Town Clerk’s Salary.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume V, Issue 637, 23 July 1891, Page 3

Town Clerk’s Salary.

SHOULD THEBE BE A PENALTY ON YOUTH? At the last meeting of the Borough Council Cr Whinray moved, in accordance with notice, that the Council consider the subject of adjustment of the Town Clerk's salary. The Mayor referred attention to the conditions of the bond. Before the resolution could be put, the resolution appointing Mr Robinson at a salary of £2OO would have to be rescinded. Following up the resolution of the Council a bond had been obtained on thoee terms from a guarantee society. Or Whinray did not wish to press the matter, but supposed that if they wanted to raise the salary, by a parity of reasoning the same course would have to be gone through. The Mayor : I don’t know that. Cr Whinray contended that no notice was required to rescind an appointment before reducing a salary. The Mayor said the terms were stated so plain in the advertisement that he could see no other course, Cr Whinray would deferentially submit to the ruling, but considered that it was against all constitutional rules. He knew the young man would be very well satis fied Cr Dunlop: I rise to a point, of order. Cr Whinray : I am simply giving a reason for withdrawing the motion. Cr Harding: I should like to see it disposed of to night—it will only come up again. Cr Dunlop said the motion was really only that the subject should be discussed. The Mayor said it was very vague ; anyway it was not seconded. He thought he would have to rule against it. Cr McLernon took exception to the ruling, and said it would be absurd if, say in a couple of years, they wished to reduce a salary, and yet had first to move to rescind the appointment. Or Coleman said the Act made it plain that such a motion could be brought on. He thought the motion should be disposed of.

The Mayor asked whether there was any seconder. Cr Wbinray said he did not wish to push the matter—he did not ask for a seconder. They were forcing the young man into a false position—£lso a year would be quite sufficient for him. It was in that belief that he (Cr Whinray) had worked in bis favor, feeling that with the young man’s experience in the office and recommendations he would be competent to do the work. Any one of the gentlemen who had applied, if the application had come singly, would willingly have been appointed. He did not believe any business man would on his own account give half the salary for the amount of work to be dona. He presumed that the Mayor himself did double the amount of work in his own business after he had put the shutters up at night. The thing was a rank farce. Here was this young man Cr Lewis: It seems to me that Cr Whinray is not going for the office—he is going for the individual.

The Mayor : I think I must stop the discussion until there is something before the meeting. I thought some one would second the motion, pro forma at least—if not seconded it falls through. Cr Lewis: Then why is Cr Whinray allowed his say ? He —- The Chairman : He wished to make a few remarks, and I gave him permission, but I think his assertions are altogether wide of the mark. If they gave the appointment to Mr Bobinson because they had confidence in him that should not be detrimental to him if the work was the same. Why expect him to do the same amount of work for less pay than they had intended to give to any one else appointed ? [Councillor : Hear, hear.] The. Clerk could fully earn his money, and if the work of the office proved insufficient to occupy his time, it could easily be increased. Tho valuation work need not be done asbefoie—£3o could be saved in that way, and other things might be dispensed with, but these matters could be brought up later on when they saw how things worked. He did not think they would be justified in reducing the salary, at any rate so soon after the appointment, when the salary was advertised at a certain sum. Cr Whinray was understood to say that he would again introduce the subject at some future period.