THE MAYOR'S SAURY.

Thames Advertiser, Volume XII, Issue 3234, 3 February 1879, Page 3

THE MAYOR'S SAURY.

To the Elisor of the I'iiahe) Aovjauasß.)

Rill, —A statement which is intended to apply lo m?, and -vhic!i is false fnm beginning lo end, so far as I am concerned, occurs in tho Thames Evening Star of this d-iv's date, under tho heading of" Reflections by Tatlor," a very appropriate name for the author of '(ofljcfcionssueh ai these, which are idle i.nlp.i, nn doubt, but which in this case have been made the vehicle for a very fjross calumny, viz, that I applied for, nud ri'itnivivi, n 'lay' l ! in oj. cess of tlio aiuoiin'. to which I was entitled as retiring Mayor The falsehoods of which 1 complain occur in the following quotation from tho " Reflections:" A. retiring Mayor, who happened to bo itfayor niti' flay longer than usual, owing to a difficulty of getting together a sufficient number of Councillors to perform tho ceremony of installation, was furnished with a eheqno in lull of all deuiauds up to tho statutory period of his term of office, This ho returned to the Town Clerk as boing incorrect, and the Town Clerk, like a donkey as ho is in money matters, gave his o - >?n private cheque for an amount, including the additional day's pay, he giving the difference, instead of bringing it before the Council." The first departure from truth in the above is to bo found in the allegation that I remained in office one day longer than usual, the fact being that I ceased to exist as Mayor of Thames at noon 011 the third Wednesday (18th) of December last, being the time appointed by law for the new Mayor to take office, his installation being altogether beside the question. The next deviation occurs in tho statement that I was furnished with a cheque, &e. I never received a cheque in full of all demands, or a cheque of any amount whatever, but an official of the Borough called upou mo and offered tho sum of £6 5s in full of my claim for salary, which 1, of course, refused as incorrect. The next-well, mis-statement let us call it-informs the public that I returned the cheque which I had never received, and in lieu thereof .got a private cheque of the Towu Clerk's, including the additional day's pay, which I did not nor could not claim, as my period of service terminated, as above stated, at noon on the 18sh ultimo. Having thus served for eighteen days, I applied for eighteen days'salary; but I only got pay for seventeen days and ahalf, 12 noon being considered by the Borough authorities as the middle and not as the beginning of the day, which, for legal purposes, I believe it is, Further, I was ntot paid by cheque of Mr Dean's, either public or private. If that gentleman has paid my just and legal claim upon the Borough funds, or any part of it, out of his own pocket, he is a greater fool than I take him to be, and fully deserves to lose it. Upon taking office as Mayor, succeeding Mr Macdonald, I only received my just proportion of the month's salary, a fact which is not necessary to prove the correctness of my claim 01 retiring, but which I may mention in order to show hat the same course has been followed before. After this conviotion what honest men will think of "Tatler" is no longer doubtful. -I am, &c.,

James Kilgoub. Thames, Ist February, 1879.