January 8, 1876

Last evening, Mr. Nelson Mills suffered a relapse and was troubled with the hic-coughs during the night. Today, he was much worse and his physicians fear that his recovery is impossible. It is feared that the action of the body caused by the hic-coughs will lead to inflammation of the wounds in which case recovery will be next to an impossibility.

                   LATER

          On going to press (4 p.m.) we learn that Mr. Mills’ condition has improved within the last two hours.

                                                              Spectator. January 8, 1876

When the Hamilton Spectator went to press late in the afternoon of Saturday. January 8^th, it had been six full days since Nelson Mills had been stabbed.

It had been an intensely painful week for Mr. Mills, his condition seemingly making positive strides towards recovery, strides forward followed by setback after setback.

Late Saturday afternoon, a representative with the Spectator was told that he had shown some good signs after a terrible day and night.

There seemed to be some reason to feel hopeful about his prognosis.

 The balmy weather which characterized the start of 1876 in Hamilton had continued, prompting yet another column on that subject :

       “And now when the new year season is past and elections are over, people will turn to the weather to find something to talk about. And it has, so far, proved very fertile. The illustrious individual, the “oldest inhabitant” is called upon to speak, and amid breathless silence states that such weather was never known to occur in a Canadian winter. Prof. Tice, the weather prophet of St. Louis, has so far prognosticated the weather correctly. He said that the present winter would be unusually mild with occasional rains, and it has so turned out. Occasionally, the thermometer has registered as high as 80 degrees, but the average temperature is considerably below that. The swell owners of Ulster overcoats are grieving because  they have no particular use for the coachmen’s garments, and the ice men are sorrowing for fear that no crop will be gathered this season. This luxury of summer is generally harvested here as a general rule in the month of February, and there is yet plenty of time to congeal the crystal substance, if the young man who turns the crank at the North pole only hurries up his operations. However, people who afford to lose the ice crop, and sacrifice overcoats for mild weather. To the poor, it is a boon of great value as an economiser of fuel, and, all things considered, nobody ought to grumble. People tell us this is not healthy weather, but we have yet to learn that any unusual degree of sickness prevails from this cause.”

          On the crime front, a case of fake currency was before the courts, and its was coins not bills being counterfeited:

       “This morning at twelve o’clock, Thomas Dermody was put upon his trial on the charge of having in his possession counterfeit money, and uttering the same. The money was fifty cent pieces, and were clearly executed.

          ROBERT MCKILLOP, sworn ; have seen the prisoner at the bar before; have known him three years; saw him yesterday; he asked me to give him two plugs of tobacco; we were then on King street; “here” he said, “is 50 cents, go in and get me two plugs of tobacco; don’t know why he did not go in himself; I went to Milne’s shop and got two plugs, giving him the fifty cents, and got 40 cents change back; I gave him the change, and then he gave me one of the plugs; he then drew out six or seven pieces, apparently fifty cent pieces like the one I had received, and one I noticed was black, and I said “is that money bad?,” and he said, “if you split on me, I’ll shoot you”; I asked him for one and he refused, and then I asked to see one and commenced to rub, and he said, “don’t rub it.”; I then gave it back; we then went to Mrs. Martin’s and got a drink; we went past Milne’s again and he wanted me to pass another one in the butcher shop next to Milne’s but I refused; we then walked as far as the railroad and he went in to Mrs. Hooper’s; he gave her fifty cents and she just put in her mouth and gave it back to him; I then went to warn the police; saw one of them on the street, but we could not find the prisoner; in the evening, I went back to Mr. Milne’s and told him I had passed a bad piece of money, and he said he did not think so; I saw prisoner afterwards at Dinabey’s; he made arrangements there to give me two of the pieces.

          Alexander Milne, sworn : The last witness came into my shop yesterday afternoon and bought two plugs of tobacco, giving me fifty cents, and I gave him firty cents back; I gave the piece to his sister last evening.

          The Counsel waived further examination and the prisoner was fully committed for trial.

                   WILLIAM RYAN

Who is charged with a similar offence, was remanded for further evidence.”

          In 1876, Hamilton’s water supply had been pumped from Lake Ontario for last 16 years The water passed through a filtering basin on the beach shore, then pumped by means of huge steam engines up to a reservoir on the side of the mountain, from which it was distributed, by gravity to water mains and hydrants throughout the city.

          By 1876, it had been determined that a larger filtering basin was needed to help meet the water supply needs of the growing city

       The following is a copy of an extract from a report to the Chairman of the Water Works, detailing the progress, the slow progress, of the new filtering basin project:

          “You are already aware how and when Mr. Rich, the contractor brought in his dredge from Burlington Bay to Lottridge’s Creek, so it is unnecessary for me to offer an explanation on that head. The first dredging done was in the bank of the creek next the lake, on the line of the conduit trench, which was excavated to the site of the new basin, an average of about seven feet below the water level. The dredge was then headed in a northerly direction and employed in taking out the new basin, the sand above the water level having been previously removed by horse and scrapers. The dredging was not pushed as energetically as I should like to have seen it, partly in consequence of the absence of Mr. Rich, and partly on account of the dredge and derrick machinery having frequently gone out of order. During  the month of December but little, if any, dredging was done, and the dredge is now laid up for the winter. The dry conduit trench has been excavated from Lottridge’s Creek a depth of about ten feet, the average depth required being a little over 18 feet. The pumping well is built up to above the level of the ground and secured for the winter, the necessary coping etc., to be put on next spring. The masonry in the well is good and sound, and the necessary frames to receive the screens or sieves are properly and securely built in. Within the last ten days, Mr. Rich, the contractor, commenced to pump out the section of the conduit trench near the engine house, with the intention of laying the pipe during the winter, and I trust he will succeed in laying the entire dry conduit between the engine house and Lottridge Creek before spring. If the contractor should not be able to finish the entire specified by the first of October, 1876, I believe we will at least be able to obtain a sufficient supply of filtered water from the new basin by that date.”