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As already
stated, my uncle John died in the month of March 1873. The office of
township clerk thus made vacant, was then given to Mr. John Kerr, a
long-standing friend of my deceased uncle and our nearest neighbour. He
died in the early part of the following May without having added a line
to the township records.
For
appointment to the office, for a second time thus left vacant, there
were several aspirants. My own desire was that it should fall to my
cousin William C. Fletcher to whom the position so long held by his late
father would be acceptable. I knew that he was aware that the council
would not be unanimously in favour of his appointment, but was
surprised, a few days before the council meeting that was expected to
decide the matter, to receive from a respected friend of both our
families a letter stating that on private information, he had come to
know that nip• cousin had no chance whatever of receiving the
appointment, and, at the same time assuring me that if I would make
application for the office in my own behalf, it would meet with
acceptance. This suggestion I declined with thanks. I went, however, to
see Mr. Alex. Coutts, the Reeve who was ardently supporting my cousin's
claim and told him of the information that I had received and the
suggestion that had been made regarding myself. I assured him that I had
refused to accept nomination by any member of the council opposed to the
appointment of W. C. Fletcher, but, nevertheless, if he should find that
my cousin had no chance of success, I would be pleased if he, himself
would bring my name before the Council for appointment. Mr. Coutts
expressed his approval of my attitude, but gave no indication as to his
purpose further than that he would do his test to see that my cousin
should get the office. What was said or done around the council board
prior to the final passing of the by-law, I never heard. Information as
to the result of the meeting was first brought to inc by W. C. Fletcher
himself, who called at the saw-mill where I was working on the evening
of the day of the council meeting and greeted the with heartiest
congratulations on my appointment to the office of township clerk. To
his credit be it said, that he never, then or afterwards betrayed the
slightest suspicion of jealousy or even disappointment. By my own
observation, already extending over a long life, I am convinced that
such disinterestedness and self-abnegation are extremely rare. Glad I am
to be able to say that from that day to the end of his life in 1892, our
friendship was maintained without breach or interruption.
DRAINAGE
At the
time of the first settlement of the Township the lack of drainage
facilities was most keenly felt. Indeed so insuperable seemed the
difficulty of obtaining drainage sufficient for agricultural purposes
that some of the best lots in the township were vacated after an attempt
had been made to perform their settlement duties by way of land
improvement. Tradition has it that one man who had settled on a lot in
the easterly part of the southerly range of Middle Road lots, sold out
his claim for a pair of long boots in which he » as able to make his way
to drier quarters.
Shortly
before the commencement of my clerkship, the deepening and enlargement
of two creeks, known as "No. 10" and "No. 20" creek respectively, had
been undertaken and accomplished by the Ontario Government on petition
of the council tinder the provisions of The Ontario Drainage Act. The
benefit thereby rendered to the adjoining lands became at once so
apparent that large sections of the township were at once ready and
eager to embrace the more favourable terms provided by the newer
"Municipal Drainage Act" under which the Council were authorized, on the
petition of a majority of the owners, as shown by the last revised
assessment roll, of any territory within the township praying for the
drainage thereof to employ an engineer to survey the territory, prepare
plans and specifications of the necessary works and make an assessment
showing the amount or proportion of the total cost that should he
assessed against each benefitted lot, part of lot and road respectively.
Appeal from the amount thus assessed against each might be had to the
township Court of Revision, and from that court to the County Judge
whose decision was final.
The
necessary funds were borrowed by the issue of debentures on the security
of the township and the amount, with interest, charged and collected as
are taxes from each benefitted lot, part of lot and road, with interest
in equal annual payments spread over a period, in the discretion of the
council, not exceeding 15 years.
These
drainage works raised new and intricate problems. The settlers on the
higher lands imagined that they were at liberty to drain their lands and
discharge their waters into the channel provided by nature, let the
consequences to those farther down the stream be what they might.
Harry
Forbes had bought some lands on the margin of the plains which, in every
dry seasons, might have been capable of producing crops though, in no
year would the prospect be very encouraging. He made an attempt to
better his condition by embanking a small section and pumping out the
waters by means of a steam-driven "flash-wheel" and found that
considerable benefit was gained by the expedient. The bank was too
light, however, to be effective, and, noticing that conditions were
being aggravated by the artificial drainage of the up-lands, he called
on the Council for protection. That the Council refused to give. So an
action at law was threatened for a mandamus to compel compliance with
the demand. The Council passed a resolution instructing the Reeve to
procure a solicitor's advice on the subject. It is known that Mr. Pegley,
the solicitor gave a written opinion, but the Reeve refused to have it
read to the council. The councillors, a majority of whom were favourable
to the scheme for the reclamation of the low lands on the petition of
the interested land-owners, did not persist on the production of the
lawyer's opinion which had been procured, understanding, of course, that
it was adverse to the position taken by the reeve. At the same or a
subsequent meeting of the council, a petition was presented duly signed
by a majority of the interested assessed owners, as shown by the
assessment roll, of about 5000 acre, of submerged lands, praying for the
drainage thereof by means of embanking and pumping, and for levying upon
the lands and roads in said township to be benefitted the funds
necessary for the construction of the works under the provisions of The
Municipal Act. The requisite examination was made by Mr. A. McDonell, C.
E., on the ice in 1885. His report was duly filed. and after the
observance of the necessary preliminaries, was finally adopted by
by-law, That by-law was, however quashed by a court of competent
jurisdiction, on appeal by reason of a technicality. The costs, which
were $4000.00 or more were put on the municipality, and yet the
difficulty remained. Within two years, a council was elected of which
the majority was favourable to the scheme. Prominent among the
ratepayers who openly espoused the scheme were John A. McGregor, W. C.
Fletcher, Gen. Hope, Henry Sales, Henry Powell, Alex. Gracey, John
Richardson, and others. My recollection is that the three first named
were in the council. In an' event, a majority of that council was
favourable to the scheme, and Mr. McDonell, C.E., was again called upon
to make such a report as he deemed necessary for the drainage of the
territory described in the new Petition which had meantime been filed.
The engineer's report substantially the same as the former, with,
however, some important alterations was in due time submitted to the
council and was soon thereafter finally passed. The opposition was not
less loud and pronounced than on the previous occasion, but no recourse
was had to the Courts, and the work went on. That there was some risk of
failure cannot be denied, and had such occurred the township would have
been burdened with a debenture debt of not less than $50,000.00 which
would have been serious indeed. With good management, however, the risk
could not be great, and the only alternative course being, as would
appear, the construction of protecting embankments, if not also of a
pumping outfit for the protection of the lower lands against the ever
increasing flow of the artificial drainage waters of the higher lands,
at a cost, perhaps but little short of that of the drainage works
proposed, the true course of wisdom would seem to have been fairly
obvious.
Whatever
mists may have obscured the vision of the time, the smiling fields
within the territory today, attest the wisdom of the council that faced
such risk as attended an expenditure for reclamation in preference to
one of smaller amount that promised to the township or any of its
citizens no return. The lands within the territory, are now among the
most valuable in the township, and the salubrity of the whole district
is doubtless advanced by the withdrawal from the production of
mosquitoes and malaria of an area so extensive.
The
difficulties faced during construction were great, but all were
overcome, and the machinery was soon in motion. Shortly it was
demonstrated that there was to be no failure, but difficulties unforseen,
or not fully anticipated, were soon in evidence. The owners were poor,
the first breaking of the soil was a very heavy job, and the cost of
horses, machinery and farm stock entailed a heavy outlay, in many cases
exceeding the resources of the owners. To this was added a drainage
difficulty, not at first anticipated. An internal drain had been dredged
for carrying the water to the discharging wheel, and while the
efficiency of the wheel and machinery was soon demonstrated, the
difficulty of inducing the waters to move on a level bottom with speed
sufficient to give employment to the machinery at its full capacity or
to reduce the water level at the head of the drain to provide an outlet
to the distant lands was soon apparent. In a few years it was found
necessary to add an auxilliary pumping plant consisting of two
steam-driven centrifugal pumps in the same channel over two miles
distant from the original pumping station. Fortunately for the
interested land-owners the actual cost of the original works was
considerably less than the funds provided therefor and the surplus was
properly devoted by the council towards payment of the outstanding
debentures first falling due, thus relieving the ratepayers from
drainage levies for at least one year.
For some
years, the assessed area bore the heavy burden, but at last the owners
made application to the council for the procurement of special
legislation for the extension of the debenture period. An Act of The
Ontario Legislature, in accordance with this application was readily
procured and under the provisions thereof the period of 15 years
originally fixed for the currency of the debentures was extended to 30
years, the yearly rates correspondingly reduced and provision made for
the retirement of the outstanding debentures as they should severally
fall due by the reduced levies supplemented by the issue and sale yearly
of one debenture equivalent to the amount of the yearly rate reduction.
A few
years later, the remainder of the plains lands beyond the Jeannettes
Creek was reclaimed by the construction of the Dauphin drainage works,
and the small westerly portion west of Jeannette's creek, still under
water, was rendered fit for cultivation by the construction of the
McGregor drainage works. The total area thus reclaimed contains about
1000 acres, or nearly one seventh part of the whole area of the
township.
It gives
me some satisfaction to think that I had a part, however humble, in
advancing the accomplishment of undertakings so important. |
