Present Protect Petition:  Spearheading their protest with a petition bearing 120 signatures, Shawville property owners crowded into the council chamber Monday night to express their opinions personally to members of council, on new property valuations.

Chief spokesman for the property owners was H. I. Hobbs who asked Mayor Reuben Smith if there was any reason for the new valuation.

When Mayor Smith replied that council hadn’t accepted any valuation, Mr. Hobbs replied: “I didn’t ask if you had accepted or rejected the valuation. I did ask if there is any reason for it.”

The mayor’s answer was “Not necessarily”, so Mr. Hobbs said: “I present you with this petition.”

As he thumbed through the petition, Mayor Smith remarked: “There’s lots of paper left yet.”

“There are more names we could have had,” Mr. Hobbs told him.

When Dr. S. E. McDowell was asked if he had any comment to make before council, he said: “When I heard of the new valuation I thought I had bought the hotel. If the valuations are left where they are now, when we get the new school Shawville will have to pay the shot—not the other municipalities. We are penalizing ourselves and nobody is asking us to do that.”

Emerson Cote said the valuations were not very well equalized. “The increase in mine is more than others in the same business are paying altogether.”

Discussion will be resumed next Tuesday night when council will examine the role.

Mayor Smith pointed out that the council hadn’t really had time to put in much thought on the new valuations, as yet. “We have all seen it for a few minutes,” he said, “but we haven’t had any time to discuss it among ourselves.”