THE ALBERTLAND GAZETTE. APRIL[?]I, 1861. THE SETTLER'S MEETING.

Jn another part of the paper our readers will find the report of a Settlers' Meeting held on Wednesday, March 2, and also the lirst Annual Report of the Trustees, which would have been read at that meeting, but that it was overruled as we think, by a minority with a partizan chairman. We feel bound to make a few statements .■xplanatory and critical respecting the meeting, that all our readers may be in a position to iudge of the proceedings On the previous market-day two Notices were put out, eachcailing ameeting^ne by/ an anonymous "Settler," without sta ling the object of the meeting, the other by Ihe Secretary officially. The meeting- in question was the result of the two notices/ jt will strike an impartial observer at once that the proper course wou]d have been i'or both parties summoning the meeting, first of all to lay their business before the meeting, that it might be in a position to judo-e of the wisest course to pursue. The 'anonymous settler preferred suppressing the Report of the Trustees and urging his own resolutions upon, the meeting taken V>y surprise. * These resolutions profess to lay the ba sis for the future action of the entire^set ilement, and yet they were passed, ( if so it can be called) without any notice having been given that, they were to be brought forward, and without any discussion ! the i rustees very properly refusing In take any part in a meeting that had declined listen ing to their report. For the first resolution 15 voted', 46 be ing present; a very large majority decli ned to vote, it might be from feeling as the i rustees did, or it might be from an indifference lo the whole affair. The cer lain fact is that they did not vote, and the equally certain conclusion, that they had ••id hearty sympathy with the resolution. 'is it supposed that the vote of 15 settlers hastily taken is to initiate a new course of action for the 100 settlers who have a voice in the matter? we are inclined to think otherwise.

This resolution begins by "deploring the "discontinuance of^ public meetings.*., the ' "recognised means of transacting public bu '•siness under the Trust Deed, 1863." It then proceeds to—restore the public meet ings? No ! —"establish some other means !" and this at a public meeting that has de clined to listen to the report of thetrustees! We are certainly not much accustomed to such a method of reasoning. If public - meetings are the recognised means of tran sacting public business under the Trust Deed, the trustees are hardly likely to incur the responsibility of adopting "some other means." It was urged by the promoters of this resolution that it was desirable.to com mence an entirely new course, and tv "bury the past." It would certainly often be a good thing if the past could be buried. But we doubt very much whether success has ever attended the effort.to confer such a boon on mankind. As a rule, the past refuses to undergo any such process, not even in the case of a " Settler." But in business like that under notice, the very notion strikes one as somewhat absurd. In the disposal of the town lands, and the use of the public money arising therefrom, we have only the past to proceed upon—and to ask the meeting to initiate a new course of action in such a matter, before it was made acquainted with what had been done and with the position in which the town lands then were, seemed much more like. trifling, than like a manly and earnest, attempt atthe execution of pubhcbusiness. We reserve for our next issue a few re marks on the second resolution. It -was repeatedly said by those who framed these resolutions and brought them forward, that they desired "peace,not war" We give them credit for the assertion, and trust they will do us the same justice. We fVel our responsibility to the Settlement at large, and desire in what we are saying to dear the way for a thorough compre hension of our future field of action. We believe it quite possible to establish unity on ihe Oruawbaro, but we fear that an unfortunate aptitude to theorize impracti cable theories has betrayed; some of our friends into a course which if it is effective at all; can only create discord. We have confidence that the settlers at large are true at heart and that, meantime, if the trustees act unitedly and quietly, carrying out the known wishes of the settlers, m accordance with the Trust Deed, very few indeed will wish to pat any obstruction in their way. " V/

SETTLERS'MEETING EXTRAORDINARY

On last Market-day,the sellers assembledm accordance with a notice-%sued tiy the Se cretary a month previously, -and partly from curiosity to hear the report aud'statement oi accounts for .the'year, from the trustees. Mr RusHßßoor was called to the chair on the motion of Messrs Worker and Judd.. Mr Worker opened proceedings by refusing to hear the minutes of last meeting read,-he stated that it was.the wish of the party with whom he acted to commence anew course,

to begin afresh as if fiothiug had occurred t before, and a series of resolutions would be , proposed which he had no doubt would meet the viewsof the many. j Mr Edger spoke to order and urged that it I was strictly necessary that the minutes should i be read and the ordinary business transacted before the resolutions were brought forward. Mr Worker said the meeting1 was called by a notice posted last market-day and signed "a settler," the other notice was not posted' till 3 or 4 days after, the anonymous notice • was issued because no meeting had been held for tho last six momhs. ■ The Secret An t said this statement was not correct, as the notice was posted by himself on the morning of last market-day, and that the last, meeting was held on Nov. 4, the rea son none had been held since was that no one ■ attended or expressed a wish that a meeting should be called. ■- Mr "Worker again urged that his party was in possession of the meeting, notwithstanding* the anonymous nature of the : notice. - The question being put,,the, Chairman de 'cidedm favor of Mr. Worker, and the Secre tary retired with the minute book. : • ; Mr Worker said it had been intended that each settler should have received a' printed? copy of.the- resolutions by post, but fronvsoriie unaccountable cause they had not arrived. > Mr Pettet moved— ' ■ .: ■ "This meeting deploring the discontinuance of public meetings—the recognized means of transacting public business under the Trust Deed 1863, deem it necessary to establish some other means, and therefore resolve that a Board of Management shall be formed, em powered by ..proper instrument to act on the y Settlement's .behalf; Further,, -that such a •■■' Board be hereby formed, to consist of;one. re presentative from each division of the block, according to.the official map, (to be elected by ballot, the members to be honorary,) with the right;-of each division to elect one other m ember for every additional ten families over , the first ten." . : . ■ [■ :;. ~ " Dr Bell seconded the motion. He wished for peace and wanted business done, and the settlement to;career prosperously;he: believed ■that the measures he had in contemplation would conduce to such an end.: The settle ment was broken up into parties, he wished with Mr Worker, <'byegones to be byegones," and hoped all would unite to carry put tins; scheme ; a new course could not help being a prosperous one. Such a scheme had been pro posed before, it was expedient, and nothing could be fairer. Some check might- be sugges ted on account of the growth of tho town, but that might be left fora year of.twry, # On being put, 15 voted for, and '2 against, 46 settlers being present. 'Mr Johnson pro tested against this being called a majority, ot the settlers. Mr Worker moved— ';; : . " That such Board have the sole power to spend public moneys and* to arrange and con duct public works, but that it be requested.to further take the general interests of the set tlement under its care, and this meeting begs; to recommend and suggest the following items to guide said Board's earliest deliberations: 1 The necessity of securing from Trustees a balance sheet and having the same audited and given to the public. 2. The propriety of : forming a Loan Society based'on public funds permanently to benefit settlers desirous of assistance. 3. To arrange for the settlement ■ of a public library. 4. The furtherance of the . meuns of public education. 5. That the Truck System of paying public accounts is obnox ,- ious to the settlers."

THE ALBERTLAND GAZETTE



*~ TOWN OF PORT ALBERT. .. ALL Applications for land, " Town, " or" Subuvbiin," in Port Albert must in future be mack in writing, through the Secretary. ' By order of the Trus'ees, SAML. JOHNSON, Secretary- CO-OPERATIVE STORE, TORT ALBERT. A SpeciaFtoierM Meeting of the Co-operative Association will be held at the Store, on Wednesday, dpril 13$, at 1 oclk ■noon, when a statement of accounts will be presented, and-the resolutions adopted will ie considered binding on all the Shareholders. HENRY MARCROFT, Sec. $ Manager.