Year: 1878

 Mayor N. Ellis handed in the following

 communication to the Village Council last

 evening, May 9th:

 GESTLEMEN:-For reasons well known tc

 your Honors, I hereby most respectfully

 tender to you my resignation as Mayor oi l the Village of Prescott. thanking ysu for | the kindness you bestowed on me while one

 of your body and for the courtesies you ex-

 tended to me as your presiding officer. Be- I fore retiring from my duties, and before sev-

 between us, you will permit me to hope that | your future deliberations for the government

 of the affairs of this Village will be guided by the same good sense and judgement that

 has characterized them heretofore.

 l take the liberty however to offer few

 suggestions in the management of our Vil-

 lage affairs for your serious consideration, believing that if carried out they will be

 beneficial to the community at large, and

 will meet with the general improval of our

 citizens and tax payers.

 While do not believe that our citizens

 justly charge the Council with the least ex- travagance, I still believe that the strictest

 economy should be practiced regarding all

 expenditures, no matter how small the out lay may be. and in saying this do not

 mean to deprive ourselves of what may be

 beneficial to all; there are many measures that should be adopted by the Council, no

 matter what the expense thereof may be-

 will here reiterate the remark made at my

 inaugural, that, economy is not practiced by

 depriving ourselves of what we ought to

 have, but in securing what we must have in

 an economical way, nor should small

 amounts be passed easier than larger sums.

 regret to say that, frequently small bills

 were passed by the Council which, in our

 individual capacity we would have rejected as exorbitant, and though have on several occasions expressed myself against them, they were allowed. l beg the Council to consider that as many small amounts make up large sums, so do small savings create a large fund. At the same time the sanitary condition of our little Village should be watched with the most jealous care and measures for the prevention of epidemics should be adopted by the Council, and maintained at all and every necessary cost to our citizens. We may, either as indi- viduals or as community, get we'll along with little less money, but cannot in either capacity prosper with a small allowance of | health. beg your pardon in drawing your attention to the present condition of water | closets; many of them are nearly full of | water, caused by the late rains, which cause stench enough to engender the worst of | epidemics. An ordinance should be passed | causing such to be immediately filled up | with earth, at least sufficiently to dispel all | the water.

 We have reason to be thankful to kind | Providence for having kept the fire-fi | SO far from us, but who dare say that we | ought not to expect it at almost any hour; | and yet don't know of the smallest village | in the world that has not made some prepa- | rations against general confiagration ex- sept our village, and by reason of the dry | ness of our climate and the strong prevail | ing winds, perhaps not hamlet in the | world is more exposed to the dangers of | being entirely swept away by fire than our village is. Are our citizens prepared for such a misfortune? I beg your serious consideration to my answer, No! and again | No neither the rich nor the poor, not even he property holder whose property may fortunately escape; he must share, either iirectly or indirectly the fatal consequences 'f his neighbors' misfortunes. Some ought to and should be taken at 'nce to prevent such calamity, and in this connection. acknowledging the fact that our 'illage, under heavy taxation, are not pre-. 'ared to pay the expense for the mainten- nee of general Fire Department, with it's engines and machinery, soa,ethiao ught to be done. And I am yet of the opin- on that my former suggestion to the Coun- Il, namely: to place fire-b buckets in front of ach building or lot, compelling the occu- ant thereof to SC to it that they are at all Imes full of water, would be a good pre- entive of general fire. I still dispute the lea Of danger of having these buckets ste- sn, as they can be constructed of a shape, . hat while they would be efficient for the urposes intended, would hardly be of any alue for any other purpose. In conclusion, I take pleasure in con- J you and the citizens of our Vil- lge in the good fortune of having such an F hcient Village Marshal, to whom all raise is due, and would most respectfully 'commend that when, by your ordinances,

 Is duties in the different capacities become T ore arduous, that his compensation be a increased. In subscribe myself your most obedient . rvant, N. ELLIS. Prescott, May 9th, 1878.