Original Correspondence.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Volume I, Issue 27, 1 August 1863, Page 6

Original Correspondence.

To the Editor of the Lake Wakatip Mail.

Sir, —" Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones." "A little learning is a dangerous thing." The latter phrase is most strikingly exemplified in Mr. Reuben Harris' beautiful piece of composition addressed to me through the columns of the Wabatip Mail, on Saturday last.

Mr. Reuben Harris has taken offence at the mention of his name (in my letter to you of the 22ndinst.)as chairman of the "Monster Meeting" that unanimously passed the first resolution which his Honor the Superintendent of the Province of Otago refused to receive. He qualifies the swallowing of the bitter pill with pride and exults in the expression " I have done wrong and I acknowledge it." He would make himself appear open and frank, by a confession of having done wrong, but it unmistakeably shows a want of moral taste and an absence of shame. Mr. Reuben Harris in penning his note to me, forgot the unprecedented and shameless confession, and charge made by himself (at a recent public meeting held here), of the existence of a committee, which he termed a " hole and corner one," and of which he is chairman. Did he make such a statement without a blush and with pride ? And does he think it a want of courtesy on my part to decline having any communication with the chairman of the so designated committee meeting ? With regard to that portion of Mr. Reuben Harris' letter when he speaks of my writing anonimously, I can only compare his imagination to a dim-sighted individual who is constantly groping in the dark, whose clearness of head is on a par with his vision, and whose mind is in a constant state of suspicion of everything and everybody His actions look very much like a secret hatred.

No (Edipus is required to diiscover the reason of Mr. Reuben Harris' venom. The non-return of a certain individual to the honor of a seat in the Provincial Council, in consequence of the exposure of his land jobbing scheme, has made the pitiful auctioneer secretly discontented, fiery, and harmlessly malicious.

I would recommend to Mr. Reuben Harris the perusal of the following lines :—They apply to cunning men who pass themselves off to the public as wise. Men of morbid fancies might be benefited by committing them to memory—-

*l With that low cunning which in fools supplies, And ample too, the place of being wise, Which nature, kind, indulgent parent, gave To qualify the blockhead for a knave ; With that smooth falsehood, whose appearance charms ; And Reason of its wholesome doubt disarms, Which to the lowest depths of guile descends, By vilest means pursues the vilest ends; Wears friendship's mask for purposes of spite, Fawns in the day, and butchers in the night." J. B. Bradshaw. July 28, 1863. To the Editor of the Lake Wakatip Mail. Sir,—You will oblige by stating in your next issue that the road from here to Maori Point was commenced within twenty-four hours of the line being pegged out by the surveyor, and that at this present time there are between twenty and thirty men actively employed on it. The road between here and Arthur's Point will be commenced as soon as the line has been surveyed. The very bad weather we have had of late is the true reason of its not being started. I am, Sir, yours, &c., Charles Armstrong, Contractor. Queenstown, July 27, 1863.

To the Editor of the Lake Wakatip Mail. Sir, —Taking advantage of the local journal as a means of disseminating information for the public good, as likewise to advance the interests of the public, I am desirous of bringing before the public the urgent necessity of at once taking steps towards the relief of the miners on the Shotover and other rivers in this district. Now, it is evident that men who have devoted their capital and labor towards the development of the rivers in this neighbourhood will not be disposed to surrender everything, from the fact of the elements being unpropitious to such a development. The result is we find there has been an immense sacrifice of life and property, all caused by the indomitable perseverance and determination of the miner to hold possession of the ground allotted him in accordance with the regulations set down for his observance. Now, sir, I think it imperative that the people of Queenstown and district should at once take the necessary steps to mitigate this evil, which can be done in my opinion by petitioning the Provincial Legislature to pass an act to provide for the registration of claims that cannot be worked with safety, as a further preventive against the destruction of life, without mention of the vast amount of property. W. M'Conochie.