The Mayne Inheritance by Rosamond Siemon Page A

nominated John Petrie as Mayor. When he moved that a committee be appointed, he always named himself and those other aldermen he thought should work with him. These suggestions were neither wild nor Machiavellian. They reflected his enthusiasm and practical approach. All thealdermen were men of property. In nominating a committee to revalue the assessable property in the municipality, his sensible suggestion was of men of the most experience: Petrie the builder and contractor, Jeays the architect and builder, and Cribb and himself, whose extensive and successful land purchases showed they had a businesslike understanding of the varying value of allotments. Patrick was a man who got things done, and he embraced civic problems with a wrestler’s grip. Bullying tactics and cunning were intricately woven with his shrewd business sense. Business ethics played little part in his life. He argued that instead of sending out rate notices, a list of names and rate assessments should be published in the newspaper. For those who failed to pay by the due date, his solution was to publish their names in the social pages. He thought that disrespectful letters should be returned to the sender, and when a Mr Porter lodged a complaint about a surveying matter followed by a notice of action, Patrick moved that they put it into the wastepaper basket. The over-worked Town Clerk fared no better. In 1861, he requested a rise from £200 to £250 a year; Mayne abruptly moved that if the Clerk was dissatisfied, the Council should put the job out to tender.
    He had trouble differentiating between what could be expected of aldermen and paid Council employees. The aldermen, unpaid, spent hours away from their own business affairs as they inspected and discussed the young town’s enormous problems. It had not been easy to find suitable townsfolk who thought the personal costworthwhile, but for the young, energetic and wealthy Mayne the opportunity to administer the affairs of the town and the status it gave him more than offset the responsibility and the sacrifice in time and finance. As a butcher he could recoup nothing, but some of the other aldermen were in a more fortunate position as contractors or suppliers of stone, timber, or imported items for the roadworks and buildings. While he never failed to grasp an opportunity to make more and more money for himself, he was not too keen on council contractors making much profit. He kept a practical, businesslike eye on Council finances, especially tendering, always looking out for signs of jobbery. He always called for the lowest tender to be accepted and closely watched the job to ensure it was well done and on time. This did not endear him to those aldermen who secured Council contracts.
    There is no doubt that in his first term, Mayne, at thirty-six, the youngest alderman, was an authoritarian but very useful and energetic member. He worked hard on several committees to improve the town environment. He was a tidy man, neatly dressed; he liked a good appearance in everything. The buildings he had put up enhanced the townscape. His bête noire was vandalism which defaced and damaged town buildings. He clearly could not catch the culprits—otherwise he would have personally whipped them off the street. Instead, he urged the Council to post a £5 reward for their apprehension. Although he was one of the wealthiest men in town, his lack of social acceptance by the bourgeoisie kept him a man for theworkers. Much of his contribution at that time reflects that. He succeeded in moving that ‘‘all children, not just those at denominational schools, travel free on the ferries’’, but he had less success in trying to gain the same concession for cross-river church-goers.
    Understandably the pressure of their own business caused most aldermen occasionally to miss meetings. In the Council’s first term Patrick had been away from mid-May to late June; eighteen months later, he