SAND.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 2990, 12 September 1891, Page 2

SAND.

TO THK EIUTOII. Sm,—From your report of the last meeting of the Hamilton Borough Council it will be seen that the contractor for supplying gravel endeavoured to obtain the sum of £'<) Is 3d fram the borough funds for work which he did not perform, and to which he had no legal claim. Tho material used was not gravel, but sand, and was obtained from a condemned pit by tho borough foreman at a cost to the borough of about £3. At a later period of the meeting, tho question of raising the town clerk's salary was brought up. Now, I am not going tooxpress an opinion as to whether the increase was justifiable or not; but I notice that Crs. Jones and Parr were the only two counI cillors who opposed such increase, whilst four councillors and the mayor supported it—presumptive evidence that the request made by the town clerk was a fair one. Tlio two opposing councillors stated they could not conscientiously vote for increasing the clerk's salary in view of the weak and straitened condition of the borough funds. The conscientious racket might have worked very well but for the claim made by the gravel contractor referred to above. Where was their conscientiousness on this question? Why did Cr. Jonea , leave his seat ? With the views he holds as to the condition of the borough funds he should have remained at the table and opposed such an unblushing claim most strenuously. There was no occasion for him to leave the table, ns ha cannot possibly be interested in the supply of gravol to the borough, in fact is precluded by law from being so interested, and a man with a properlystrung conscience is not likely to seek to ever-ride the spirit of tho law. Ihe mere fact of his surname being similar to that of the contractor should not have interfered with him in doing his duty to the borough and resisting the payment of the account in question. If he were interested I could understand his pocketing his conscientiousness, as mot) are apt to do this kind of thing occasionally. It is singular how elastic the condition of the borough funds were on the gravel question—quite buoyant in fact, the payment of an account of £9 odd for services not rendered being hardly worth considering—and how unhealthy and depressed they were when the other question was considered. There boiug no similarity of name between Cr. Jones and the town clerk, conscience and high principles again got a show, and were trotted out and paraded around a bit.—Yours, &c. H. K.