THAT CHALLENGE

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 195, 13 May 1920, Page 4

THAT CHALLENGE

ME. i'RASER'S.WLT TO ME. FOX. The following is a copy of a letter dated May 12, addressed by Mr. P. Eraser, M.P.. to Mr. J. I. •Pox-.- _ ' '"Dear Mr. Fox.-Your letter of the lltli inst. has not yet come to tad, but the one I have seen in to-day s Dominion ■appears-to boar: unmistakable marks or having oozed from your pen. "I am glad that, contrary to all endence, you have some 6mall appreciation of wit. You can rest assured that no one will ever dream of accusing you of ! possessing u similar quality, otherwise you would not,.as a modern bancho Pauza on a minor scale, cut such a sorry figure n s you do at present.; However, it is pleasing to see that vou have momentarily escaped from the atmosphere of the lvnight of the Rueful Countenance, and no longer hanker after Ks tol f at dawn,' with a corpse lying stretched, and still on the green sward, and the survivor and his friends stealing Quietly off beneath the shadow of the trees as 'the sun rises in its morning glory; over, the distant horizon, and.so forth; and that you liiave come down to longing tor more commonplace things, such, for instance, as honoraria. 'But what a fall was there, my countrymen! From the age of chivalry to the age of bras* ihe | honorarium seems to be the wholo crux of the matter with you now. _1 his inanity because, after all, just think of the< range of weapons still available for your little pleasantries, from boxing gloves to battleships. Why, then, so suddenly show such a preference for Jionoraria: 1 ' "Tour assumptions concerning my standing with the Labour Party and my a constituents are on a par with your other ideas. Yuu have not the s.iehtest clO,im to speak for one or the other. I am always quite prepared to abide by any decision of the Labour Party on any public act' of mine, and equally by any decision of the' working-class voters of Wellington Central. I believe that I have tho confidence of both, neither , tho Labour Party nor myself have tho ; least intention to shape, our actions to • suit the wishes or convenience of any busybody whatsoever. The matter rests . there as far w as> I am concerned, with . your challenge standing, like its author, on its head.—Yours tru'v, r "(Signed) P. ERASER."