful duty to inform you that I added the words " and forwarded to the Government'" to the resolutions under discussion

at your last meeting. At the previous meeting I felt sure that such words were in the resolutions,and when the Chairman said they were not, I went home for them, to convince him that I was right; and on looking at the paper in question found no such words were there. I felt ashamed then to say that I was wrong, after being so positive before, and being escorted and aggrieved, I added the words above quoted, and then ever since equivocated by saying, " I did not add the whole of the line," as part of it was already in the minute book. Conscience will not allow me to remain longer without making this confession, and humbly asking your pardon. I have discovered that " the way of the transgressor is hard." I never was guilty of such an act before, and sincerely hope I never shall again. I had hoped that my resignation would have eased my conscience, but it did not. I know I must look despicable in your eyes, but am still more so in my own. Th s matter has cost me an amount of pain such as I never experienced before. I had no wish to injure Mr M'Culloch, or any one else, but did it hastily and foolishly, and it has brought its own punishment. Again asking your pardon, I am, gentlemen, your humble servant (in the truest sense of the word), F. Loudon. Refore proceeding to summarise the facts contained in this statement, before offering any comment upon them, I must state that with the private or business relations of the different candidates, it would be nothing short of impertinence on my part to meddle. E. S. Thynne may be a most unselfish, noble, specimen of humanity, or he may be a most rapacious, greedy, grasping, unprincipled commission agent. J. F. Rockstrow may be an empiric,whose boluses may have completely ruined the health of those who swallowed them, or he may be a skilful healer of the sick, conferring untold blessings on his fellow-crea-tures.

H. Dawson may be a liberal employer of labour, or a perfect specimen of the Gradgrind family. Francis Loudon may be an extraordinar-ily-honest storekeeper, silently dealing out charity with a lavish hand, or he may be a despicable individual who, using the cloak of sanctity the better to conceal his designs, takes in his customers by selling inferior articles at the highest obtainable rates. To enquire into such matters, to dilate upon them, to attempt to pass any opinion upon them, save in my own domestic circle, would be atr act of scoundrelism of which I should scorn to be guilty. These are matters to be settled by their own cons iences, within the recesses of their own bosoms, But when one of them enters the arena of public life, his public actions are open to the most searching criticism. More than this, when, any of them, acting as my agent, accredited as my representative, appointed by means of that machinery which the law of the land has instituted for the purpose of giving me a voice through him in the transaction of public business, — whether in the office of the Local Board, or in the Chamber of the County Council, or in the Hall of the General Assembly, or not, is quite immaterial— when any of them, during the tenure of that I gaily appointed agency, casts the murky clouds of dishonor and disgrace upon me by any act of infamy perpetrated in his capacity, as my agent, I claim the indisputable right to protest in the strongest manner possible against his actions, and by every means at my disposal, to disclaim any sympathy with the offender. But farther still, that protestation, that dislaimer, is a sacred duty imposed upon me, in common with you all, and to refuse to perform that duty, to wilfully neglect it, however painful the performance of it may be, is not only to proclaim my sanction of the offence, and thereby own my participation in the crime, but such refusal, such neglect, is to violate the laws both of God and of man. Francis Loudon, as member of the Council for this Riding, was my agent,and yours too. From the evidence adduced, it will be seen that, while acting in that capacity, he

had in his possession a certain document belonging to the County Council, he having borrowed the same from the Clerk ; that on the 8th July he preferred ce tain charges against the officers of the Council; that on the san e afternoon he, in order to substanti ate his charge against these officers, did falsify the said document; that he basely allowed the Clerk, whom he knew to be innocent, to apologise to him for the reputed neglect of duty; that on August 2nd, he was offered every facility for giving an explanation of his conduct (vide Mr M'Arthur's letter confirming Chairmen's statement); that he spurned such opportunity, though he know himself to be the gui ty party ; that the Council honorably protected its officers, by passing a resolution of such a decisive character, that F. Loudon felt himself compelled to resign ; that not till three days after he had ceased to be a member, did he write his confession. Having briefly summed up the evidence, we must pass on to notice the nature of the offence, in the consideration of which we must be guided by precedent and analogy. You have been told from the public platform by F. London, that he acted in the interests of the community, for the public weal. Such a statement must be completely ignored, if his written confession is to be accepted, for in that he distinctly tells you that he falsified the document to back up his charges, to protect his assumed character for truthfulness ; in fact, for his own personal benefit. Now, when a man alters a document belonging to another, without any authority to de so, and makes that alteration for his own personal benefit, defrauding another by so doing, what is the offence of which he is guilty ? The Courts of Law pronounce such offence to be forgery A lad of 16 years of age was at the last sitting of the Supreme Court at Wanganui, charged with having altered a cheque by the addition of a cypher, thus making one into ten. The jury found him guilty of forgery. Not long ago, a tenant borrowed from his landlord a copy of a lease, and unknown to his landlord inserted therein certain words, of which he availed himself, to make certain charges against the landlord. That tenant was afterwards tried and convicted of forgery. P. Loudon borrowed from the Clerk a document belonging to the Council, and to support a false charge made by him against its officera, he inserted therein certain words. If those words were not originally in it, were not in it when he obtained possession of it, were inserted in it for his own personal benefit, they were FORGERIES. The Council knew them to be such. F. Loudon was tried by that body, convicted of the offence, and the plainest sentence of dismiss l was passed upon him, even according to his own interpretation of Councillor Sanson's resolution. And justly so. Where would Samuel Baker be, were he to falsify the records of the R. M. Court? Where would any of our Railway officials be, if they were caught falsifying their returns' to screen themselves from neglect of duty ? In what position would any of you find yourselves placed,were you detected falsifying, fabricating, or forging any kind of document for your own personal benefit, or even for the benefit of others ? You know the answer too well. Instant dismissal from any position of trust would inevitably be the first step, and prosecution would probably follow in its train. You would learn, as F. London must learn, that the rights of society may not be outraged with impunity.

Far would it be from me to deny to any guilty wretch a city of refuge, a locus penitentiae, where he could show by his actions that his professed repentance was sincere. Cruel would it be, to deny mercy to true contrition, for he who does deny it, breaks down a bridge over which he must himself one day pass: But when a man boldly disclaims any wish for such retreat, openly continues to practice a miserable course of equivocation and deceit towards his fellowmen ; when he tells you that you as outsiders have nothing to do with your agent's action ; when he seeks to disarm opposition, to cover his dishonor, by telling the specious falsehood that the matter had been settled by the Council ; when he falsely tells you that he acted hurriedly, that he fully intended to confess his misdeeds, — then all feelings of pity must be scattered to the winds. His hurry consisted in going home, finding the 'document, inserting therein those words, not even blotting them, but allowing them to dry, quietly afterwards having his tea, and then chuckling over his deep-laid scheme ; coolly bringing them forward as genuine, he, with shameless effrontery, sticks to his charges for two sittings of the Council, twenty- eight days apart. Are you outsiders as regards your agents' actions ? No you are not. But mark, whatever confession F. Loudon may have thought fit to make to the Council, according to his programme, no reparation was to be made to you— you, whose representative he was— you, whose honor was in his keeping — you, whom he had so shamefully disgraced ! Could the Council settle the matter between you and your representative ? It could not ; it had no power to do so, and it did not settle the matter other than by passing a resolution virtually compelling him to resign, and throwing him back on " your" hands. You ignored him and elected Dr Rockstrow to fill the seat vacated by the man who had vilely betrayed the trust and confidence you had reposed in him.

More, much more, would I fain say, but time will not for the present allow. I entreat you earnestly to consider your position. Not only are the other Ridings of the County anxiously watching the issue ; not only are the eyes of Wanganui and Wellington upon you, but your own children. are waiting to see whether such a barefaced fraud will, by your returning F. Loudon, be glorified into a virtue. I cannot, I will not, believe that you will bring ignominy upon the district. I cannot think so ill of you as to believe you will do so; but, remember, of one thing there cannot be a doubt, that whoever, with these facts before him, records his votes in favor of F, Loudon, identifies himself with his actions, and helps to fasten upon the whole community a name from which any man with the least respect for his position and his reputation would instinctively shrink. In every community there will unfortunately be found some whose perceptions of rectitude are so lunted that they will not scruple to tremple on all laws of public decency and morality ; but I have better hopes than to think that there are enough electors among you, so lost in their own conceit, that they will not listen to the voice of reason — so blinded by the demon of party spirit — so reckless of dishonor and disgrace— that they will dare to return such a man to ac as their political agent, to represent them in their Council. You have before you three candidates: Rockstrow, Dawson, and Thynne. To me, it is quite immaterial which those three you may choose to elect. In so far as regards them, satisfy your own conscience ; all I ask you to do is to pause, ere, by your returning F. Loudon you destroy your political influence, and allow him to boast of his enor mi ies, to make stepping-stone of your dishonor and glory in your shame. AN ASSOCIATE OF NO CLIQUE ; A MEMBER OF NO GANG. Foxton, November 7, 18 8.