The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE Published Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Morning. Thursday, October 25, 1888. THE AGONY.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume II, Issue 213, 25 October 1888, Page 2

The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE Published Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Morning.

Thursday, October 25, 1888. THE AGONY.

Be just and fear not; Let all the ends thou aim's* at be thy country's, Thy God's, and truth’s.

The members of the Harbor Board had a very anxious time at their last meeting, in facing the penalty which they had to meet on account of their recent precipitate action. Had the matter been less serious, it would have been highly amusing to listen to the remonstrances against the accounts that were made by some of the members. Mr Dickson held up his hands in holy horror, and protested against the payment; but too late—too late I The only member that could have got up and indignantly, or with an irritating complaisance, exclaimed “ Serve you right—l told you so” was Mr Townley; but that gentleman sensibly refrained from doing anything of the kind, and viewed the matter in its true light. The majority of the Board had hurried the thing on, with the result that expense was entailed which otherwise would not have been necessary. But it is the extreme of nonsense that after members have endorsed a certain line of action, any one of them should turn round and object to paying what he and his fellow members had authorised. Certainly all the members seemed to be under the impression that the Chairman would have consulted the Board in the details referred to, and Mr Matthewson strongly urged that this should be so; but then there is the resolution in black and white, and the member that now objects to paying the accounts only convicts himself of an extraordinaryinconsistency. We strongly commented on the matterat the time, and adversely criticised the statement when it appeared, but Mr Sievwright was vested with authority, and though we might not agree with what he did, his manner of doing it cannot fairly be questioned. Suppose the Board decided to reject the accounts—and until the show of hands were taken it was impossible to ascertain how the matter would stand—what would the result have been ? To a certainty more litigation. It is time this sort of thing ceased, and the money either carefully spent or put in safe keeping.