A'P'IBE BUIOADE. I

Grey River Argus, Volume III, Issue 147, 20 December 1866, Page 2

A'P'IBE BUIOADE. I

(To the Editor of the Grey lliver Art/a*.) Sir—The necessity of a Fire Brigade is acknowledged by everyone, but why it is tampered wifcis and neglected 1 cannot understand. A public meeting was held some time ago, at which niuinbers were enrolled, which appears to/haye fallen to the ground.. The Improvement- Committee then took:' upon themselves t>• carry out the same. The last weekly; meeting- held by that body was five or six weeks ,n#o, when Mr Payne, hem. sec, was instructed to call a public meeting-for the above pnrjxi.sa on the following Thursday; also to resign their seats as members of that body, the term., of their membership having expired ; also to re-elect new members to fill their places—this also has bcuu neglected. Sir, it cannot be for the w<u>t of means that it is not carried out, the Government having granted a most valuable site for. the same, and. 1250 on the completion of the cngine-rhonse, Avith a maintenance of LIOO per year. Also about LSOO is guaranteed from the public, which only requires collecting ; and yet we' are allowing the great risk of a general conflagration, which, if it takes place, will .rain threefourths of the residents ox Gi-eymonth. This wilful and culpable neglect lies at the door of the Improvement Committee, and especially that of the secretary, Mr Payne, he having received instructions to call a public meeting. Not having.done so, I think it to. be. the, duty of that gentleman to give some explanation of his conduct, and if ho still refuse to call the inhabitants together fortheabove purpose, let him say so at once, that some other person more interested may take it in hand, lam, &c, Geo.. Simmons. A FURTHER EXPLANATION. (To the. Editor of the.. Grey lUver: Argus, f. Sin—l am sorry to be obliged again to bring into notice the subject of my last letter, bat I am compelled to do so in consecpnence of your remarks in reply to the same. You state ihai■" if I had taken the trouble to anticipate what might have. bsen the possible effects of my information before Lgave it. Imight have spared both you and myself the inconvenience which has arisen." Now from this remark you still appeal to take it for granted,' and-would .'lead the public to believe, that 1 ha^e given false information respecting the rash to the south of Fox's, You also state that there might be sonfe mutual 'misunderstanding between us, but by the tenor of your remarks you lead the public to suppose that the error was on my side in place of'your own. And now, once for all,.J_again repeat that I never gave you any information regarding any rush south, of Fox's y that the prospects of which I spoke were got at Fox's, aud that the only rush to which I alluded was one.to the north. And now, Sir, I think if you had taken the trouble to anticipate what may be the possible esept of your using my name in such an uncalled' for manner in connection with this; matter, and considered the. injury I may suffer from ft, you, a^ the editor of an influential.Journal, would never have done so, I yesterday saw the gentleman with whom I had the conversation which has given rise to this correspondence, and he states to me he never had any conversation with you on the subject since then. In conclusion/ I ain?at a loss to know by what right you',. s.t#l peisist in, blaming me ..for..-your enw, unless you are desirous of practice in the shape of paper war. I am, &c, John M'Donald.. [In proof %i£ we have no ambition to carry on a " paper war",Avith Mr M'Donald,; we award -him the 'satisfaction'of having the " last word," ajfwe can add nothing to what we have previously said on the subject; and we have already clevoted as-much space to it as we or o\\f.readersjyaii afford.—Ed;-fill-. A.}