The Westport Times. FRIDAY, JUNE 28, 1872

Westport Times, Volume VI, Issue 983, 28 June 1872, Page 2

The Westport Times. FRIDAY, JUNE 28, 1872

A Telegram: was forwarded on Wednesday from Wsstport, to his Honor the Superintendent, intimating that the continual encroachment of the sea renders instant action imperative in the appointment of a commissioner to ascertain the validity of, and to classify applications for sites on the new township, in terms of the resolutions passed by the Provincial Council, whereby it was resolved that freeholders whose buildings have been destroyed, shall bo entitled to fresh sections at a materially reduced upset price. By a notification iu the ' Gazette' of the 13th instant, all uns >ld sections in the town of "Westport, are at present withdrawn from sale. Possibly this may be a preliminary step to the purchase by the Government of fifty sections, as recommended by the Council, to be disposed of among freeholders as above mentioned, and, until the selection has been made, it is not probable the commissioner and assessors will be empowered to commence their duties. The reply of his Honor the Superintendent may therefore embody little actual information, not already before the public ; but it will be none the less necessary to urge, by every possible means, soma prompt and decided action. It seems also necessary that, in the meantime, the people of Westport should bestir themselves, and clearly make up their minds as to what is really needed, and the most beneficial form in which their needs may be satisfied. At present there is nothing before the public but a proposal to finish the con struction of Palmerston street, to remove the Government Buildings to a reserve, situated somewhere in the dreary solitudes of a dismal swamp, and to give encouragement to the re-erection of the town of Westport on an adjacent site. Every one seems supremely indifferent to the questions whether that site is, or can be made, suitable for a town ; whether, it is free from inundation, present or contingent; and whether the health of the inhabitants would or would not be jeopardised by the unwholesome emanations from miles of stagnant water and rotting vegetation. Some there are, and not a few, who assert that on the other side of the river can be found the only safe, the only habitable, sitefor atownship, and their arguments and reasonings thereon have sufficient weight to carry some conviction. Others, whose properties are for the present safe, lay the " flattering unction to their souls" that where they romain, there must business remain also, forgetful that, at the best, their habitations are but as houses built upon the saud, and that wind, and storm, and ever encroaching wave may shatter alike their aerial castles and their worldly possessions. Everywhere around is heard the clink of hammers, the driving of nails, as the work proceeds of crowding together houses pulled down, or dragged bodily back from the present line of surf. No order, no method, no set purpose is evidenced. Each man. works according to his owu devices, possibly for his owu present benefit, but inevitably for the ultimate disadvantage of the community. So long as time and money are frittered away in mere makeshift efforts it cannot be reasonably expected that Westport will witness a revival of waning trade, or establish the foundations of future prosperity. While final arrangements on the part of the Government are still pending, and before any definite action can be taken therein, the people of Westport should consult together, and in businesslike fashion fully satisfy themselves that it is possible, either to obtain all they desire by the means at present suggested, or to devise modifications of the scheme which may conduce to public advantage. We have authority for stating- that a fair and equitable system of classification is now being arranged, with a view that priority of selection may be given to those who have suffered the heaviest losses, and that thereafter the interests of all holders of property will be considered, and their claims adjusted pro rata with the value of their present holdings. A matter more capable of equitable adjustment by the government than perhaps by the people themselves; but on the question of site of township the people should take an interest, and express a decided opinion.