The Weekly News and Visitors' Chronicle for Colwyn Bay Colwyn Llandrillo Conway Deganwy and Neighbourhood

Colwyn Bay and the Light Railway. I Uproarious Council Scene. — Pier Concerts Again Discussed. Mr. John Willianxbs (Chairman) presided ait a special meeting of the Council convened to consider matter,s relating tb the Light Railway and foreshore lettings, held on Tuesday after- noon. The other members presenit were Rev. William Hughes, Messrs. George Bevan, Hugh Hughes, William, Horton, E. H. Davies, Bliss Hill, 13. GaJmJblel, J. Dicken, Hugh Davies, Thoma.s H-oskinsi, Charles Reynolds, Edward ADIen, William Davies, John Jones, O. B. Lowe, D. O. Williams, and T. H. Morgan together with the ClelIk (Mr. James Aimphleitt), the Deputy Clerk (Mr. Jos. H. Roberts), the En- gineer (Mr. William Jones), and other officials. According to notice, Mr. Hugh Hugheis moved thait certain resolutions requiring that Jarrah Wood only should be insisted upon in the con. structioii of the Light Railway track, and an- other .resolution touching upon the way in which certain electric cables should ibe la id, aid of which were passed alt the November Council meeting, should now be dekited, and that the Council offer to split the difference with the Company by allowing them to put (the cabiles ( under the footpath on the conditioini that they put wood paving on the track for the length of one mile, to be selected by the Council, and that tiar m'aoadam with wood block's alongside the rails only should be uisied in the construc- tiOln of the remainder. The length to' be laid ini tar m,acad,am and blocks was the distance beltweeni Rhos .and Groes Bridge. After going carefully in-to the matter he found that there was nothing toi be gained, and a great deal to lbs lositi, by prolonging these negotiations. (Hear, hear.) From a Slaniitary point of view the 'tar illacadiaJm was. by a long way the best, as he was inlformed that where wood blocks aloDie were used lioioal authorities in. hot weather were compelled to treat the surface with disin- fectants. Mir. Bliss. Hill seconded. Th.2 Re:v. William Hughes strongly advocated a settlement of the matter, contending that the Company in the end would only take the matter before the Board of Trade. If that was. done, he was certain the Council would lose. Mr. Green, the engineer oif their sew-craige scheme, who was .so wel!l known to them all, and who had had considerable experience iin tramway construction, was strongly in favour of the tar macadam process, and an article in an engin- eering journial he had read argued powerfully j the same way. He did not thinik the Council should be led by iron. makers who were not engineers. Mr. William Davies moved that the Council should adhere to the' resolutions passed in their original form. This was simply a case of an- other syndicate coming into the district and trying to have their own way. Colwyn Bay had hadi enough of syndicates. Let them take for instance the way the Public Hall Company had acted. Mr. Lowe: Is this in order? We shall be here all the afternoon. Mr. William Davies: If you have not got the time, I have, and I am here to proteot the intere,sts of the ratepayers. I am anxdous to point out to you the danger of allowing tbelse people to comte in without a thorough under- standing. Proceeding, Mr. Davies- said that there were some half a dozen members, of that Council who had seen a lilttleilltOlre than the reist, and they had in their time found certain people dio- m°r very wrong things. The incident he had njeirired Ito wiasi Abjn i" foundajtionc" of tihjeir Clerk, and he was, glad to think that the good work he did then d turned things round about. Later on the Council found itself op- posed by the: Gas Company. (Crkis of "Chaiir, chair," from several members.) Things were then1 done in such a way that the OOiUllIcill was absolutely mystified as to who was who, and last of all they came' to the Pier Company. Mr. Lowe: I hope we are not going to sit 1 her, long listening to this. Mr. William Davies I want to prove to you how careful we have got to be with these people. (Cries' of "Chair.") The Chairman I must call you it,o order, Mr. Daviies, and ask you to stick to the question under consideration. Mr. William Davies, (in a high pitch) I will not sit down. Proceeding, Mr. Davies alleged thait the, Pioeir Company had made contain, claims which were opposed ito the interests of the. ratepayers in reference to the foreshore opposite the railway statical. The Chairman You must obey the chair, and I rule you compfetely out of order. (Cries of "Chair, chair," and "sit clown, Mr Davies.") Mr. Davies went on quite .regardless of these interruptions and proceeded to rtmind the members how the roads had been cut up in the time of the Gais Company and certain materials carted about at the ratepayers' expense. They were thait d'ay again dealing with a syndicate, and he would like to know how many times the Llandudno roads had been repaired already. If the I)1ght Railway Company were going to have their own way they could depend upon it that the ratepayers were the people who were going to suffer. The experience of large towns in the matter of tramway construction was of far more value to them, than the advice of Mr. Mr. William Hughes, Mr. Hughes Hear, hear I quite agree with that. Mr. William Davies: You have heard Mr. Hughes (alluding to iron makers. Mr. Hughjes bas^bean sfoang about the town like a, dog m the fair from one house to another telling hes all this. w'edL (Loud cries of "Chair, chair, and Tlr^W? 'Hughes: Am I a liar? Will you wilthdiraw, Mr. Davies? Mr. Davies: No, I won't. I want to make enquiries before I withdraw it. R,ev W Hughes: Do not, allow thiis,, Mr.. Chairman, please. (Cries of "Chairman, Chairman.") I appeal to the gentlemen in this roqm. I have been called a. liar, and I appeal to the Chairman. Mr D. Gamble: Mr. Chairman,, I must ask that, that remark be. withdrawn. (Hear, hear, anMra William! Davies As long as Mr. Hughes denies it *0 genuinely., I I make more enquiries. I don t want below the belt, sir.. > The Chairman: Don't indulge in personal- ities. I wiill not have it. We musit st,iick to the business. Mr. Williaim Davies A personality was. used about Mr. Heenan, and I am defending Mr. Heenan. The Chairman said he had not noticed any attack upon Mr. Heenan. Mr. William. Dav,i,e,s: Mr. Hughes said I was supported by an iron master. (Laughter.) Let us be fair.. The Chairman I wish to be fair but I want you to be fair, too.. 4. t, + Mr W Davies: Who is an iron master but ,vl r. Heenan ? Is he not to be listened to? (Cirieis of "Stop it," and "Chair, and general ^Mr^Hu.^h Hughes: Mr. Heenan, is able to look altter himself, and does not need Mr. William. Davieis to look after him. Mr Williiiam Davies Oh, indeed. He has his opinions, about you. Here we are-- The Chairman: I hope you will some time or other realise that we have. come here to do b U siÍll1 es's. Mr Williiiam. Davies: If there was less miter- ru(pition—{"Ordlsir.") You mo all the while. I would not have been two minutes' if you had left me alone. The Chairman: You are going broadcast and ind ulging in personalities. After the Rev. William Hughes had made a further speech in support of the tar macadam process, Mr. E. H. Davies asked upon whose hhaH the Rev. Williaim Hughes was, working. Mr. Blisis I-liill saidi he was surprised to hear Mr. E. H. Davies suggesting thait Councillors had net got a right Ito make close investigations and getting to the bottom of these matters. He had done so, and he thought that was the duty of everyone else. (Hear, hear.) The Cfhairman I think the remark made by Mr. E. H. Davies was out of order. Mr. Bliss Hill thought that it should be the object of everyo,n!e to. get the work done as quickly as1 possible, as the season was .ap- proaching. In reply to Mr. E. H. Dayies, the Rev. Wil- liam Hughes said that all the. discussion hei had had upon the matter was with Mr. Ho-rton., and he felt that it was high1- essential that, the railway should be proceeded with at once in the b-esit interests of Rhos. If the railway was to be proceeded with, they should iaee that. they placed no unnecessary obstacle in the way. Mr. J. Dicken ridiculed the idea that wood pavement was insanitary. Mr. John Jones: I was told that if I had any >r:,spect (for my life this. matter should be settled to-day. (Laughter.) Mr. T. H. Morgan thought they should ad- here to the original stipulation,. The Chairman pointed out that further delay was very harmful to. the district. Mr. E. H. Davies Supposing we do decide, has the Combermere Lodge question been settled ? Some members thought that it had, and others that it had not. After the resaision. of the original resolution had been carried by 9 votes to 6, the Chairifian submitted ,a resiolution which he thought ought to meet the (situation,. He proposed—That, the Council offer to split the difference with the Light Railway Company by allowing theim to put the cables1 under the footpath on. the ciomdii. ft ion that they put wood paving on the track for itha length of one 'mile to be selected by the Council, and tar macadam,, with wood blocks alonlg the rails only. for the remainder." The Rev. W. Hugheis proposed as ain amend- ment, that provided the Company get the tram- way laid at once, the tar macadam be accepted for the whole track. Mr. Bliss Hill seconded. The Chairman remarked that it was very esisenitiial to decide something finally that day. The delay w.as killing the district, and they would have (tlhe -ratepayers in a body about tbeir ears if they put. 'any further obstacles in the way. The amendmenit was ciarriie-d by 8 votes to 7. Further amendments were discussed, but alt the, of the debate the Rev. W. Hugheis's amendment was carried by 9 votes to 6, with the proviso that the line should be laid before next Easter. PIER CONCERTS. The ,melmibers proceeded to discuss the quts. tion of foreshore Settings. In reply -to, a qUlery a,s to whefhfcr a reply had been received as a result of the Council's de- cision in the matter of the Pier concerts, the Cl'erk read the following letter — Viatorlia Pier and Pavilion, Colwyn Bay, December r6ih, 1907. To the Clerk to the Urban District Council, Colwyn Bay. Dear Sir,—Im am instructed by my Directors tio .acknowledge' and thank, you for your esteemed comlmunieation of :the nth insit. In Deference to the proposal your Council are good ■enough to make in reference to the discontinu. a nee of the enltertainrnents on the promenade in the evenings after 7.30, I am requested to. ex- press my Direc'ttÜ'rs" great appreciation of this concession; but, unfortunately, for OIhvilous neasons, they cannot accept the proposal of a Committee of the Council to regulate the busi- ness of the Company. On the other hand, my Directors will welcome any suggtelsltiÎüns. the Council, or a committee thereof, may offer them in reference to the concerts, and will gladly meet every reasonable wish. My Directors aic. cept and agree to all the othe'r conditions,, and they therefore trust that you will see your way to meet their wishes by deleting the proposed Committee, of Supervision" from the arrange- ment. Immediate arrangements will have to be made to secur,e an orchestra and conductor off standing, and your Council's prompt reply will therefore be much esteemed.—Yours very faith- fully, W. A. PRYCE DAVIS, Secretary. Mr. T. H. Morgan thought that the Directors Were most 'unreasonable, and under the. circum. stanceSi he felt very much inclined to move that the General Purposes Committee be a skied to open the tenders advertised for, and let the foresho,re as heretofore. Mr. D. Gamble: Why do the Directors sug- gest that we propose to intemere warm tneir business? We do nothing of the kind. Mr,. Bevan: They take your letter to mean that their programme for the season must be submitted for your approval. Several members interposed by saying that they never said such a thing. Mr. Bevan,: Then I am sure, we have mis- unders'tood each other. Mr. Bliss Hill You want to turn everybody off the promenade, yet you resent being inter- fered with yourselves. The Clerk understood that the resoiliuitioin provided for the appointment of a committee, not necessarily from, among tihemiselves, to s,e that the: best use wais made by the Pier Com,. tciany of the. privilege. Mr. Bevan.: You can take it from me that the Company would not have, their concerts, inter- fered with by anyone except members of the Council. Mr. D. Gamble: I should think that the re- solution was that if the .committee did not think the concerts wer'e up to the standard they would remind the Company with a view to an im- provement. Mr. Bevan That's a different thing. iMr. D. Gamble: My opinion is that the wholl'e thing has been a piece of bluff from' the very beginning. Mr. Bliss Hill said he would second Mr. Morgan to have the tenders dealt with at the next meeting of 'the General Purposes Com- milttee. Mr. Bevan said that the members should not be (surprised to find the Company objecting to having their programme tampered with by men who had not had the seven years' experience that they now boasted. Mr. D. Gamble: To my mind it should be the Commiitteie's endeavour to strike a happy medium between what was termed high class ,and otherwise. The Chairman I tbiink the whole discussion ilsi out of order. They have not accepted our terms, and there's an, end of it. The Clerk suggested that if there had been a misundersitandiinig he might be able to clear it up, and al,so siuggested that l.1te- Company's further reply could be submitted at the General Purposes Committee that had been mentioned. Mr. T. H. Morgan It is quite plain that the Company won''t'b:e bound in any way. After further discussion it was resolved, on the motion of the Rev. W. Hughes, seconded by Mr. John Jones, to appoint a smalll com- mittee. to confer with the Directors with a view to a settlement, the committee to report at the next General Purposes Comlmilttee meeting.