Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1860-02-09

ENRON CBRosICL.E. In com plin N

EnTon CBRosIcLE: In cop pliance with
q resolution Of tho newl, organized "Inde-
pendent Agricultural Society" Mt Be lmont,
Mr.. Fawcett, as Chairman, has published
in our county presses sn address explana-
tory Of the reasons for such organ.zation.-
That address is written with far more than
ordinary ability, aud with an dir of plausi.
bility well suited to mislcad the public mind.
The ~plainest dictates of Justice to the Bel
mont County Agricultural Society, to its
Board OF 1859, and to the town Of St. Clairs-
vile, demand that the public be disabused
of the undue influences which that address
may exert.
1t is claimed by that address that some
time last spring, a mem ,er OF tho Board,
then representing the interests o! Belmont,
proposed, in case Of a removal of the Fair
10 Belmont, TO take the lumber on the old
ground, purchase a new site at Belmont, iii
it up, and donate it to the Society, and that
"some persons then, on behalf Of St. Glars.
vile, offered 10 do the snme." Now let this
all be strictly true, and to what does it
amount The worst that can be claimed is
that that member suffered himself 10 be de-
ceived. But he was not deceived. He voted
against the purchase of the new site at st.
Clalrsville, and BY shat vote the Society was
deceived in him, for oil that he had in his
power 10 do lie do ~ defeat the very object
Tor which he was elected by the Society,"
This shows that he never relied upon any
Of those outside assurances. No official
notice was taken of his proposition, which
would raise a presumption that the Board
had not very much confidence in il; but the
truth is that neither proposition was for
mally before the Board al ali. He knew
then, as he knows now, that the Socie:y is
a corporate body, aud every intelligent, man
knows that the Board 10 the only party ca
pable, in Jaw, Of making any contract which
can have the least binding operation, either
morally or legally, upon The So ie,y. Even
If there had been any officiul action taken
on the proposition to remove the Fair, the
result would have been precisely the SAM,
for there were seven members out Of the
nine members Of the Board who were IN
favor Of The purchase Of the present site Us
! a permanentilocation for the county Fair.
Ills clalmed by the address that there
was a contract o. guaranty that St. Glars
vile wO! I'D purchase aud fit up the new slie
II SO, why is il that the only Body known
to the law as capable ofinakihg aScon,ract,
took 40 notice Of II whuleveri There was
no contract. ST. Clairsville nevsr splbor.
lied 1.-THE Society lever, asked such a
tbing-and no reason bic man would pro-
pose it. The D lmont county Agricultural
Society spreads all over the county, SON.
pretending so large an amount of wealth.
and sharing almost exclusively its adyan-
tnges, is 100 just and too generous to ask
st. Clairsville to take upon itself a burden
Of some 50, 1000 Tor the S%ocirty. "t'
But ST.. C.airsville nnd It's vicinity did
subscribe aud have and will have paid and
donated over 81 900 to the Society. Then
take into the account the saving OF the lum-
Der on the, old Fair Ground, and there has
actually been done already for the So;ie,y
far more than was proposed by the member
from Belmont 20 sieens-u4a77 a.} '-,F
, The address complains alike of the pur-
chase and Of the location Of the new site -
There are many wcighiy and unansw cradle
reasons why the Board Of 80, in making
that purchase, did exactly what was demand.
ed by. the circumstance .Permanacy Of loca-
tion Is always more economicalthan q A ,at.
ing leasehold policy. 1t requires several
thousand dollars simply to ft'up grounds in
a manner suited to such an extensive So
ciety. Common prudence forbids such a
large expenditure On a mere temporary
lease. The population OF ST, ,Cluirsville. 4
its fine public houses, as well as It's uniform
hospitality. are facilities which have ever
pointed II out as the most eligible site for a
Fair in the eean'y,@The Constitution of