STRATFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 16, 13 December 1916, Page 3

STRATFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL.

THE ELECTRICAL ENGINEER. NOTICE OF MOTION HELD OVER. "That Mr W. J. Newton's services as electrical engineer be dispensed with owing to his disobeying the instruction of the Council." In those terms read a notice of motion standing in the name of Cr Young, who, at Monday's meeting of the Council, said he regretted the circumstances which necessitated the moving of the motion. As chairman of the Lighting Committee, certain conditions were brought down defining the duties of the Engineer and staff, such as prevailed in connection with the Borough engineer for the better working of the Council's affairs. In this connection it was felt that all o) tiers for goods should be put through the Town Clerk's office. The members of the Councir*backed up the committee, and the conditions were completed and placed beiore the engineer, who, however, o'dl not nop*"-' to realise that they must be c. r,i d out. Certain orders were sanctioned, and it was expected that they would be put through the clerk's office, out Mr Newton ignored the Council's Instructions. The engineer having been clearly informed, it was a matter of surprise that he should- in so short a time as a month defy the Council, For that reason, in the interests of the Council and the ratepayers, Cr Young said he moved the motion as above. This was seconded pro forma by Ci Lawson, who asked if Mr Newton saw the conditions previous to His appointment as engineer. The Mayor said that perhaps it would be better to allow Mr Newton to state his position. The Council looked to Cr Young, as chairman of the Lighting Committee, to see thatcertain matters were attended to. Perhaps Mr Newton did not recognise how vital was the. matter to the Council. It was absolutely essential that all servants should be loyal and obedient to all resolutions passed by the Council. In the same way he expected every councillor to be loyal. His position as Mayor would be untenable were such a state of things not so. Directly he saw the resolution, he went to Mr Newton and talked the matter over, and as the result, he did not think for a moment that Mr Newton had recognised the gravity of, the, position. Possibly, when Cr Young heard the explanation, he would withdraw his motion, but if not, then it would have to take its course.

Mr Newton said the conditions had never beeii submitted to him. The first lie saw of them wao a couple of days after his appointment, when Cr Young put them in front of him while discussing the wages. Hud he &een them prior 'to Ins appointment, lie would have told the Council that they were absolutely impossible, and that he could not; and would not, take up the position. It was not possible for him to take and make up orders for stuff as required and then carry the responsibility of the whole of the orders being sent away by anyone else. It was never done elsewhere. He made up the orders in triplicate, and the Town Clerk got a copy, and he considered that the latter should require no more. Another matter that to him savored of narrow-mindedness was the decision of the Council to allow him to only spsnd up to £5 between the Council meetings.

The -Mayor: The idea was that tin Council would have the ordering of tin material. You cannot dictate to tin Council.

Mr Newton: "1 do not intend to dictate to the Council." In further reference to the fateful chaise, Mr Newton said lie was not in the Council room when members of the Lighting Committee had it before them, and had he, known of it he would not be with them that night. "I have no wish to draw the Council into contumely, but I have certain dignity to uphold, and I will not write to the Town Clerk, i have my individuality, and ins individuality must'be my own. ' Cr Lawsoii: Did the engineer complain of these conditions, to the Mayor or the Chairman of the'Lighting Com-

mittee ? The Mayor: Yes. Cr Young: Mr Newton did demur. We replied .formally, stating that the resolutions had been carried by Iho Council and asking Mr Newton r.o The Mayor: Cr Young, you wnl have an opportunity to reply. Cr Young: I am replying to Cr Lawsoii. Cr Hunter: Reply to them all at once, and not separately. Cr Young: We pointed out™ Cr Thompson then ciughb the Mayor's eye, and Cr Young sat down. Cr 'Thompson said he must protest, the Lighting Committee never disciissI the conditions at a regular meatCr Hunter said he argued when he

• first saw the conditions that they wore impossible terms, especially as Mr Newton did not know of them. He asked the question at the time, and said they should never be in. Sueii conditions were Not imposed in private businesses, and he quoted the custom in several Stratford business houses. None of these placed such conditions upon the heads of the various departments ; neither should they apply in the case of the Town Clerk and the Electrical Engineer, both of whom had a wide knowledge of the requirements of the Council's affairs in their respective positions. He hoped the Council would rescind them. The idea that orders should emanate from the Town Clerk was a fallacious one. A man should be held responsible for his department, hut not for the whole., The Mayor: Cr Hunter, are you not discussing the, notice of Cr Thompson which will come down at next

meeting. This motion read : That the Mayor's resolution of the November meeting defining the duties of the. Electrical Engineer he rescinded. | Cr Hunter: No, 1 am not.

The Mayor: It seems to me that you are; and you must not discuss the clause (3). Cr Hunter (warmly): I claim that I have the right. I say they are impossible conditions—Cr Young: Kot!). Here we have a man who has been in the employ of a company for fifteen years, with plenty of testimonials, and within a month of taking up his new position, he is threatened with dismissal.; ■ • ' ; The- Mayor rose to a point of order. He could not allow Cr. Hunter to reflect upon tile work of. the Chair and the Lighting Committee.!.. Cr Hunter asked the Town Clerk if the resolutions for the appointment were sent to Mr Newton, and on receiving an affirmative answer, continued : Ho never saw them before he was appointed, and then he said lie was not satisfied with them. The Mayor: Is the Council going to delegate its business to .Mr Newton, or is Mr Newton to dictate to the Council? This is not what we are here for. Cr Hunter said the Council was imposing, conditions upon the engineer which he could not carry out—no man could carry put—(A Councillor: Kot). Cr Hunter: Rot! You talk about rot! I know where the whole scheme comes from .... It is ,a great crime !—a heinous crime. . . It is absolutely unfair. It is the most unfair, thing *IJ 'have ever i" seen in my Hi'e. :/ ■ . iCr Thompson said lie Would oppose the resolution; ' ; '■' •'•■''' 'The Mayor: Would it not be bettei to allow the engineer to decide. Is he willing to be loyal to the Council ?

Mr Newton said lie would never be disloyal to the Council. IHie hail never anything in his mind but to attend to their interests, and he asked them to amend the conditions of the duties. He could not stand among them in

the right spirit with the provisions of clause' 3 hanging over hi.:;. He was i.ot using it as a threat. He was perfectly willing to work with the others and give satisfaction, .but the clause must be deleted. The Mayor: The Council want to know if you will be loyal. With your assertion to that effect, I believe the motion will be withdrawn by Cr Young. Mr Newton: I cannot promise to be loyal if you persist in moving such a serious resolution, it takes away my dignity. I cannot in lace of >£ promise any loyalty—a man would have to leave the Council. 1 have the Council's business, every day at he.art as 1 had the Company's. But in this case, I am handicapped, i have to make up an order with a certain amount of hieroglyphics in, and will band them over to no man. Can I not be responsible for my own mistakes 'I lie Mayor: No.

iMr Newton: Undoubtedly so. li is my work- and ray figures, a'.ul I cannot see for the life of me why the position should be any different in this Council to Hie Comp.my. Cr Hunter sought perniis\sic,n to ask a question. ".Mr Newton, will \ou be quite willing to comply with the conditions until such Lime as the Council have an opportunity to res cind the resolution?" The Mayor: Cr riunter, you pat the Council in an awkward position..

Mf Newton: If J understand that councillors are unanimously in favour of discussing the matter with a view to rescinding the clause, I am willing to abide by it in the. meantime. Cr Thompson said he did not agree with the proposal.. They were putting the engineer in a most remarkable position. They were threatening to sack him, and then they offered to scud him up for trial if wdl.ng to give certain promises. Cr Thompson denied that the Lighting Committee had discussed the conditions, in live months or fifty years he would still maintain that. The Mayor said they wer? informally discussed in committee, and were

practically agreed upon, but owing t the unfortunate and unavoidable absence of Cr Young (chairman) w llie latter part of the meeting, they were not completed. Crs Thompson ami Hunter discussed them with him in the Mayor's room; and not only that, but the Council passed tiiem unanimously at the following meeting—-'.Crs : Correct) .

Cr Thompson said he would like to point out that the Mayor drew up the skeleton, but clause 3 did not now read as be read it that day. Cr Hunter then said that it was impracticable, and so did the speaker. Both of them also referred to the fact thai, they had had trouble with the Council's officials, and they should try and avoid having trouble on the first occasion with a new man. None pi the members had any opportunity tor talk the matter over, and they *.\'a[ not know whether they should clip the engineer's wings for a start or give him more latitude than what be had been having. He had moved a motion to rescind the clause (3) at next meeting, hut the present motion should be gone on with. lii taking such extreme measures there was always the danger of getting on the

wrong track. The Mayor: lb seems to me that you mean to rescind the clause before discussing it.

Cr Thompson: lam defining imposition. Cr Hunter and myself kuew there was trouble brewing, and now tlie fat is in the fire to-niglit. Cr Hunter also referred to his altitude at the time of the in forma I committee meeting. He felt then that tiie, engineer should have control over the correspondence; otherwise the latter would not have started with the Council. To ins (Cr Hunter's) great surprise, he found that condition was not in the present list. He hoped that an amendment would be brought down to put the conditions in proper order. The Mayor said that Cr Thompson referred to the rough-draft distributed to councillors, but that was exactly as the clause appeared in the minute book; councillors would find that it was word for word. Cr Hunter: I can't believe it. If that had been so, I would have opposed it strongly. The Mayor: The whole position is that if the engineer will not be loyal to the Council, the only thing is to get out and let him run the whole Council. There is no. question about it. I have my position as Mayor to consider, and 1 don't want such a thing as that thrown up at me. 1 want to carry on in ''a proper way. The Town Clerk should lie responsible tor the town clerk's duties, and the Electrical Engineer for the engineers duties. I don't want the Town Clerk lo try to run the Diesel engine or tiie Electrical Engineer to go to the Town Clerk and tell him how t-i run the books. Further, -Mr Sullivan, as borough engineer, has no right (not that he ever attempts it) to interfere with the other departments. If he did, lie would be asked to get out. That is only'the proper business way. The resolutions are the results of our combined judgments, and our officers

I'jusl bo loyal to tlie resolutions. The councillors also have no right to sit in their chairs unless they are loyal to myself and the Council. 1 would bo very sorry indeed to have to come to a decision that our servant is only to be loyal to ns conditionally.

Ic is a most awkward position. I ask the Council to make it clear to the Engineer that he must !>e loyal. The position is, Will he be loyal? What is the Council for unless it is to have, the resolutions carried out in their entirety.

Cr Young: Will the Engineer oe loyal \intil such time as the resolution is rescinded. The Mayor: 1 do not think- that Mr Newton wishes to be disloyal to the Council. 1 should say he should be saved from his friends! There is a lot of talk running round town. It is not proper that the workmen <«id others should talk of the Council's business and of certain things which ought to be buried. The Council should discuss matters with Mr Newton and talk frankly one with another. We have been running together only a month, and no doubt the troubles will flatten themselves out in time. I spent an hour with Mr Newton and was quite satisfied with the conference. But I cannot vote conditionally on our servant being loyal. Cr Law son said there seemed to bo misunderstandings in some quarters. If Mr Newton would agree to conform to the regulations until such time as they could be altered or revised, he believed Cr Young would withdraw his notice. H e suggested that Cr Thompson should not make fish of one engineer and flesh of another, but that the question of both the engineers should be discussed at next meeting. Make them both fish or both flesh, concluded the speaker.

, Mr Newton referred to the fact that the Council had engaged him, and then 'had sprung upon him certain conditions making it impossible for him lo work for the Council. Then his work more than any other was concerned with technicalities, which the Town Clerk could not understand and could not be responsible for the orders he sent away. "If," said Mr Newton, "there is a desire to amend clause 3, I will pocket my dignity." The- Mayor : "Win you,, while in the Council's! employ, be loyal to the Council?! Youlpui resign at any : I>iim , you know. Mr Newton: It is a question win ther 1 can. It is not altogether advisable at present to resign, but it was my intention to do so. The Mayor: Will you be loyal to the Council while in its employ:' .Mr Newton: If the intention is to amend the clause, I will abide by it 0'- ! will have to resign. The question Of whether I am willing to serve

i The Mayor: It is the only thing; it is a fair question to ask any servant. • Cr Lawson next repeated his question as to conforming to the regulations until such time, etc., and Cr Thompson said: Ask him to carry out the duties according to the Borough minutes until next meeting. Cr Young had a word -or two to say and then Cr Rutherf'urd rose to his feet fo'lliyl (with a' glance at the ■Mayor) that everybody appeared to be able to speak' half a dozen times. He launched out pn the question oi disobedience of officers, pointing out that if they did not care to obey the resolutions they could resign. Mr Newton had the option to res'gn or obey loyally for a month, when the position would .-ome up for review. The conditions might be irksome, but that no doubt was due to the fact that he was hemmed in in his work compared to the conditions under which he previously labored. Cr Rutherfurd suggested that Cr Young's motion be dealt with at next monthly meeting, Mr Newton to be asked to be loyal in the meantime. To compare the conditious ruling in the cities to those of Stratford was ridiculous 'argument; the Council wanted to know what was done in places of similar size and importance. Cr Young's motion should not be struck out. If the Council backed down, it would be an insult to the executive.

I Mr Newton said he could not have made his position clear. If it was the honest intention of the Council to amend the clause at the next meeting and during the month or until such times as it was altered they would work together witoi Hiin, then he would pocket his indignation and would send the orders through the Town Clerk. i Cr Lawson appealed to Cr Jfoung to withdraw his motion until next

meeting. i Cr Young: 1 strongly object to the engineer laying down conditions, li we give him same, he is "the chief," the "head of this department, and we should do as we are told, hut my contention is that he should do as he 's told. Mr opinion is that the engineer has openly and deliberately flouted us—ho knows it, and does not deny it! Nor do his friends deny it ! j The Mayor: You say he does not deny it ?

Mr Newton: The conditions arc not such as 1 was engaged upon. Cr Lawson made a further appeal to Cr Young to hold over his motion, to which Cr Young replied that lie wanted from the engineer a reply as to his loyalty—Yes or No. Cr kutherfurd: . But you can't get Yes oi' No. Cr Lawson then moved: That the whole question he held over until next meeting for final consideration. , This was seconded by Cr Ruthcrfurd, and carried. The Mayor: T hope the Conned and the engineer in all things will work together freely and without feeling oi any kind in this matter; and that the Town Clerk and the Engineer and the others will also work harmoniously. 1 am sure the best of feeling will prevail throughout all departments. Councillors; Hear, hear.

THE BONE OF CONTENTION.

The following is the resolution passed by the Council relating to the employment of the Electrical Engineer, certain particulars in which are objected to. That Mr W. J. Newton be employed hv the Council as Electrical Engineer at a salary of £3OO per annum from conveyance, motor spirit, etc., and his duties shall be as under: j l._He shall consult with the Council on the employment of men, but shall have complete control of all men employed in the engineering and mechanical work of his department, lie shall certify to the men's time-sheets once a week, and after certification, hand same to the Town Clerk. I 2.—He shall meet travellers. or secure prices of stock, etc., for purpose of requirements for the successful carrying on of business in trading, wiring houses, etc., and installing machines for power.

3.—He shall advise the Council from time to time of the materials, spares, appliances, etc., required to keep the whole stock and plant in good order. After the Council has sanctioned the purchase, the Town Clerk shall immediately order same. On receipt of invoices, they shall be handed to the Engineer for purpose of marking prices, and then returned to the Town Clerk.

4.—He shall take charge of all electrical goods and appliances as they arrive at the railway station, unpack, put iu order, and mark sale price ot same giving a reasonable profit. Except in urgent cases of necessity, when the Engineer may use his own discretion, up to £5, all orders must be sanctioned by the Council. G.—He shall give estimates in writing when required for cost of private installations, and carry this class :>t work out when obtained. He shall keep a tender book and carbon copies o f all tenders.

7.—He shall be in attendance at his office from S) till 10 a.m. and from '2 till 3 p.m., except Thursday.