The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1883-02-19

The adjourned meeting of the Board of
Mayor and Aldermen was held Saturday even
ing, Mayor Libby presiding.
LICENSES GRANTED.
Licenses were granted the following firms to
Fletcher & Co., 500 gal; Shaw, Hammond &
Carney, 1000 GAL. Woodbury. & Latham, 1000
gall; Ryan & Kelsey 1000 gall; Elias Thomas Il
CO.., 1850 gall; G. Mclaughlin & Co., 5000 gal.
A. L. Millett & Co. 1000 gal.; Portland Kero-
sene Oil Co., 5000 GAL; John Conley & Son,
1000 gal.
James j. Hawkins, 132 Centre St., and
Eman Preston, 90 Middle St., were granted
victualle, licenses.
PETITIONS REFERRED.
OF f. Southworth for abatement of sewer
assessment.
OF Harris & Co. to store 5000 gal. of petrol
cum at 209 Commercial St., and the City Mar
shall ordered to report on petitions of John
Sheridan and james B. Wiley as victuallers.
THE SEWER QUESTION.
Alderman Winslow called up the Imoton to
reconsider the order passed at the last regular
meeting authorizing the Mayor to contract for
thes building Eof the Commercial lSt. inter-
cepting sewer.
The Mayor said it had never occurred to
him that any one would suppose that he had
expected to act, except in connection with the
was drawn after full consultation with the
chairman OF that committee. It had seemed
best to the Mayor and commfrtPe tfias tiso- o-os..-
tract, very important one, should bear the at
testation of the Mayor. Immediately after the
passage of the order the Mayor said hs left
town, and was absent at the time of the calling
up of the matter in the Board, but at once on
his return called upon the chairman of the
committee and requested to be instructed as to
the wishes of the committee. He had merely
% n fha In, n
to somewhat delicate matter The order it.
self only contemplates the formal act on the
part OF the Mayor of advertising for bids and
signing the contract. The work on the sewers
must be commenced in accordance with the
decision of the court. The court had decided
that the sewer must be built, and it was with
some difficulty that he-the Mayor-obtained
the postponement of the suits commenced
against the city until April. The sewer must
be built in order to save heavy damages The
order was hasty one, hastily drawn, but Its
OBJECT was simply to save time and to carry
the contract forward to the next city govern
ment properly.
Aldermen Little, Thurson, Tukesbury and
Melcher all were satisfied with the Mayors ex-
plantation. Chairman Thurston and Alder
Tukesbury both agreed that the relation of the
committee with the Mayor had always been
most satisfactory, and there had never been
any attempt to ''sit down" on them. Alderman
Melcher said if he had understood the matter
was agreeable to the committee, ct the last
meeting, he should not have voted as he did.
Aldermen Winslow and Gould objected tc
the matter being left as itswas. They wanted
a reconsideration.
The Mayor said that such course would
throw the whole subject back for the Council
to settle. 1t was true by the wording of the
order that the Mayor might be said to have the
right to accept the bids, but such was not the
intent of the Mayor who drew the order. The
construction that he mayor Libby put on the
order was that.bids must be satisfactory to the
proper committee. The order does not give
the authority to the next Mayor to receive the
bids as well as to the present Mayor. Neither
could the next city government hardly vote tc
reconsider the whole matter if the contracts
were signed. The ownership of Long wharf
has nothing to do with the right of the city to
build the sewer.
The motion to reconsider was then put and
lost. Messrs Gould and Winslow voted yea
and Messrs. Thurston, Tukesbury, Little and
Melcher, nay.
The Board then adjourned.