SOME EXAMPLES OF MISSTATEMENTS AND MIS.- REPRESENTATION.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume III, Issue 109, 16 February 1901, Page 2

SOME EXAMPLES OF MISSTATEMENTS AND MIS.REPRESENTATION.

[enclosure.]

To the editor “ Waimate Times.” Sir, —Of course, I cannot expect you to do otherwise than hud excuse fox putting on to my shoulders the blame for the recent discreditable scenes in the Council. As you represent it to the people as such, it is incumbent ,m me to explain that your vie w of the facts is a jaundiced one. At the first meeting recently I quietly eat and listened to most irritating and uoj asuliable comments, not merely on myself, but also on many associau d with me in our legitimate and honest efforts to improve the borough at little or no expense to the ratepayers. On the town hall question I moved that, in view of the altered system of rating in the borough, the new roll should be obtained, and, on lliq basis of tb? sinking fund required to pay off a certain sura borrowed in a certain number of years, the taxation of each, ratepayer should be sent him. In arguing for the passage of such a simple and utteily fair motion, 1 said that I believed a large number of burgesses were quite misled as to the amount of taxation proposed. I carefully avoided making any allusion to who did the misleading, and my remarks were fair, and, what is mor,>, truthful comment. The proof of this is not far to seek. The opponents of the scheme immediately stonewalled the motion, seeing at once that if tha people had the real facts before them it would tell immensely in my favour, and as the admitted object of the opposition was to kill my schema, not to better it, to allow even the approximate truth to filter out among the persons most interested would defeat their object. To pretend, therefore, tbat this reasonable effort to give the people what they haye a right to demand from the Council, namely, information, and to suggest that this caused trouble, is an argument without any bottom in it. It is true that I believe there has been a great deal of absolute misrepresentation during these stormy times, and that I have been made to suffer by it. Let me give you just a few examples that I happen to think of. In your last report you make me say that I would retire. This was never said, and never intended to be said nor acted on. In another place you make mo say tbat a certain matter was an extraordinary business." What I did

■say was that a o rtain motion was out ,of order becausi it Was “extraordinary” business in accirdauce with tne Act, and a certain proposed vote ,of censure should never have been .proposed without at least some warning being given to the person whom it was intended to attack - The Act, as I said, provides for these cases, and seven days’ notice of motion should have been given. On another occasion I mentioned at the Council table that the fees for milk vendors were abolished by the new Act. I guessed at the time that this would be twisted in some way against mo, and 1 asked some three men to watch for the result. Sure enough, you held it up is distinct evidence of my wrongdoing, namely, the great necessity for waiting for the new Act, carefully suppressing the fact that that was just want I had done, and misleading people into the idea that 1 had ignored the only legitimate reason for delay pat forward by certain members of tiie Council, while 1 had distinctly done the very tiling the paragraph suggests I had not dune. But lake a mure lecent example. Some time ago it was proposed that if the town half scheme were adopted, the Oddfellows should offer to deal with the Council, with a view to the Council obtaining tiie monopoly of the public h.ia business. It was suggested that the Council should buy the scenery and seating of the Oddfellows’ Bah, winch the ratepayers could have obtained at about half the cost, thereby saving money ; next, that the borough should secure the goodwill of tile Uddiollows’ Ball by exenangiug for their goodwill

the site on Vscmria Terrace now

promised to iho library. Now, sir, in ;m eminently bitter paragraph you insinuated that tins was another eh’ort to “ dip into tho pockets of tiio ratepayers.” Was that lair eDimuou/? Was that not an absolute trap to mislead people ? I say it was a gross and flagrant one. A proposal to buy seating at a cheap rate, and at the same time secure the monopoly of me li ill business, tlui-3 avoiding any danger of a monetary loss to me ratepayers, is represented as an

attempt to dip into the pockets of the ratepayers. Tut even suppose I that, on going into tiie accounts, me ; actuary said that the goodwill of the ; Oddfellows’ Hail was worth a sum of | money to the people in return for the monopoly thereby obtained, Won id that be ‘'dipping in me ratepayers’ ; i pockets”? The insinuation tnrown \ out in mat local, prompted, very i probably, by someone who had sometiling to lose by the proposal, is only

’.Apical of ilia misrepresentation widen

is sedulously practised. in every article yon wrote on the bye law depute you always tried to score by evading the simoie question. why a.Jn‘t the Comic.i come together as

men when the Mayor found a disagreement had arisen over an informal in liter? 1 beg your pardon; I b iieva yon did offer a reason, namely, tnat when the Mayor had explained the position, tho members of tiie Council who wore making ail tne lease would have had to ” cluau cf,wn.” Just to take another instance ; You impK that my opening remirks at ilia last Council meeting had some tiimg to do with me Inchon mat occurred mat evening, As a imilter or 1 net, the bye-laws provide for the suppression of personal and off n>ivr itdieoiions on councillors. I inti ina.wi, without comment, that I Would do what 1 comd o suppress tne scenes that have become inmost fusiiiormolo now. Alior that the business proceeded qnb-tly for an hour, wuien the i.uuous attack on the town clerk was inaugurate'!. This naturally moused me indignation of members and led to unpleasantness. Will you kindly explain how me reasonable warning 1 gave at the beginning of the meeting in any way produced the attack on the clerk ? If, as you must admit, it had nothing to do with it, way do you insinuate that 1 caused tiie trouble ? It is merely anomer in-tance of the misrepresentation that lus to be resorted to to damage me in the eyes of those for whom i have ;v e ked since 1 was elected, mim.-ly, ■hi., butgesaes of tho borough.—l am, C-tc., 11. C. Barclay.