The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1868-03-10 00:00:00

THZ NCI PIZII LITIGATION.

The Mayor deprecated the calling of the meeting be
requisition, thou.h he was aatisfi-d that the .ignatorial
did not mean to be personally disesurtwous to him. The
letter referred to was one from Meer.. Patterson.
Wiegs and Co., dated the 14th February, wherein it
was atated that from the Down:epee report. it was seen
the only ground of detente the Council had was not
whether the money was due or not but what fund wee
liable for payment. The writer therefore snumted—
" A lair way would be to plead such pleas only a shall
rake the defence, and to which we could demur and
thus get the question decided without the ',prose of •
trial. Of course if other matters of fact are to be raised
the esuae nakt necessarily be tried." That mormnit
Mey had received another totter Irons the same 5001C0
still urging the same pie.. His advice was that they
shoe' I not withdraw their defence.
Mr. Alderman Howard proceeded to explain under
what circumstances the requipition referred to by the
chairman was drawn up. Ile knew tb•t the letters first
read had been rweived by the Town('lrk; hia worship
we. in London. and he thought the urgency f the bus,
nee gave him • right to exeroi. the peer. estive belong.
leg to him as Alderman. He diseleirned the idea of haw.
lug committed • studied affront, and referred to Lis pet
support to the mayor, and pledged himself to render
that support for the future. Turning to the !miners
of the clay. be maid he ems of opinion that the letter
read from Mr. Payne's agents had rightly interpreted
the feeling of the Council when the question was lest
discussed. tin that occasion he never beard one member
of the Council repudiate the debt; but the unanimous
feeling was that they should look to the pile pier, and
the tile pier alone, for the money, as they were anxious
that their freelsol Is should not be liable to make good
the debt on the pile pier. That was the defence every
gentleman of the Council was then prepared to make.
No gentleman present would say that this debt was not
'toe; and that when there "rasa balance of Lin that
there was no money in band. Would they endeavour
to get out of the debt by s.ying that the contractor erne
a nominee of • late member of thus Council ? Would
they nese that objection in fare of the feet that
hundreds and thousands of pounds had been paid under
cireurnstencee and no such objection caused?
Would they in private life and as private individuals
attempt to maks such • defence, knowing es they did
that the contract was mole through an agent' that
they bad already paid part of the principal, and for
years interest on the debt; would they as private men,
he asked, then endeavour to altogether repudiate the
dedot ? And should they do in their public capacity
what they would scorn to do intl eir private? There
was no question as to their liability, and he earnestly
ree-mtmend.d them not to involve themselves in an
expensive litigation, hut to submit a sledsl plea to
whieti the plaintiff could demur, to be argued at Trinity
Term, and to abide by the result. The question was
one of law and not one of fact. He would propose
That the Corporation does not really dispute the
demand of the debt now claimed in the act;oa Payne r.
the Mayor and Corporation of Weymouth, or to its
being due, but that the plaintiff must look to the Pile
Pi, r alone for such payment, no other eorponte fond
being liable in respect of the sane; and the London
agents of the plaintiff in us above sedan having
written to the Town Clerk a letter dated the 14th
February, suggesting that the taint' of defense which
could he argued on demurrer as to the non-liability of
any other fund than the Pile Pier fund, and than render
It unnemeary to proceed to trial of facts not disputed;
that the Town Clerk be instructed to eonsent to such
arrangement In such way that the trial of the legal
question of the freeholds be not prejudiced in any way."
Mr. Webb seconded the motion.
Mr. J. Potheeary said that no member present had the
alighted idea of repudiating the debt. They (the
Council) sail "The money lodge to you, but it must
come from the Pile Pier fund, and to that fund you
mutt go." Let them go at once to the demurrer.
Could that he dene?—(The Town Clerk replied in the
affirmative 'Well, if such wee the ca.* their other
pleas remeining made no difference. Ile thong! t they
were stumbling over straws in this matter. The money
most certainly was due, but they never nunteic plated,
and he did not believe any mortal filLti ill tee town
contemplated, that the debt on the pier w. t est up
as a canker-worm the little freehold Pro; 1y tdey
powder& They would stied or fall by the 4.-,,nrrer.
Mr. Howard said that Mr. Fothmary's•iews coincided
with the spirit of his motion.
The Chairman: The plaintiff can raise demurrer
without touching the other pleas at ell, 1.11101, wit re-
main in abeyance until. the demurrer is over.
. .

Mr. Alderman Ililhdge asked whether the ease would
be prajedieed by the owing the resolution?
The Town Clerk: Most certainly, and I (IL ot Adele*
you to do so.
MT. Commins thought th• lineation at btu° was
whatber the Pile Pier Fund was liable or not.

Mr. Vertue, as one of the oouncill.rs who signed the
requisition, apologised to the Mayor for the part h• had
taken, and strongly deprecated the ilea that he had
intentionally given umbrage. With respect to the point
nr.der discussion he endorsed most of the views bold by
Mr. Alderman Howard.

Mr. Aldermanlleage moved an amendment, "That
the action between Mr. Payne and the Town Council
be left in the hands of the Town Clerk to sat to the
best of his judgment in the case " He referred to the
fact of his being one of the oldest councillors at the
board, sod although be had often seen party spirit ran
very high here, yet he bad known • similar eine
to that refined to and complained of by their Chairman.
Re thought they might have spell •ient confidence in
their Town Clerk to leave the defence of the case
brought against them in his hands. He believed Mr.
Stirgicall would do bit hest tor the benefit of the Cor.
por.tion.
Mr. Thomas seconded it. It appeared to him that the
matter had become a personal iiine ; cipecially when a
member, the paid agent of another man
Mr. Alderman Howard I say it is a ; you can
Sake it boar you like.
The Chairman : Order, gentleman ; that is very nn-
parliamentary language, Mr. Howard.
Mr. Thomas: I have always understood so.
Mr. Alderman Howard I say it is not so, sir ; and I
ask you to retract the implication, sir.
Mr. Thomas: If it is not correct I have understood
that you are the p.id agent ,•I Meas., William.,
Atierman Howard If you have the particle of a
gentleman about you, sir, you will apologise.
Mr. Thom,..: I believed it, becatme some one con-
nected with this Council told me that although some
one else was acting sia Messrs. William's spat, yet that
Mr. Howard cy. real party.
_ _ _ . _ _

Mr. Aiderrnan Howard : I aus not a pald agent, and
Loan on you to retract what you have said.
Mr. Thomas: If you may you are not • paid agent I
do withdraw it. But I must say it dose 6•1101 extra-
ordinary to me when I see that men filling important
positions cannot allow this question to take its own
proper sourer.
Mr. Barlicg, who also signed the requisition, apolo-
gised for what ha lied don., He was under the los-
preeioe that the saae would come on for hearing on
Thursday, and that it would be well to have tle matter
dismissed to-day. If they most go to law he advocated
confining the question to am small limit. 11111 they
possibly
Mr. G. Eliot supported the resolution.
Mr. Alderman Howard, in the mune of hie reply,
stated that be had undertaken Isom. professionel sleep*
In this Dane for a professional brother at Dorchester,
who had recently been suffering from a revere attack of
illness; but he most strongly repudiated the assertion
that he had in any way acted as • paid agent. He had
done his utmost to get this letter written to the Town
Clerk, who, having received it, did not reply for the
:Lora of
tea r fortnight.oi to I!.
favourable had d one ti.sae utmostanci
uto.gveet
expense; for he knew that if they failed on their parti-
scalar plea, the case woald afterwards be tried on other
Mouse. Their counsel would try to get them out of it
altogether; for their first plea was: "That we did not
agree nor covenant, k^." Let them withdraw their
other pleas, and *hide by the point raised in demurrer
and then there would be an end of the matter.
Mr. J. Potheeary Gould not see that the case would
be injured by the other pleas remaining filed. What-
ever was the resell of the demurrer he would abide
by it.
The Chairman argued that the question would not be
materially affected by allowing the other pleas to
remain ; the point would be argued at Trinity term,
and he pledged himself, after the matter was argued, to
convene the Council and lay the matter before them. To
him it seemed somewhat extraordinary that they should
be asked to adopt the legal advice of the opposite side.
If they did so he thought they would be doing not only
an injustice to themselves, net to their legal adviser.
He should support the amendment. They must argue
the demurrer, but the hands of the Town Clerk must
not be hampered.
The Town Clerk stated that he reed Meesr• Patterson
and Wl's letter through his nests, and that he
Lomond it by return of poet.
Mr. Aldermiui Howard then altered his proposition
by strilitee out the whole after the word. '' pile pier
fund," and enhatituting "That this Council agrees to
abide by the moult of the demurrer, and the Town
Milk be instructed to communicate this to the opposite
party for the purpose of saying expense&
The Chairman thouebt that even this did not meet
the cane ; and that it would be suicidal polleY t
cramp the Town Clerk's hamsby passing auoh reee
The amendment was them putwhes u
2. Th.
Roberts, dyke, Lee.. Brows, Poch.", 0 VT:l'
Mason, Alderman Hillside., sag the ee '
for it. cmorman voted
Mr. Howard desired to withdraw hie motion, which
on being put found no supporter.
The amendment was then declared carried, and the
meeting ended.