Who's to Pay?

The great drain question, the suit against the Victoria Railway Company and the Davis embezzlement afforded the two candidates for the Reeveship of this village ample material out of which to elaborate long and eloquent speeches at each other's expense; and, consequently, at the nominations both of councillors and school trustees, Messrs. Dickson and Greene carried on a wordy war until the patience of their auditors was exhausted. The verdict of the ratepayers, after carefully weighing the accusations and explanations submitted to them, is, that while the council are to blame for making no provisions for the payment of the debt incurred by the expenditure on the schoolhouse, their negligence would have entailed no loss on the ratepayers; but that the school trustees were guilty of a gross dereliction of duty in affording their treasurer the opportunity--which he so eagerly availed himself of--to appropriate the public funds. Mr. Greene, having been a member of the school board while Davis was absorbing its money, will not, we fancy, find his chances of election to the Reeveship much improved thereby, especially as the council and the trustees are likely to come to loggerheads upon this very question, and Mr. Greene would naturally have a tendency to favour the latter. But of far more importance than the degree of culpability to be attached to either of our public bodies, is the question, "Who is to replace the money stolen by Davis?" and the ratepayers are asking it with no little anxiety. It appears that, owing to the "mixing and muddling" of the matter, Mr. Keith will be able to get free of the greater part, if not the whole, of his supposed liability; and, failing him, it is evident that the deficiency will have to be made up by some one, and the momentous questions is, by whom? We believe that every ratepayer now regrets the indifference with which Davis's dishonesty was treated when it first became known, as, had prompt measures been taken, it is not at all improbable that they would have lead to the disgorgement of a very considerable portion of the treasurer's spoils. It is a subject of debate throughout the village whether it is or is not too late to proceed against him; and, at any rate, there is a firm determination to hold a public meeting as soon as possible after the elections and find out everything that is discoverable with reference to the defalcation business.