HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1975-04-17, Page 19/4 rill°
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Seaforth's first town council.
Sound familiar?
Attracting industry,
paying police 1875
council's concern
(By Susan White)
No one would argue that a lot has changed in
Seaforth since the town was incorporated in 1875. But a
look through the minute books recording the
deliberations of our town's first council shows that,
amazingly, a lot has remained the same.
The first town council, whO were also the last village
council, faced a lot of the concerns that the current
council have. They worried about cost sharing with
neighbouring rural municipalities, they argued about
the policeman's salary. They went into committee of
the whole, presumably excluding the press, when there
was anything controversial to discuss. They went to
great extremes to try to bring industry .to the town.
But all n all, the first council seems to have worked
harnioniously together. It is hard to imagine the
present town council pass ing the almost poetic
resolution with which the 1875 council ended their term
as village councillors. They resolved "that this council
do adjourn till time shall be no more, hoping that our
successors may do better than we have done and have
as agreeable a time as the happy family has had."
On January 18, 1875, the group reconvened as
Seaforth's first town council. They were Alex Armitage,
Mayor; D. D. Wilson, Reeve; Councillors John
Broadfoot, James Beattie, Alex Stewart, D. McNaught,
Wm. Campbell, Wm. Grassie, A. M. Strong and E.
H iCkson.
Setting the town clerk's salary was the first order of
business and there was some conflict about the amount.
After a couple of amendments, it was set at $120 a year.
The clerk was Wm. Elliott. As far as recently retired
Seaforth clerk-treasurer Ernie Williams can tell, his job
was mainly to act as secretary to all council meetings;
he had few of the administrative duties that a clerk now
has.
In 1875, Seaforth had a town treasurer too. His name
was Julius Duncan, and he was paid, again after some
deliberation, $40 a year plus $10 for the same duties
with the school board.
Bellringer
Another important town employee was the market
clerk, caretaker and bellringer who was paid a
whopping $400 per year. For his salary he was also
expected to act as town foreman and "through the
summer months, oversee public work which may be
going on."
Seaforth's policeman, who in 1875, was Constable-
Dolmage, had a salary of $450 per year, "plus fees" for
performing a list of duties a mile long. He was expected
to "keep order, be bread inspector, take care of ashes,
see that stove pipes are in proper' order, be street and
tavern inspector and do such other duties as Council
may put on lftm."
There was, as there probably always has been in
councils from time immemorial, some disagreement
about how well the constable was doing his job but in
the end, he was rehired.The details of council
arguments are not recorded in the leather bound
minute book, but disagreement can be deduced from
the number of defeated m otions and amendments as
councillors line up On two sides of questions for the vote
and switch back and forth.
The 1875 council seemed to meet whenever there was
business to be done, often once a week. They often met
in Seaforth hotels. Ex-clerk treasurer Ernie Williams
says he had noticed when looking through the old
minute books, many hotel accounts passed for
payment.
One of their first actions early in the year was to pass
a debenture of the purchase of a hook and lader truck at
a cost of $536.75. Minute record that Seaforth's first
Hook and Ladder Company was beginning to be
organized by D.D.Wilson at the council meeting of
March 16, 1875. There was debate about the merits of a
chemical vs. a steam fire engine and the chemical-
engine won out.
Council also agreed to pay $5.50 towards the cost of
each fireman's uniform. UnifOrms were not to cost
more than $7 each.
Familiar Lines
Familiar lines keep appearing in the council records
of 100 years ago. A grant of $20 was, given to the
Seaforth Junior Band. At, another meeting, the council
agreed to advertise for land on which to hold a
provincial plowing match. Other grants were given on
the condition that neighbouring municipalities also give
... thus $25 for a fall show "on the condition that
Tuckersmith and McKillop give each a like amount."
Expanding Seaforth's industrial capacity was a great
concern in 1875, as it is now. The town council of the
day was prepared to pay a hefty bonus to bring a
machine shop to town. They negotiated with a local
firm, Coleman and Gouinlock and specified that the
firm be prepared to invest not less than $20,000 in land
and buildings in order to qualify for a bonus:
At a later meeting, the council voted a $10,000 bonus
to Coleman and Gouinlock, providing that their shop
work for 10 years without reducing the value of the
original investment. The Town required a bond of
$10,000 from the company as a gtiarantee and $1,000 of
this would be paid back to Coleman and Gouinlock each
year.
Two weeks later all was off because Coleman and
Gouinlock rejected council's terms. The councillors
then voted to negotiate with another firm owned by a
Mr. Whitelaw and to offer him a $3000 bonus. The end
of this drama --- did Seaforth finally get a machine shop
and what did it cost the taxpayers? --- it is not recorded
in the minutes for 1875.
Although Seaforth's council was prepared to pay out
pretty big sums to attract industry, other expenses foil
the year look pretty minimal in inflation ridden 1975.
CounCil voted $500 to spend on new streets and
sidewalks in . 1875, a sum which wouldn't go far in
1975. Three year's insurance on the town hall cost
$25.50. The council often paid Dr. Vercoe from $11.50
to $30 for holding inquests.
School Costs
Total school costs in Seaforth for 1874 were
$3,100. Hotel licences (which were in great demand)
were $45 per year and shop licences were $85. Renting
the town hall for a night would cost residents of
Seaforth $3 and non-residents $5.
There were about ten hotel and tavern licences ,
issued that year. Early in 1876 council 'received a
petition from Rev. Goldsmith and 294 others,"objecting
to the large number of tavern and liquor shop licences
issued in town. The petition was probably "fyled", to
use the clerk of 1875's spelling.
One hundred years ago, Seaforth's town council
even had a bit of international business to conduct. At
one point they authorized payment of $38 to pay "the
passage of an indigent person to England."
Little that happned in town was outside their
jurisdiction. They asked the constable to check on the
"pig nuisance" in town that some ratepayers had
complained of. They sat- as a court of revision and
assessment appeal body as well.. In June, 1875 they
approved watering Main Street to keep the dust down.
They farsightedly agreed to have a well dug to supply
water for the town near the Oddfellow's Hall,
presumably where the Town water tower now st ands.
The municipality wasn't so involved with drains
' though. They gave a Goderich St. man the go ahead to
construct his own drain. At the next meeting another
person was given permission to hook into this drain.
Pigs and cows were probably brought into line in
1876 when a bylaw was passed prohibiting these
animals from running at large within the municipality.
Inspect Privies
Constable Dolmage had his work cut out for him the
year after the town was incorporated too: In addition to
chasing stray pigs and cows he was requested to
inspect all the privies and backyards in town and have
them put in good order, reporting anyone who refused
to clean up., to the mayor.
It is a good thing that tite first town council had the
foresight to establish a fire brigade.In their optimism
and high hopes of 1875, little did they suspect that the
next year would bring a tragic fire that destroyed most
of 'Main• Street.
The minutes of the first council meeting, the morning
after the fire of September 4, 1876 tell the story in a few
words. Council thanked the new fire brigade "for their
faithful and energetic efforts in endeavoring to
extinguish the terribly destructive fire which destroyed
a large part of the business portion of the Town of
Seaforth on Monday morning last."
Bat with a refusal to be discouraged that has
probably been characteristic of all Seaforth town
councils, the council of 99 years ago stubbornly started
to rebuild, and to look ahead to the future. Before new
buildings were built to replace the burned out
businesses on Main Street, the street should .be
widened, council decided.
- Main lit up for 1924 Old Boys Reunion
THE HURON EXPOSITOR, APRIL 17, 1975 -3
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