which was filled up by the election of Mr. W Ginner.
The Health of Towns Act again
At the Council meeting on the 2nd of May, Mr. Hickes enquired if anyone could tell him the real objection to the inclusion of St. Leonards! — Alderman Burton replied by asking not merely why St. Leonards wished to be left out, but why Hastings should be so determined to drag her into it? The sanitary condition of St. Leonards rendered the application of the Act unnecessary. There was no occasion to incur the additional expense, and as the town was already provided with a local Act of her own, she objected to be put under the domination of Hastings. As to having more than one Act in the borough, he had not yet observed any inconvenience arising from the two Acts still in existence! He believed the expense under the Health of Towns Act would be enormous. The General Board might require the extravagant system of drainage proposed by the Inspector, to be carried out to the very letter. He (Ald. B.) addressed the Council now under different feelings to those experienced on former occasions. Hitherto it had been thought that he only expressed his own views; but at a meeting recently held, out of an assemblage of 80 or 90 persons only 5 or 6 held up their hands for the Act. Then, as to the sanitary condition of the town, for one testimony against it he can bring a hundred in favour of it. It was, in fact, the most healthy of any town of its size in the Kingdom. — Coun. Ginner (the new member) was very sorry to find St. Leonards so opposed to the measure. He had no personal interest to serve in advocating the general Act. — Coun. Harvey thought it was remarkable that Mr. Ginner himself had been called upon to remove nuisances from his own property, but had taken no notice of the demand. Surely he was inconsistent for a man to argue for the application of that which he would not carry out as a private individual. — Mr. Ginner said he was only a trustee of the property alluded to. — Surely (continued Coun. Harvey) a landlord could put a tenant in as good a position without the Act as with it. As to St. Leonards, it was quite clear that the inhabitants were opposed to the Act. — Ald. Burton contended that they might talk for ever without getting any nearer to the point. — Coun. Putland, in a lengthy speech, repeated his former argument in favor of the Act being applied to the whole borough. — Coun. Harvey then moved that the Public Health Act be not applied to St. Leonards. The Mayor said he could not put such a motion to the vote; and here a long and irregular discussion came to an end.
Town Hall Site. Coun. Beck referred to the appointment of a committee, some time back, to look out for a Town-hall site. The Clerk said he was in correspondence with the South-Eastern Railway company, respecting a site at the Priory, but an interview with Capt. Barlow was necessary.
