The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. FRIDAY, JULY 28, 1882.

Thames Star, Volume XIII, Issue 4235, 28 July 1882, Page 2

The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. FRIDAY, JULY 28, 1882.

That energetic Borough Councillor and zealous Good* Templar, Mr W. J. Speight, shone brightly at the | meeting of the Borough Council last night, relative to the alteration of the.boundary line between the South and Middle Wards. The young man with the saturnine cast of countenance (as J. E. Macdonald onco said at the Theatre Eoyal) beamed with self--1 complacency as his letter and protest were read by the Town Clerk. Not being able to control himself, he bounce* i ably informed his fellow-Councillors that he did not wish to land them into any difficulty, but, he might inform them;that he was fortified by the best legal opinion. .Those who hard seen or read the Hivals can appreciate 'what followed. It will be remembered how old Sir Anthony Absolute stormed at bis son, Captain Absolute, against his doings with Miss Lydia Languish. He raged and swore, and was all gunpowder and fury, and yet imagined that he was quite calm. He said more than once to his son, who was as cool as a cucumber, " Why are you not calm and deliberate as I am." Last night at the Council meeting, Councillors Speight and Mennie respectively personated Sir Anthony Absolute and Capt. Absolute. Councillor Speight said he was satisfied with the protest, that he had nothing to say, and forthwith in his most vivacious manner (and we all know how vivacious be can be) .proceeded to point .out * wherein others were wrong aud he right. On Cr Mennie miidly^uggesting, that the Town Clerk might be trusted to pilot the Council through the difficulty, the climax came. Cr Speighfif^ 'at'fitu^B was well calculated to convey.the idea that he was being operated upon by a powerful electric battery. He elclaimed, " Mind, this is not a matter of feeling on my pait; it is one of pure reason." Cr Mennie quietly answered, "That is all it is with me, but the feeling seems to be on the other side." The facts are very simple. A few weeks ago Mr Ensor, of Mary street, requested the Borough to alter the boundary line, so that his house, which was on the line, might be included in the Middle Ward, as if there he could obtain a publican's license. . Cr Speight.opposed the application on the ground that to facilitate the obtaining of publicans' licenses was not within the functions of the Borough. * He stood alone. Bat it 'seems to us that those who were in favor of Mr Ensor's application, w.ere divided into two sections, one sympathising with him as suffering under i a hardship, the other holding that as the boundary was not as it ''tjidrild be, nor as originally intended, the present would be a favorable opportunity of correcting it. At a former meeting the Town Clerk was authorised to take the steps necessary, to effect the alteration, including having the petition signed.. Now it seems to i»s .thtt the,- Councillors who vpjted for that resolution did not compre-

hend all that it meant, or that it included collecting the signatures of the burgesses of both wards. But a communication from' Wellington read last night showed that this would be necessary. This, of course, would involve expense, and Crs Speight and. Marshall protested against the ratepayers 1 "money being used for that purpose.. We cannot agree with Cr Osborne that it is the duty of the Council to alter the boundary on account of Mr Ensor, but consider that that body would be entitled to incur expense for he rectification of its boundaries at any time. Cr Speight surely cannot have been in earnest when he spoke of th« injury that would be inflicted on himself and friends by the alteration of the line. He did not attempt to prove it at all events. With Mr Ensor it is far otherwise; the present boundary line means heavy pecuniary loss to him. We have as little sympathy with the liquor traffic as Cr Speight, but we dislike unfairness, narrowness, and fanaticism. We have no desire to crush our own opinions down other people's throats, and force them to conform to our views. Such bitterness is only calculated to bring the temperance bodies into contempt, and will recoil upon themselves As a publican Mr Ensor has always.conducted bis house creditably. Surely if the Borough authorities prepare the documents, Mr Ensor has sufficient friends'to canvass the wards and obtain the required signatures. We believe that the action of Cr Speight will have gained Mr Ensor much sympathy, and would induce many a person to sign that otherwise might not cere to do so. Cr Speight would have acted in a much more dignified manner if, instead of flourishing letters and protests, he had moved that the resolution be rescinded, if he thought it would be likely to lead to trouble. However, after all it is probable that the matter was only a storm in a teapot, and that the heroic action "of the. worthy Councillor was quite uncalled for, as we are informed that Mr Ensor will probably shift hi- house into the Middle Ward.