THE REV. W. BANNERMAN AND MR. GILLIES.

Evening Star, Issue 3539, 26 June 1874, Page 3

THE REV. W. BANNERMAN AND MR. GILLIES.

The following letter, which appears in to-day’s 4 Bruce Herald,’ explains itself:— _ln accordance with the deliverance of the Presbytery at its late meeting, and with the declaration I then made (which I observe has omitted from the report given to the public), that I would cause a public statement to be made to the effect that anything in the report of my speech at the Balclutha soiree capable of being understood as having a reference to Mr Robert Gillies, as the author of an article in the 4 Otago Daily Times,’ commented on by me, should be considered as withdrawu, I hereby, through your columns, which contained said .report, desire to make such statement. I beg also to express my regret that, in common with many others, I was, through current report, led to believe that the article was his, and that acting under the influence of that belief, I made the allusion complained of —a belief shared in by most, if not by all the members of Presbytery up till the moment Mr Gillies disclaimed the authorship in answer to a question put to him at the meeting of Presbytery. While I express this regret, I at the same time repudiate, as my Presbytery has repudiated, that anything spoken by me, or reported to have been spoken by me, deserves to be characterised as Mr Gillies has alleged. While disassociating him from the authorship of the article referred to, I am not to be understood as in the least withdrawing the opinion I have exEressed of that or of other articles that may ave appeared in the columns of the 4 Daily Times.’—l am, &c,', . W. Bannebman.