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Poverty Bay Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1362, 29 September 1883, Page 2

Over. and again th® Cook Street difficulty came before the ,3orough Council ou Tuesday last. Wo say "c’nee again,” because we are afraid to venture even an approximation as to the number of t unes this question has been brought forward, a nd the time that has been masted by the Coun oil in discussing a matter which had no right to have been entertained at all for one moment Westatethisadvisedly, inasmuch as Council lor Towsnsv stated that the application made > by Mr Finn on behalf of Councillor Josiah Titchbs was the " first formal application ” which had been made in the matter. This b eiug so, why were the other numerous applications entertained at all and resolutions passed relating to this matter! If we remi imber rightly, some time ago, when MrToTCHBN first made a personal application to the C ouncif to he allowed to open the etireet, he. then positively stated that he wan in a position to guarantee a uniform width of 66 feet. On a subsequent occasion it turned out that he was n t even in possession of the very land which he guarantee! and proposed to deal with. Ou another o casion he stated that all obstach s had been removed, and that he had purchased and held all the land he proposed to throw open as a private street. Finding that these conflicting assertions ware received with such an amount of doubt by his sceptical and obdurate brother who appear to have been somewhat strengthened, in their doubts by receiving several communicaiions from gentlemen who stated that Mr I'VTCHEN must have been led astray in this matter by his ui mal impetuous zeal generally displayed in all mutters affecting himself; ana that he mu st hare drawn largelv upon that highly sen-itire imagination of liis* Tle real fact was that .V tr Tctciihn’s perceptive faculties had become dense and obscured to such an extent as to be unable to distinguish between meum and tuum in this Cook street matter. Sad to relate, his eloquence and entreaties were alike unavailing in gulling the Council, and in D espair he had recourse to Mr Noun, who likewise failed to secure that amount of comfort a.nd repose for his client which he stood in su ch gi 'eat need of. He next appears to have applied to Mr Finn, who plied his cause so w ell that the Council passed a resolution to the of ect that they were prepared to allow Mr Tckchbn to open Cook street as a private road p roviding it were made of an uniform width of 66 feet. This virtually leaves matters in exactly the same position as they were at the be ginning. Now most uninitiated people will wonder what all this means, an I why all tl.i s finesse and by play. We will endeavor to. explain. Had Mr '1 UTCHES but succedeed in gu llmg the Council into taking the street over, it would have relieved him from th.* trouble and expense of buying the section in dispute, inasmuch ns the Council would have, ny virtue of the powers vested m them, taken possession of the land at a valuation far below «dial Mr TuTCBBN will now have to pay. Mr TitlxciißN is maximun in minimus.