Page:Item 6 1854.pdf/141

From Historical Hastings
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consistently continued its own arrangements as before, not only as regarded visitors, but also under the head of St. Leonards, its reports of the Mechanics Institution, the National Schools, St. Mary Magdalen schools, the railway station and other matters connected with the district claimed by Hastings. As concerning the threat of a forty shilling fine for defacing or altering the obnoxious word, it has been shewn that this was done daily, the parties being willing to risk the infliction of a fine which they knew the Board had no power to do. So much for the Hastings and St. Leonards News, which did not profess to be a visitors list in the ordinary sense, but only to give the arrivals, departures and miscellaneous items; but if the News declined to do the behest of the Council, still less inclined would be the two papers which were published in St. Leonards, whilst the News was issued from a Hastings press. Mr. Southall, the St. Leonards postmaster, published a visitors list for St. Leonards only, and which included all those places within and without the archway as far eastward as Verulam place. It was quite certain that he would not curtail such list at the dictation of the Town Council; and equally certain that the proprietor of the Hastings and St. Leonards Gazette and Visitors' Vade Mecum would refuse to be influenced by the same party. The latter being a native of Hastings, had an affection for the old town, but having improved both his health and his pecuniary prospects by removing to what had been theretofore known as St. Leonards, he had the same feeling for the newer town. His paper was legally registered under a bond as being "printed and published by T. B. Brett, 28 Norman road West, St Leonards-on-sea". To this newspaper was attached the first complete visitors' list published in the borough,[a] taking for the St. Leonards list the already recognised district westward of the Infirmary, and for the Hastings list all that was eastward of the same. This was regarded as a perfectly fair division, the district between the Archway and Verulam place having grown out of St. Leonards, and the inhabited area between where now is the Memorial and the Infirmary, having similarly grown out of Hastings. A page to each of the two towns was first devoted, and was sufficient for its purpose; but as both towns increased, the space ultimately required was four pages of twice the original size, and to show that Hastings had its full share of attention, the proprietor himself, did most of the -
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