DRAMATIC SCENE IN THE CITY CHAMBERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11691, 28 June 1901, Page 6

DRAMATIC SCENE IN THE CITY CHAMBERS.

AX INDIGNANT COUNCILLOR. CHALLENGE THROWN ACROSS THE TABLE. A THREATENED RESIGNATION. Tin: City Council had an exciting quarter of an hour towards the close of their business last night. The Council was discussing some prosy details nt departmental work, and one uninteresting item having been duly relegated to a committee, Mr. Dignan, who was in the chair, was' looking round for the next point to engage the attention of the Council, when suddenly everybody in the room became aware that Mr. (Hover was on his feet, dramatically directing attention to a grievance under which he was labouring. Energetically waving a formidable-looking document and with great flow of language Mr. Glover started oil' as follows:--"It is with the profoundest and most sincere regret that 1 have been reluctantly compelled this evening to rise in justification of myself and in justification of the constituents I have the honour to represent. Aspersions have been cast on my character by one of the members of this Council, a gentleman whom 1 shall shortly name. Ha is one of those who is most ready to cast on members of this Council all kinds of unseemly epithets, both lemanly and unkind. 1 can assure you 1 would not for one moment sit in this Council with tha stigma and the remarks which have been placed upon me, representing as I do what 1 conside. to be one of the most intelligent and enlightened constituencies in any municipality in New Zealand. 1 was attending a meeting of delegates relative to the ferry services, and Mi. Hannuii is the gentleman who there accused me of violating my principles and the trust placed in me by my constituents. 1 hold my resignation in my hand and I am shortly to challenge Mr. Hannan if he has the manhood or the common sense to accept my challenge to resign his seat. If I had made such aspersions on his character as he has made on mine, I should hava been gallant enough to have accepted such a challenge from him had he laid it down, even to contest the North Ward with him, Tho last election would show whether I would subordinate my publie position to my own private and mercenary ends, and would give an unqualified answer to that charge. One cf the members of the Council "as east asporsioas on my character here is my resignation." Mr. Stichbury rose to a point of order, and asked Mr. Clover as a favour to defer this matter and let tho business of the Council go on. Mr. Glover: I cannot. If you compel me to place myself in that position I shall resign my seat to-night. The chairman at this stage rose and ordered Mr. Glover to sit down. Mr. Glover: No, sir; I will not sit down. I will obev tho chair with pleasure but I will vindicate my character. Mr. Stichbury, 1 should think, would like to see any man vindicate his character. The Chairman: Was it in the Council room 'I Mr. Glover: Yes, sir. Mr. Stichbury said he must insist on the Council going on with its ordinary business. Mr. Glover : Mr. Stichbury is a gentleman for whom I have always had the highest and extremest regard, and I regret exceedingly that ho will not allow mo to vindicate myself and my constituency of a crime I am not guilty of. I am surprised at Mr. Stichbury, a gentleman I have done everything in my power to assist, but I will not sit here with a stigma on. my character. Here is my resignation. A councillor has accused me of looking after my own pecuniary interests. Mr. Hannan: I ask him to make a statement of tho accusation. Mr. Glover: I will give a statement. I assure you I feel the position keenly. Ever since I have been— The Chairman: Give us tho statement. Mr. Glover: Four delegates were appointed by the Council to attend a conference with other local bodies in reference to the ferry services. Mr. Rosscr at thai conference proposed that two from each body should form a sub-committee. He mentioned my name. Ah! (pointing to Mr. Hannan) a man may smile, but even that smile may bo treachery. Those are Mr. Gladstone's words, sir ! Mr. Hannan: I am not to sic here and allow any councillor to charge me with treachery. Mi. Glover: You have charged me, sii, and when you could not carry your particular point you said you had promoted the whole. affair, and that none of us would have been, delegates but for you. lam prepared tc. submit to the Council whether you or I should take the place on that committee. Mr. Hannan moved an amendment that the whole of the delegates should form the committee, and then when ho was defeated— and this was the most unkind thing—he said, " You can rest assured, gentlemen, that nothing will be done against the interests of the ferry sorvice while Mr. Glover is there." Mr. Hannan: I deny that. Mr. Glover : it was a charge of a prospective crime for a pecuniary objec. I leave fch.3 matte, in the hands of the Council. Here i.s my resignation. If you (addressing Mr. Hannan) are prepared to resign and contest the South Ward with me, I will hand in my resignation now, and I will see if there has been dereloction of duty on my part. By this time Mr. Glover had advanced to the town clerk's table in the centre of the Jirclo of councillors, and, resignation in hand was dramatically urging Mr. Hannan to come forward with his resignation. The Chairman: I don't think there is anv necessity for this. Mr. Glover: Yes: my character is at stake. Mr. Haiman: Will you allow me to explain. This thing has evidently rankled in his man s conscience. Mr Glover; I am as good a gentleman as *ou. You call me "this man 1 " m^nc-ss" ry: We SI,OUW K ° n with our Mr. Glover: My honour is more at stake Han business.

r-w ?°? Ser , asked to be allowed to explain what took place at the conference. He lT I S°°i ho was the aggrieved person by the aspepio„ B cast by Mr. Hannan, but ATr Tn e^nfly taken it to himself, charge £ '' * don l know what the Mr. Glover: The charge is that there ha thaTl if W i tlol l.°V duty ° n mJ "and r nat J am subordinating mv nosiHon »c - o^^ncillorformyo^nVSme^ The Chairman: Who made it? Mr. Glover: .Mr. Hannan. -a- Glovers mind to that extent that h« does no know exactly whore he , The fact of the matter is- ine J ifi Mr. ? Glover: Are °" to accept my chali »£■' ? annan: T am quite satisfied with the ward I represent. I named three Gentle men with myself to represent he OoSi and Mr° n « erenCe -v , Th m ™ tit * was eld and Mr Rosser did what I took to be a. gross insult to myself as the principal mover ,„ the matter. He named Messrs TW and Glover to go °° , a sub -committee! There wag no need for a sub-committee and that nib-committee was appointed only on the' Pasting vote of the chairman. J let M-. Rosser know pretty clearly that it was a gross insult on myself. When the subcommittee was appointed, Mr. Glover got up and regretted very much that Mr Alison had not been appointed a member. Mr. Glover: I naver mentioned his name. Mr. Hannan: I then jokingly said across the table only in joke: "Oh, it will be all right and safe in your hands. You will look after the interests." I had no more idea of meaning what Mr. Glover has construed than I had of throwing myself over a wall. Mr. 'Rosser: I am sorry Mr. Glover has taken this matter up in the wav ho has because I considered myself the aggrieved party. Had I known that Mr. Hannan coveted the position, probablv Mr. Hannan would have secured the object of his covetous less. Mr. Hannan protested against a Rub-oommittee being appointed, and when I i moved that the two members on the comi "i!",'? 0 from the City Council be Messrs. | vl , dd , alKl Glover - then Mr. Hannan said i had offered him a grass insult in not nominating him, and as good as said he was the man who sent us there. T refuse to be under the fatherhood of Mr. Hannan; it was the City Council sent mo there. I took it as an insult to myself, and I am sorry Mr. Glover took it to himself. If he had the same feeling as I have for Mr. Hannan, he would treal it with contempt! Mr. Hannan said it way a deliberate insult concocted outside to keep him off his rightful position as a member of that sub-com-mittee. He said in a sarcastic way that no doubt the Ferry Company's interests would be looked after by Mr. Glover. I would not have taken any notice of that, but that was what Mr. Hannan said. If Mr. Glover j takes my advice, he will withdraw his resignation. He will never get Mr. Hannan to resign Ins seat, you can bet your bottom dollar on that. The Chairman: Now, we have all had enough of thie business. Here the exciting little scene ended, the Council proceeded ugain to ordinary business, and nothing further was heard of Mr, Glover's resignation.