The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-04-10
CITY GOVERNMENT.
The Time Fixed to Vote ON the New
Charter.

The board of mayor and aldermen held
special meeting yesterday afternoon to
act on the matter of issuing warrants for
nesting Of the citizens in the various
ward rooms to vote on the acceptance or
rejection of the new CITY charter.
All Il 9 mem bers were present, Mayor
Randall in the chair.
The Mayor read the legislative act in
reference to the new charter.
Mr.. Pagan asked if the copies of the
charter, ordered printed by the city gov
eminent, had been printed yet.
Mr.. Moore said they were in the hands
of the printer and would be Issued in q
few days.
The Mayor said the copy of the act that
he had read was the certified copy, and
he read the endorsements Of the officials
attached to 1t.
Mr.. Rounds wanted to know what the
hurry was about this matter, and was In
formed there was no particular hurry.
The point was then raised by some of
the aldermen as to whether the citizens
should vote under the Australian ballot
system, and Mayor Randall ruled that
the matter of voting was not to be taken
into consideration in the issuing of the
warrants; that it il the aldermen's duty
to call the meetings according to the
special act for the purpose mentioned in
The act. Every body is supposed to vote
according to law and it is not the
province of the aldermen to determine
what that law is.
The aldermen then voted to issue the
warrants. pass this order unanimously.
Ordered-That warrants be issued in
due form for ward meetings to be held in
the several wards of the city on the third
Monday Of May, A. D., 1897, the same
being the seventeenth day Of said month,
for the purpose Of voting upon an act en-
titled "An Act granting New Charter
to the City of Portland" passed by the
Legislature of the State of Maine, in the
year Of our Lord one Thousand eight hun.
dred and ninety-seven, and approved by
the Governor March 18th, A. D., 1897
also for the purpose Of voting upon al
Act entitled can Act in relation to thu
school committee Of the City of Portland,
passed by the Legislature, of the State Of
Maine in the year of our Lord. 1897, ani
approved by the Governor March 17th
| 1897.
Alderman Mcdonald read these
petitions to erect new buildings. addition
to Nos. 1895 Temple street by T. J.
Rockingham addition 81 Lincoln street
L. A. Norton; dwelling 241 High street
E. T. Thompson: dwelling, Cherry
street, j. B. Cobb; dwelling, J. W. Bar
rowes: dwelling, roar No. 81 Wilmo1
street. J. q. Mute, and all had a passag,
subject to favorable report of the CON
| mittee.
There was some discussion in regard tt
the registration of laborers in the stree
| department. Mr.. Rounds read from tn,
ordinances by which he claimed that tn,
power had been taken from the commit
tee on streets and given to the publ,
works department. Quite little laugbtel
was created by sparring between Messrs
Rounds and Leighton. Mr.. Ilsley
thought that as at present constituted i
wasn't much use for any one who hadn',
pull to expect chance to work, TO,
while the law said twice as many SHOULD
be drawn as were required, only thos,
were taken who had pull, and the de
partment admitted it.