Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1857-01-07
City Affairs.


In convention Of the two Boards of the City
Council, on Monday, an application was made by
George W. Wheeler, City Treasurer, for an in
crease Of salary. Charles White, Esq, moved
that thesalary be fixed at 5000 ian increase of
2l00.) After short discussion, in which it was
argued thatit was not proper time, now, to com.
mence with an increase of salaries, the question
was put and the motion of Mr.. White was mega
tived by unanimous vote.
Some rather queer incidents attended the or.
ganization of the Common Council. In the first
place noroll Of the members was called, no list
presented, nor was there any apparent means of
verifying whether those who offered themselves to
besworn were entitled to seats or not. In pro
miscuous crowd of some three or four hundred
persons, the members elect of the Common Coun.
Gil were called upon to rise and be sworn. Those
who chose, did rise and the oath was administer
ed, but no one subscribed to anything, nor was
there, apparently, anything done which would
furnish any evidence, in the future, whether one,
five, ten, or twenty persons had been sworn, or
whether any of those who were sworn were mem
bers elect, or not. And finally, when question
arose, at the Board as to the right of three of the
persons to seats, they were admitted to act as we
understood it, not on the ground that they had
legal credentials, but. that they had been sworn,
and therefore they had a right to act. On this
principIe,h any other person had offered him
self and been sworn, we DO not see why he should
not have been admitted as one of the Board
Much has been said of the irregularity and
looseness with which the business of the ward
meetings has been transacted, and we have recent
ly seen the difficulties and endorsements which
have proceeded therefrom-but, if those proceed,
ings have fn any case, been more loose and irreg-
ular ha; the preliminary steps in the organization
of the Common Council, it is high time that the
matter was taken in hand, and corrective APP
piled
But, when the Councilmen had been sworn
in, and retired TO their room, they seemed disposed
to compensate, by acts of suptrerogation, for any
deficiency which there might have benin the pre-
liminary proceedings. After being called to order
they proceeded to the choice Of w. A Smith, Esq.
Clerk pro TEN, and having s,oo,a him in, they
forthwith elected the same worthy gentleman
permanent Clerk, and sscore him in, again. They
could not have made better choice, but the OBJ
ject of this two-fod choice and sioearing in, was
not apparent to our unsophisticated understand
ing They then made choice of George NJ. Rice
Esq, President of the Council, and SCORE him
in, too. This, also, was something &c new under
the SUM- to US, and we were forcibly reminded,
by this avalanche of sioeaFi,.gin, OF Uncle Tobys
declaration, that "our army ssoore terribly in
Flanders.rs It was suggested that some of these
gentlemen had got into such a habit Of being
aworn In in fha Knavv Nothin0 Conneils that II
was not easy getting out of it. Whether they
intend to swear in their committees does not yet
appear.
On the whole, the Common Council Room is
an interesting place to visit, when the Council is
in session. We never go there without deriving
both amusement and instruction. And, until the
theatre is in operation, which was licensed on
Monday evening, by those who have been elected
as the special guardians Of the city's morals, we
know not where leisure hour can be more agree
ably spent. than in this same Common Council
Room. ~f 5 ID -k-ssg-