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Ashburton Guardian, Volume 1, Issue 132, 29 July 1880, Page 2

To the Editor. Sir, —l see by the newspaper report that a letter from James Mcßae, stating that Richard Bird had applied for a license for a cab, of which he was not the owner, the owner of the cab being Charles Ryle ; and that the said cab was employed in carrying prostitutes. I think the above letter, if allowed to go unchallenged, would make it appear that I was something worse than the average humanity. I have instructed my solicitor to call upon James Mcßae to prove his assertion. In the meantime I should like, with your kind permission, to lay the facts of the case before the public. The said Charles Ryle was at a certain time (like many other people in Ashburton) in want of money. Mr*. Joshua Tucker and myself, purely to oblige the man, purchased the cab jointly, at the same time agreeing to sell it to him at the same price within a certain date. That time has gone by, and he has failed to buy back the cab. It was, therefore, determined to take out a license and let the cab to a driver at a weekly rental, without dictating to the driver what fares he should take. I don’t suppose, however, that he will get a monopoly of the characters referred to in James Mcßae’s letter.—l am, &c., R. Bird.