Semantic ambiguity?

"He was very much admired indeed. "He is as beautiful as a weathercock," remarked one of the Town Councilors who wished to gain a reputation for having artistic taste; "only not quite so useful," he added, fearing lest people should think him unpractical, which he really was not."

http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/HapPri.shtml

This is the second paragraph from The Happy Prince, a short story by Oscar Wilde. I'm translating this to my native language. In the sentence "... fearing lest people should think him unpractical..." who does it refer to by "him"? The statue or the councilor?