THE COUNTY COUNCIL & ITS WAYS.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume XVIII, Issue 958, 7 April 1888, Page 3

THE COUNTY COUNCIL & ITS WAYS.

TO ZHE EDITOR. Snt,—l have perused your report of the proceedings of the council on the 21st ult., and as such proceedings are amenable to public criticism I propose to review one or two of its positions which • I think call for publio comment.

Recently, land was taken by the council for pablio purposes from one of our old and respected settlers, who did not at first elect to take what the council thought fie to offer as compensation. He, however, did not. press the council for what he thoueht the value of the land, and tacitly accepted the offer of the council. It now appears from your report (which I presume is accurate) that the council, with all the imperiousnoss of an Oriental nabob, entirely repudiates its own offer and absolutely r»fuses to recognise that the set: ler has any. olaim—conduct than which riohing could be more opposed to all the generallyreceived no'ions of fair dealing; and fair play. No doubt the claims of our friend will not rest here, but will find voice in that tribunal from which go forth the flits of even-handed justio?. Again, the council has resolved that beeiuse applications have been made by private p»rsons for the service* of the engineer he must do their bidding on payment of a tm.?ll fee, wbioh ahall be paid into the county fnnd! The council then stops from off its lofty pedes'al of officialism and defends to compete wi f h private persons, and—what is not impossible—may u»e its.influence tcorush outprivte co'mp-'ti-. tore. Suchaproceedine is unfair alike toprivate enterprise and to the engineer, and it on principle quito indefensible, and, in the counoil, most undignified. It is, moreover, beyond the province of the council to pas's any such resolution which, having no binding force, is practically worthless ! Its .power.' are defined by statute, and beyond these it dares not go.; and I challenge any member of the council to point to any provision in the sta'ute to which the council owes its very existence th»t would justify it in passing such a resolution hs this, which I fee] constrained to say public reeling must altogether condemn. The functions of the council are of a purely public character, and it cuinot, like private eompinws and private individuals, engage in money-msking pursuits, for is it not quite conceivable that the engineer may earn tor th» council under the new rsgimt three times the warn of money

he now receives? One would think that so long as the engineer faithfully discharges his duties to the council he should be free,. a» engineers are in other counties, to do outside work, receiving himself the remuneration for bis services. He who does the work should receive the wage. Let ns hope that before very many, sessions of council are held this ignominious resolu'ioo will disappear from the minute-book, and that our cjuncillors, freed from the blinding mists of prejudice and passion, will shape their measures on more enlightened principles of public policy. —lam, etc., FIAT JrjSTITIA. Naseby, April 3rd, 1888.