The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1860-12-18 00:00:00

Coraspoubract.

TU./ LOVA'. BOA ItD OF 11 EA Lrlf.--SUITI:EigEb
C()P.I4. C E.

7',1 the Editor qi the Dur.etChstety
digtiontlturitt Gazette.

imm:
SIB, _wi 1 1 1
ou alh ' w ice
f.trus‘,t.'t,we'il,ti..L.Yrce„..°t,4l,,...rilt:,lt.,l,,ti‘,l,.:l7,.
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,r 0n,,• I:•,ol'4,e:taell*,
.11 l'ii:oyafi no
lat
nr t 0i:,.;,init.,:it::,.:,:',....;::;:,Tt1,"::,:,,,,r.iN:5.,:te,i..„,,...u11't,',,ii:iir,...,:iiiti.tti..,,,,,:,fter,t,ee,,,,..,7f:er,,1awitt,:,..4...yi.:.40,_.....t:t.t0ri,.,...',..:....t_6....,t4::.
on Min pi .rt of the Lucall Board of
ibell7°F;:gltalß;oni:exr:afiumtsbtoeito::4t.Ulliave legal advice touebie; •mnee,
dahlia Inta:le for o dultensAttuu for alleged closer' -4
tamed in carryinf; on the works fnr the dri''t-
water supply, the Town Clerk put hinoelf iii
cation with the Gen. rat Board on tl.at siii:44
shortly afterworeal received a reply. lestead , 1 IN
that reply in due courne before the &aril,
halt., and adin onishes the Board that -•• ie „ii mt
- with them w'atilier they would like to have tee bl4l
"read." The que,tion, of course, auggesta
Jitney of withholding the letter freer the ell`
I Thi•reupon a diseiosion twines, and the prode,•l4
lie,,ii,.. by a oi.,j.irity of G t. :: . to k 11,4., ~,,,km, ".7?
i t 1::::•.••:,, iistair,,litity trfiaitil. ewe is,rt.r.
11,,, Ifthr;—.hul es, (hell dseldte to hurt a , "^
; arm!
i
e oinex hat singular resolution on the part of tiled r 7 I
1.. ta.tiven at the Council ihudd ; but they ~11 6.1.,
. i,cial , ripir,ise.,:lras;t,i.ll
iwi.litenint,hiety
alieli.tol:iiithyt.l3friterii,re,li.,,JT.iii:t,":.;.:.....,ri,
ti, 6 aii„,„„ioier ponition in the AV.Well •• uttered .4.--„.!
tri of the public interest to be good for the. nie,„,7, •
that they, the representatives, :should be 1,„„,
'".l. la th
7 thug ..,
II Mc eaamines the terms of the discrocion, eel,
rt,..i,t,e.:li,c3,,,,,•:tel:,,•..iiari..ti::ll,reoiti,un:::l,it,igF.,:uit.,iditb.isitu:•::.:Eti.liti:itibettidil.,:k.s.c:t,ii,ra,gaant::igtie.ethoaftm
to
'ace
~.,,,,.,:,.,
lite tit, i•inirt of the Mayor, in Lis desire fur the we.
breli...) 1.• ..i. tt i: h his tlitialCh 34rue...end felicity.
truiv, t le letter hail been obtained '' far the gede4;4'.
' sulotant ice *notion, sec led by Mr. Mason, te ~,:e.
the kite. •; and he imu.e to a TrlUWlVlrartv 401 ilit )htkt
aue 0, , i-Mayor, aid! the Toe,, (link, a., he.,,,:.
the nowt fitting inernons to be entrunted ,A'r
lowr r :telt!, , hiztr.
,1
is
.day:aufliot tins
ip:arrete telitot
la.+, di
contents o f that letter, or they are not. If t. ry eni
ignorant, , they have been content to remain ic tkei
blessed ids le out of deference to the 01.,1.,, a
klavor—thr :1 slag had Gefterklede twain!, 01,,,,, „. 'l7,
that car*, h o very flatt.rtOg reliance steins to hare ten
placed WIDOW the Jur/wand and fltscrvii,,n of the,. tm.
eillor,,, who at the bidding of one or two of their he,
ber einiaent iar be hwheimked a ith a degree
placeitcy and mice, as which would have Harmed tie
famous Mont iOU rZ. IWOUSI, I. But it in to he feared thit
the conetiturrice at there gentlemen will tee in the
proceeding but I ittle re son to he proud i,f their r,po.
eentatives at the Council Board on account or ee,4,610
display of '• independence," " vigilance," and eiht,
high qualitice, so freely Pr./UMW alai al ,
believed at Mn.uicipal elections. Well, that a di,
atate of things under the first case aseuewi. ei,
a homer fide igliora nee of the contents it the letter.
L., no eoppone (which is 1111 l re likely) tic it the pesi
majority of Li,.. Board, though they nisy ant
have seen the letter, had yet then favneref
a ith a wery at •curate statetne lit if its
and, mar' r, tl cat the policy of k.epin,,,,, the IhN
quiet tenioag the select few, or the elect mato,
as the case may be) had been duly and effecti‘eil
urtpil upon the elect Theo compare thin anted I,f the
cline with the dine, onion upon it, and your readers will
easily bee What a farce has been played throughout.
! Of course. you perceive that the whoie question
it.uortua:l6.utLeeirti-i-twla.heet.luirdr
betliemi;:dleetke•urldsilr,7.l,li,jaihe
it: :ilit,,,"
getlaer another matter, hut which nettle of tic. 'peek,,
ingeniously attempted to confound with the nal yec.
tion at isnue. Bevan: r, at any 1111 l meld, the Yea aa
1,3 politely bowed out, and all the oal condone aid
advantages (hiot to sac abuses) of "closed door," way
be securely attained, w About the unpleanant &hymn,'
of cloning the eyes of okir worthy representative, thew
nel yea to that winch is actually isoising under their
noses. _ _

Now, it is atoutly aft ruled that it is the " interest of
the ratepayers" that has le.' to this very remarkable and
very curious proceeding. The first ;dea that occur, to
the mini upon this is, that if the interest of the rate-
pavers is better served by blindness—wilful or o herein
-- than by MISO, penetration. and judgment on the part
of the representatives of the intereats of the rakpayen,
then, time office of Town Councillor is in this blown
sadly churn of its honours, and the public affairs of the
town may as well be cot 00000 itted altogether into the
1111111111 of the Moyor and his two sidestuen.
But how, it will be asked, can the interest el fin
ratepayers be surveil by withholding an importing
official document fern, the new of Me rery ptre.s she
are charged with those interests- am d which document
has been avowedly sought and obtained for the informs.
tion and guidance of those functionaries!
cillora gravely shake their heads; and one declares "they
ought to be extremely cautious bow they act in the
matter ;" Another, "that they should be careful
how they acted ; " a third suggeots that the letter may
he a " Ovate correspondence," when there cannot he
the slightest pretence for any such supposition ;
a fourth declarea that " the matter was of
tome delicacy," and no forth ! What ta the matter!
What is the•meaning a all these ominous givinge-out. in
relation to the plain buitiness of the Board ? Would
anyone think it ?--The question proposed is neither
moo re nor less than thia—whrther the Board would
allow themselves to be oupposed to know anything cheat
this letter !

If a confiding constituency, in its honest simplicity,
exclaims,
•• Wherefere, why is thipr
thew Councillors stem to reply in the words of
MarLeh to his inquiring wife,

'• Ile innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck,

Till th..o applaud the.deed7

But there can be no hope that this apparently imp-
lar and most extraordinary process can be in any way
explained, or compensated, by the result. I ant apeakiag
now of the alleged terms/ of the rulepayers. Oil which
amount the Board have bv-en so good as to seal up tkir
eyes. A good deal was said absent the putting of wea-
pons into hostile hands to be used against the hoard
—should the letter be suffered to be read; and Mr.
Lock is sufficiently candid to leave us no room for doubt
that it is against one or more of the members ccl the
Board themselves that this absurd and futile precautioa
low been taken. Nobody can doubt that the
legality of his claim can be ascii-twined by Joy
man, he he a member of the Hoard or not, who may fed
himself entitled to recover for damage, and is resolved
to pmsecute laisclaiin. The merits of his ease cannot pow
nilily be infected by this letter from the General Board;
so that the Local Board have committed themselves,
as it appear. to Inc. to a course as abortive as it is die
ingenuous and nnjuat, in withholding the letter time the
Board generally.
. .

Mr. 'lock elite the case of • "legal gentleman at
Exetet, who availed himself of his position of a ineaber
of the Boatel to take adeatitage of the circumstances
which came to his knowledge in that cape ley to the
prejudice of the Board." Why, that is perfectly natu-
ral ; and how are these tomes to be prevented
maroe exPel Iron, the !beard every PAR
who may be suapected of being able to turn to las
own purpose. information obtained by him when
sitting in is cap.icily of a member of that Board? As
a isiember of the Ituatel lie lima a right, and is expected,
to he fully acquainted with everything done by, and
',wiping before, Uat body ; and it seems to be the
height of abourdity, impinging upon extreme little.
noes, to conspire to depti‘e him of his right to be at all
times cognisant of the proceedings of the Board I
cannot believe that the " interest of the ratepayers" ma
ever be served by proceedings likie three; while I am
quite cure tiiat a Araightforward unit upright mode of
dealing with the pulehe busitie,s, and an avoidance of
ever)thing having the sligliteat appeanince of a tortuoas
and under-hand policy, will tend most effectually to pro.
mote the beat itatermts of the netepayers, and at the
same time to sustain the respect and confidence of the
public which the weinbere have carried with them to
the Council Board.

I am, dear Sir,
Yours faithfully,
FAIR-AND-ABOVE-BOARD.
Dorchester, Dec. 15, ISSO.

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