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October 1892 Jailer Vanallen reports for the jail year that there were 274 committals to jail during the year, including 273 males and one female. The majority of committed have been vagrants ­ 228. The number of committals for drunkenness was 6 and the number of prisoners under sentence was 30. Halton jail is noted as the best and most economical. Its rate per diem for maintenance and feed of prisoners was 4 8/10 cents while that for Hamilton was 7 7/10 cents and for Kingston 8 cents. June 1893 On Monday night May 15 a valuable horse and buggy were stolen from the farm of John Breckon, Appleby. On the following Wednesday Mr. Breckon consulted with Oakville Chief Sumner and post cards were sent to the police in different quarters. On Saturday last the chief got a telegram from Woodbridge stating that the horse and man were captured. Breckon drove right to Woodbridge that night only to find that he had been cheated by the constable who had neither horse nor man. June 1893 There was some hot skirmishing between the mayor, as chairman of the board of health and the council relating to the Hugh Wilson drain, the mayor giving the council to understand that the board of health had full power and authority to undertake and do what work they saw proper to do on the streets and that the town had to pay the costs. The mayor ordered the constable to arrest one of the councilors from the North Ward for wanting to ask a question referring to a resolution while the mayor wished to address the council. October 1893 About 4 o'clock this morning night watchman Sgt. Thos. Corrie noticed a man with a lantern in Messrs. Hollinrake & Son's general store busily engaged in packing up a varied assortment of ready-made clothing, boots and shoes in a horse blanket. The night watchman awakened Mr. Hollinrake and several other citizens who met in front of the store and divided their ranks so that a the front and rear of the store could be watched and the burglar captured. A gun was procured by the front rank and file and a shot was fired from the opposite side of the street through the window. The rear guard, hearing the discharge of the gun, realized danger from the burglar shooting and made for somewhere else. In the meantime the stranger, finding that things toward the front of the shop were getting too warm, made his exit by the rear of the store, passed through the manse (IOOF Hall) Grounds and deliberately walked down Main Street in view of the full rank and file, who ordered him to throw up his hands and fired another shot at him. He walked on and disappeared through the alleyway on the West of Mr. Wilson's shop and the direction he then took was not ascertained. But acting on his eyesight the night watchman arrested H. Fallis, hostler at the Wallace House, on suspicion, who was liberated on bail. (The night watchman resigned, Alex Maud was appointed and Fallis was later acquitted.) January 1894 A burglar scare. A lady saw a lamp burning in the post office and made up her mind that a burglar was at work. She gave the alarm to a neighbour, who mounted guard and another was sent for Chief Constable Bradley. Nothing was wrong except the burning lamp. "The disgust of the chief constable abd the relief of some of the watchers may be imagined.) January 1894 In view of many disasters in case of panic in public buildings, it is not right that the stairway of our town hall should be left in its present dangerous shape, and that, though a law was passed a good many years ago, requiring under a heavy penalty the doors of public halls to open outwards, those of our town hall open inwards. If the present mantrap of a stairway were removed and a new one built from outside the danger of disaster would be at an end and the seating capacity of the hall which is insufficient would be somewhat increased. 5