The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-03-13
OBJECT TO ASSESSMENT.
ENI' AND REFORM CON-
 MIT1EE MET LAST NIGHT

MIT1EE MET LAST NIGHT
 Claims Made Against Board of Compensa-
 tion-Its Acts Declared Invalid-Public
 Morgue mmended-Selectmen and
 Lamp Committee He'd Brief Sessions.
 The meeting of the committee on
 retrenchment and reform, held at the
 city hall last night, was unusually
 interesting and at times exciting. Ev-
 cry member of the committee was
 present as were also Charles B. Mat
 thewman and Charles T. Coyle of the
 board of compensation, Felix Chilling
 worth, James Bishop. M. E. Chatfields
 Henry C. Newton, L, J. Matthews.
 Lucius Rowe, James Clark, J. M. Lee
 and Burton Mansfield.
 The meeting was called for the pur-
 pose of acting upon the communication
 of Councilman Chillingworth and others concerning assessments of benefits and l damages for Boulevard sewer, between l Derby avenue and Elm street. The communication sets forth that the
 board of compensation, which made
 the assessments, was mot legally
 constituted body, owing to the fact that
 it was composed of only two mem-
 bers, when the charter requires that
 there shall be three and that there- fore 1t was not legally able to do any
 business
 After the communication had beenl read Councilman Chillingworth asked that the records of the board of com pensation taken at the hearings on
 the extensionI of the sewer be submitted
 to the committee. It was also claimed that several of the parties affected bY the assessment had never received any notice of the hearings and that the
 board had done it's work without any proper authority from the city.
 In reply to these allegations Mir. Matthewmam said that while the board of compensation was willing and anxious to shed any light on the mat ter that they could, it was not pos- sible to produce the records last night as they had not been notified that they would be wanted and consequently had not brought them with them. He also said that most of the gentlemen interested had been present. at the hearings and he had heard no conn., plaints that they had not been notified.
 One of the gentlemen whom it was claimed had not been notified was A. H. Hurlburt. In reference to this Mir. Coyle stated that he had left a notice of the hearing at the place of business of Mir Hurlburt with a lady clerk. MT. Hurlburt denied that lie had ever re- ceived such notice and said that his lady clerk also denied having received any such notice At this MT. Bishop raised the point that the notice left was not legal notice anyway as the law required that notice of hearing should be left at the place of abode of the party notified. It was, how ever, claimed by MT. Coyle that the law allowed notice to be served at a mans place of business with as much legality as though it were served at their place of abode.
 In reference to the claim that the board was not legally constituted AsA sistant City Attorney Matthewnaan quoted from section 49 of the charter, which reads as follows: "The action of majority of the members of said board of compensation, in office at any time, shall, in all cases, be deemed the action of the whole board, as fully as if every member thereof were pres- ent and participated in such action" He also said that he members of the board had consulted Attorney Tilton E. Doolittle and Corporation Counsel Ely in reference to the matter and had been advised that they could leg ally act.
 Attorney Bishop, however claimed that the board of compensation was judiciary board and that he could produce any quantity of au- thorities and decisions to support his claim that when it is provided that board shall be composed of three mem oers persons should have an opportu- lity to be heard before three instead of two.
 "Well, gentlemen" said Alderman Reyes. "as I understand 1t this com nittee is here for the purpose of re- nearing the entire matter of the assess nent on the sewer. MT. Chillingworth 1as asked for the records of the board if compensation. These are not ob- ainable tonight. Can't you go ahead without the recordsY'
 a l WILL uHu6T protest, F6plleu OOuHCll- nan Chillingworth, and the hearing be- san Those who expressed themselves IS opposing the present assessment were A. H. Hurlbut, Lucius Rowe, and others who claimed that their property lad not been benefited to the amount assessed against them by the board of At the conclusion of the rearing the committee took no action 'ther than to decide to visit and inspect he locality on Friday.
 It was voted to recommend the estab- of public morgue to be To- ated in the rear of the police barn at 
 sELEcTMEN SHORT SESSION.
 The town fathers held an eight min lte session last evening at which all yere present Nothing but routine bus- ness was transacted Town Counsel was present and stated that he matter of the proposed court house or Waterbury was now before com nittee of the general assembly and that