Page:Item 6 1854.pdf/145

From Historical Hastings
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not a man in the town who could define a line which divided the two towns. The line, if altered from the present arrangement would have to be drawn right through the mass of population, and one part of a street would belong to St. Leonards and the other to Hastings. The inconvenience to tradesmen would also be immense in having to alter their business addresses. Who, for instance, would go to that part of St. Leonards, where he (Mr. Putland) had so long resided if called Hastings. People would go to old Hastings, where there was also another London road. There was a mile between his house and York Buildings, the western limit of old Hastings; and for half a mile there was only one house in front to go past. That single line of houses into another mass of population. To draw a line through that mass and call it Hastings, seemed to him most unreasonable. They could not make such a division without inflicting a very serious injury on the inhabitants. All the tradesmen there must change their addresses, the St. Leonards Wesleyan Chapel would be put in Hastings or West Hastings; the St. Leonards Mechanics Institution and the St Leonards railway station would be the same; and if the proposed alteration took place, Hastings would run all round St. Leonards and beyond it. There would be no reason coming fresh into the town who would ever know such a complicated division as it would necessarily be. The South-Eastern railway station was called the St. Leonards station, and if called Hastings, people [as Mr. Ross admitted] would go to the other Hastings station. There would also be confusion in the postal arrangement which in past time had been good, and were now he believed better than ever. They had as many mails as they could expect, and the people had no cause of complaint. The representatives of the whole of the West Ward were only six in number, whilst the East Ward had twelve. He hoped they would not do anything hastily. Let the inhabitants of the district be appealed to, which would be the proper course. Hastings was largely indebted to St. Leonards, and had been from its commencement. The founder of the latter ought to be honoured instead of St. Leonrds being put in the back-ground. The subject was really a very serious one, and if the inhabitants wre appealed to, he was perfectly willing to abide by their decision. He hoped that instead of throwing the east against the west, and the west against the east, time would be given to consider the question in all its bearings.