A LIVELY MEETING.

Otago Witness, Issue 2086, 15 February 1894, Page 18

A LIVELY MEETING.

The meetings of the Cromwell Borough Council have been rather lively of late. It has been the practice in that borough to appoint the local auctioneer as sub-treasurer and pay him for his services. This was a round-about wajr of reducing the auctioneer's license fee. The Auditor-general appears to have taken no notice of the matter till the present mayor (Mr Scott) recently wrote k directing his attention to it. That letter, which several councillors have termed " an informer's letter," the mayor now refuses to produce. At the meeting on Thursday the Ist (we learn from the Cromwell Argus) some reference was made to a stoppage of supplies to a recipient of oharitable aid. While the mayor was explaining what had taken place since the last meeting, Cr Morbell interjected a question, when he was ordered to "sit down," the Mayor declaring he would stand no more " bombaratering." Cr Hotop proposed that a committee be appointed to investigate the matter and report. The Mayor : I won't put the motion. The matter has been already dealt with. It is a great discourtesy to ask three councillors to re-open the question. The sooner this sort of bombardment is done away with the better. Cr Hotop : May I ask you on what grounds did you at last meeting condemn R. Henry and Co.'s firm. Who proved to you they were in the wrong ? The Mayor: Mr Kerr saw me, and I saw Mrs M'Nulty. Cr Hotop : Yes — after last meeting ; but you condemned the firm before you saw Mr Kerr. The Mayoh : I am sure Cr Hotop has been allowed Cr Hotop : Latitude ! The Mayor : Yes, latitude enough. Haven't I told him I saw Mr Kerr P Or Hotop : Yes, but after you had passed a vote of censure on the firm. On what grounds did you pass it P Kindly answer. The Mayor : By the council. Cr Hotop : On what grounds ? I say. The Mayor :By the council ! By the council ! You ought to have been present, and you'd have heard. Cr Muureli. : I have a motion The Mayor : I won't put it. Cr Murrbll (still standing) : I have a motion The Mayor : Sit down. You are not going to occupy the meeting. I will not put your motion. I call you to order. Cr Murreli, : I won't take my seat. I have the chair, and am in perfect order, but I call you to order. The Mayor : Ach ! gang hame, man, an' rock the cradle. Cr Thomas : A most uncalled-for and outrageous remark ! You should keep your mouth shut. You should withdraw the offensive remark. Cr Murrell: I call you to withdraw your vulgar and nasty expression. The Mayor : I won't withdraw it. You must expect me to retaliate if you come here bombarding me as you always do. You come here interfering because I won't defraud the ratepayers. I don't care for all your " squirts " in the local paper. Considerable discussion on the same subject here followed, the mayor still refusmgto put ~tbS J©QtJQ&,-bn%-'ilfelS!Site.ls amendment — "That a resolution having been already passed, and having seen one of the firm, no further action be taken in the matter." — Seconded by Cr Thomas and carried. A little later on Cr Murrkll moved — " That as the mayor refused to produce a copy of his letter to the Auditor-general the clerk write to the Auditor-general for a copy." Cr Hotop : Has the mayor been asked to produce a copy of the letter P The Mayor : I object to answer. The matter has already been dealt with. There are certain councillors, as I have already said, who keep bombarding of me and they are here only as obstructionists. I have been called an informer because I have tried to save the ratepayers being robbed of £20. Well, lam a bit of a detective, and I will be a bigger detective before lam done. I intend to act as a detective, and when I give up the mayoralty I'll win greater "loorals" than anybody elße. Cr Murrell : I have got a The Mayor : I won't put your motion. There ! The motion was seconded, but the Mayor declined to put it. "The council," he said, " has nothing to do with it, and you shan't have it. I won't gratify the curiosity of some of the councillors who come here ' bombarstering ' of rue, and — and — and I won't do it. So there ! If some of you would attend to the council business and not stay away from meetings you would have seen the letter. It was oh thiß table." Cr Murrell : Never ! Cr Thomas : I never saw it. Is there "a councillor who has seen it P The Mayor : Even if they hadn't, that's my busineßß. I won't satisfy you or Cr Murrell. I may say I took it upon myself to write as I did, and I'll do so again and again and again. You bad the reply, and that's enough for you. After considerable discussion, Cr Foreman said : As an amendment, I will move that the mayor be asked to produce the letter at next meeting. The Mayor : I won't put either motion or amendment. Cr Hotop : Well, this is beautiful. After some considerable discussion, Cr Hotop suggested that Cr Foreman should add the word " respectfully " to his amendment and he would second it. This was willingly agreed to, and after another 20 minutes desultory discussion — The Mayor said he would put the amendment, but councillors need not be a bit surprised if he refused to obey it. On a show of hands been taken the amendment was carried. The Mayor previously refu3ed point blank to put the motion. Some business having been transacted, Cr Mukrell said : I have another motion. The council pays 10s a year for a box at tha post office Tue Mayor : I won't take your motion. You are simply here as an obstructionist, and keep bombarding me because you know I'm a bit hot tempered, and lose the run of the business when I'm angry. I won't put your motion, and I again say, '' Go home and rock the cradle." Cr Murrell (with hand on ink bottle) : I'll smash your head. The Mayor : Oh, if you would only try. The Mayor : I declare this meeting closed. Sit down, Cr Murrell. Cr Murrell refused to sit down, but after some discussion he expressed himself satisfied about the matter, and the meeting concluded with a vote of thanks to the chairman. Cr Murrell, in a letter to the Cromwell Argus, intimates that in view of the treatment he has received he has resigned his seat.

Mr D. Nicol, of Mornington, has left at our office about three inches of the branch of a plum tree to which is attached no fewer than 21 plums. The cluster has almost the appearance of a swarm of bees. The variety is the black diamond.