CORRESPONDENCE.

Thames Advertiser, Volume IX, Issue 2349, 21 June 1876, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

THAMES VALLEY; BAIL WAY j MEETING. • ■ ■ ■) To he Editor of the' Thames advertiser. Siu,—l for one was present at the meeting called by D? Kilgo'ur at the Council Chambers last night, and exceed; ingly regret that'the Mayor made the remarks he did as to his right to be chairman of the meeting. His remarks about being in his own house, he had the right to take the chair, even if he had nothing better to offer his visitors than cold water and paper, are certainly wrong. In the first place, before the meeting was called ho was asked if lie would grant the use of the Council Chambers to the ..Doctor to hold a meoting in re the Thames Valley Railway, and consented to. do so, and granted them to the Doctor for any ovening ho wished. The Doctor fixed on Monday, the 19th instant, consequently:for that evening tho rooms were given up to tho Doctor, and thoroforo tho Doctor, and not the Mayor, was tho master of tho hour, and following out the Mayor's reasoning was entitled to tako the chair. But apart from this,' the Mayor was wrong. I attended a public meoting of the Koyal Agricultural Society in Exeter

in. 1853, or thereabouts, and although the' meeting was held in the town hall, and the Mayor was present, the chairman of the.society. was chairman of that meeting, and also of the public dinner that was . held.in the : town .hall three days after; alao, at a public meeting held in the town hall of a borough in the 'south-west of England, near my then home, called by.a DrSmith.for ,the purpose of getting the borough beautified by the planting of, trees, &c. The Mayor, although present, did not preside, but Dr Smith did so. Dr Smith, the Mayor, myself, and about nine, other gentlemen, were elected a. com-, mittee to carry out the work, and although every meeting of the committee was held in the Council Chambers, the Mayor only took the chair when Dr- Smith . was absent; On other grounds also I regret the Mayor ■: did not ; see ' .through \ the mean-spirited action of ; . Messrs Carpenter, Hollis, and Co., arid allowed himself to be the cat'spaw: used by them to - offer an insult to a gentleman who has year after year given his time and money to keep before the General Government, and also the Parliament of New Zealand, the great want of the Thames, viz., that of connnection with the Waikato railway. [He was the first gentleman to propose and carry out years ago the calling a. public meeting on this subject at the Theatre Boyal, at which meeting a committee was appointed for endeavour-, ing to get a railway through the;valley of the Thames; from that day to thepreaent he has' : never ceased to urge it. on the attention of-the Government, and.for the last two years the whole expense of the two petitions, the telegrams'and : letters to the various members, asking them to support the petitions, the obtaining the statistical information, have been bomb by Dr Kilgour and Mr Dean, the other members of the committee; having only'been called upon to.assistso far-as, signing the. petitions sent, which they most willingly did; and again when tho Doctor comes forward for a third timo at his owri ! cost to urgelhis matter on the •Parliament, tho Mayor ([ trust unwittingly) allows himself to.be made the tool of certain enemies of the Doctor's, and 'offer him a gross insult by consenting to ■the calling of a meeting on a subject the Doctor had already called a meeting upoD, :and the which subject.could have been as I well discussed at that time, or if necessary that-very meeting itself could have been adjourned until the Wednesday to a larger room.—lam, &c., 1. Y. Z.

To tlie Editor oi tho THAMES ADVERTISER.

.Sib,-I very much admire the good, taste displayed by his Worship the Mayor . last evening in claiming his', right .'to tho; chair ex officio, because the 'meeting' happened to, be ; held at the Borouglv Council Chambers. It was extremely: modest and polite, especially from i man who has never on any previous occasion taken the slightest interest in public affairs, with the exception of writing a few letters in his capacity as Mayor, at the request of. his Council. ' There is no man in this community who has done less for the public, but, in view .of.public favours to come, he has taken, a sudden and startling interest in the Thames Valley 'railway, and has shown a : patriotic desire to be in the very forefront of progressive energy, and thereby prove to the world at large/and to the -Thames'goldfield' constituency in particular, what a jumping advocate we have found. • No doubt the constituency, referred to will show their intense gratitude by their votes at the coming Mr Macdonald has lowered himself in the estimation of all good men by his potion last night, and by allowing himself to be made the tool of a despicable "clique, whose very hatred, malice, and uncharitableness are so transparent to the most superficial observer.—l am, &c, ...■,.•. ;;••.:> ; A lovee op Eaie Piat. Thames, June 20,1876. ,

To the Editor of theTMK ADOTISER. Sib,—The old. saying " put a beggar: on horseback and he will ride to the devil," was fully exemplified at the rail, way meeting held last night, at whioh the Mayor'rode roughshod over everyone, and disclosing what we may expect .'in him should he live to be a Warden or E.M. here, viz., arrogance and want of equanimity of temper., I- must say that I was, and so great many others were, much surprised at the conduct of the Mayor and his. very uncalled-for■ remarks. "I shall certainly stand upon my dignity/' says he. Query, where was his dignity.? In the eyes of those present he was very., undignified, and, like: a spoilt child. JW' further remarks, "he would head of his own table." JN T ow, «•» the facts which lead to.the [ ' D ' Kilgour, whose efforts benefit of this district, and more particularly in his endeavours to : obtain a railway; to'the Waikato from here, have been unremitting ; in fact he. has spared neither., time, trouble, and expend to further that object. As the/ssembly'is.now,.sitting the Doctor, bycircularj-invited the. whole of the members of the Eailway Committee formed some time ago, and other friends of the movement, to meet and arrange some action to further the railway in view; and for the purposo : of saving expense the, Doctor applied to I " 'the Mayor for the use of the Council: Chambers, which is srnnted. : -Of-"course-everyone understood and looked on it.asa.righfc -that Dr .Kilgour, as Chairman of the Kailway. Committee and convener of the meeting, should take =the" chair/ when, forsooth, 'the. Mayorcsteps-in with his dignity and right to sit at the head of his . own: table, and : takes the : chair.—l, am, &C, . ■••:.•; . ;,.;. :'.'?.-'/^"'.-4;V6TBEV '■