1914-09-16as

“With but very little opposition, the city council last endorsed proposed expenditures to the extent of nearly $100,000.”

Hamilton Spectator.   September 16, 1914

$100,000 was a tidy sum in September 1914 to approve at one fell swoop.

Among the sums approved at the Hamilton City Council meeting of September 15, 1914 was $13,000 for the purchase of Beckett Drive,

Built as a private toll road connecting the head of Queen Street South in the lower city with what would become Garth street on the mountain, Beckett drive had never been profitable for the owner. By 1914, it was still a private road but used by many, even though it was not maintained in good condition.

The City of Hamilton had long desired to purchase the road but price and title to the property the road occupied proved to be obstacles.

When those issues had been settled, mostly, the council of the City of Hamilton was ready to approve sufficient moneys to complete the deal.

Controller Thomas Morris and Mayor John Allan were both pleased about the resolution of the Beckett Drive matter, and expressed their feelings on the decision :

“ ‘I can go home happy now,’ remarked  Controller Morris to a group of aldermen after the meeting. ‘I have been trying for over twenty years to induce the city to purchase the Beckett drive, and it makes me happy to think it has at last done.’

“ ‘I hope Controller Morris will have no reason to feel otherwise,’ said Mayor Allan, ‘but the decision of the council to purchase was conditional on a good title. That is what caused so much delay heretofore.”¹

¹ “Will  Purchase Beckett Drive : City Council Requires Good Title to Property.”

          Hamilton Spectator.    September 16, 1914.

The day after the council decision, the Spectator published an editorial in which the Beckett Drive acquisition was referenced:

“The acquirement of the Beckett drive has been a necessary element in the conversion of our mountain face into a magnificent park

“The only question has been one of terms. Varying views have been held, and prolonged negotiation has been found requisite to bridge the gap between them. At length, however, a settlement has been reached, to the satisfaction of all concerned.

“As the drive has heretofore been private property, its use by the public has been dependent on the indulgence of the owner. It might have been closed at any time. Now that it has become public property, there need be no feeling on the part of those who use it that they are trespassing, or availing themselves of it upon sufferance.

“To the whole community, the convenience it affords will be secured for all time. And, as part of a public pleasure ground, the drive, with its environment, will doubtless be made as charming as conditions will permit.

“If a thing of utility may become a much-prized asset, ‘a thing of beauty is a joy forever.’ ”²

² “Mountain Face”

Hamilton Spectator. September 16, 1914

With so many men out of work, the leaders at Hamilton City Hall felt that some work for the unemployed could be provided on the Beckett Drive as it was in very poor condition for the passage of vehicle whether horse-drawn or motorized.

However, hopes that obtaining title to the property might be complex, it was anticipating that it could be done relatively quickly.

Such was not the case :

“Work was stopped on the Beckett drive last night, thus throwing out of employment a number of needy men.

“For the past month or more, this work has been prosecuted in a relief measure, and it has been stopped only because the city has been unable to obtain a satisfactory agreement in regard to the ownership of the property.

“There are said to be fourteen different parcels of land in the drive, and the Becket estate has not yet been able to show a clear title to the property. Search is now being made for title at the registry office by T. B. McQuesten, counsel for the Beckett estate, and also by the City solicitor.

“At this morning’s meeting of the board of control, Mr. McQuesten was asked to make another effort to prove title, failing which expropriation proceedings will probably be instituted by the city.

“Expropriation proceedings being costly, however, the board desires to give Mr. McQuesten every opportunity to settle the matter directly with the city.”³

³ “City Waiting for Title to Beckett Land : Work On Drive Was Halted Last Night : Hundred Men Thrown Out of Employment : May Be Necessary to Expropriate Property”

Hamilton Spectator. December 2, 1914.