Reminiscences of Rotherham
by G. Gummer, J.P.
« « preving of the Council in committee with a view to arriving at a settlement before the 9th of November. Mr. Geo. Wragg (CC the Mayor maker, as he was then called) impugned the veracity of certain members. Other members were equally personal in their remarks, and the meeting broke up without a decision being arrived at. On the ninth of November both candidates were nominated. Councillor Stoddart, who also had a seat on the Local Board of Health at Rawmarsh, in referring to the conduct of Mr. Geo. Wragg at the committee meeting, said the members of the Raw- marsh Board conducted themselves with equal dignity to that exhibited by Mr. Wragg. As the Rawmarsh Local Board of Health at the time was considered to be most turbulent and unruly, Councillor Stoddart, for a beginner, was said to have scored.
BOROUGH POLICE
In the early eighties it appeared to be the wish of several members of the Council that Rotherham should be independent of the county for police protection, and steps were taken to obtain a separate force for the borough. This object having been achieved, a Borough Bench of Magistrates became necessary, and considerable excitement pre vailed when it became known the Lord Chancellor had sent a letter to the Town Clerk asking for the observations of the Town Council on a number of gentlemen whose names had been submitted to him as proper persons to be appointed to the bench.The omission of the name of the Mayor (Ald. George Neill) from this list, if not done inadvertently, was regarded as unfortunate, and was an unmerited reflection upon the chief magistrate. A noticeable feature of the list sent by the Lord Chancellor was its similarity to the list submitted by the Conservative Association.
The Mayor’s name had not been submitted by the Conservatives, owing to his lukewarmness to their principles, and the Liberal Party had no faith in him.
ILL-FEELING
The magisterial appointments resulted in an unprecedented scene in the Council Chamber. Acrimony and personalities exceeded anything that had previously taken place. Alderman Neill and the Town Clerk were accused of having visited London for the purpose of inducing the Lord Chancellor to add Mr. Neill’s name to the list of magistrates and with charging their expenses to the town.Councillor Woodhouse tabled a resolution demanding the return of the money. During the discussion which took place on this resolution, Councillor Wragg accused my father of telling lies, and said, When he spoke the truth it was only by accident. Councillor Stoddart, intervening, requested a withdrawal of these ungentlemanly remarks, Mr. Wragg replying that he excused him owing to the way he had been brought up.
Alderman Neill, always at his best when attacked, made use of many of his customary phrases, and attributed the resolution to the 'private spite, spleen and malevolence of the mover. He went on to say: The gross, the insulting, the venomous language, charging him with immorality, made the object of Mr. Woodhouse as plain as noon-day; it was simply to annoy and insult him personally, to lower and injure him in the eyes of the public.
The chairman of the Finance Committee (Alderman Wragg), who had passed the bill, was called upon to resign for this oversight. Those who knew Alderman Neill and the Town Clerk best were convinced that the accusations were unwarranted, the expensee incurred being for legitimate work on behalf of the town.