THE SIMSON SQUABBLE.

Mataura Ensign, Volume 6, Issue 335, 29 February 1884, Page 2

THE SIMSON SQUABBLE.

TO THE EEITQB, Sir,— l know that what I am about to write will probably not find favor in your eyes, but I trust the vaunted journalistic love of fair play will ensure its insertion. lam aware tba£ any defence of a gentlemen who has been unfortunate enquglj %q rouse the envy and the hatred of a certain section of the Gore public will be pooh.poahed by the magnates whose commercial interests are injured by his popularity, but I am confident that you, Sir, are uninfluenced by the likes or disjikes of any auctioneering firm, and are impartial, jus^t, and fearless. Therefore I think that, although you'certainly do not worship at the shrine of Simson, you will be actuated by the same considerations that £mpel me, and will insert this letter for the reason tliatl write it, tp dp justice to a man who hitherto has had to fight single-handed againgt a. compact body of indefatigable mai'igners, ' ' At the outset I cheerfully adrnlt that Simson is hot tempered, and sometimes a little foolish ; but I admit no more. Rumor has a scandal attached to his name, but no one has yet ha.l the manliness to boldly accuse him 9? any grievous fault or crime ; nothing has been jjroren ; he has never had the opportunity of offering a word m' self-defence, or pleading circumstances (aiid wfrat may they \v]t in extenuation. He has had to boar all jtn# odium of 'a vaguely whispered calumniation , lie 'has had nothing tangible to dony ; nothing palpable to refute)' Vet tlio gentlemen who were the instruments of tho insult put upon, him on a recent public occasion have had the goodness to condemn hpn, and hold him up aa a fit subject for general desecration. They publicly affront him nearly as much as a man can b,~e affronted, and then when asked for thejr reason mysteriously shake their heads and say "Xh 1 That is a Masonic secret." Do you not think tiiat thjLa is unutterably mean ? If the crime is secret why should tjje punishment be public ? I have an enemy whose "success is gall and wormwood to me. Can I by joining the mystic brotherhood, and attaining a position of authority in some pstty lodge, acquire the right to vilify him to my heart's content, destroy his reputation, injure him in business,

and then, when called upon to explain ray vile and lying accusations, can I retire behind the veil of: the craft and plead Masonic secrecy 1 Might I enquire, by the way, who these virtuous gentlemen arc who have become protect ors-in-general of public morality 1 Are their lives so blameless that they can justly sit in judgment on an erring brother, or are there not little incidents even in each of their Gore careers that make the self- assumed moral mantles fit rather awkwardly ? But of course that does not mat- '■--' Pimson has committed the heinous crime i i" /■. 1 1. . Ujj "on ; Simson, must be put down wit'i a high and authoritative hand., though that hand be not over clean. Permit me to correct one slight error in your report of the ceremony at the laying of the Town Hall] foundation stone. There was not the slightest indication of applause when Simson departed ; on the contrary I am con- , vinced that the majority of those present sympathised with him and inwardly resented the cowardly manner in which he was treated He went there as a visting brother, and in that capacity he should always be treated, with courtesy and hospitality until some charge has been laid again6t him at his lodge and, after a fair trial, he has been found guilty. lam sure it must have been merely a trilling error on your part. You would never, I know, '■' cook " a report even for the purpose of annoying Simson. In conclusion let me warn my fellow-set-tlers not to be misled by mean and indefinite calumniation, not to give heed to the j specious utterances of a clique of blackmailers, even should that clique consist of such important personages as auctioneers, publicans, rabbit-inspe.ctors, and professional gentlemen. — I am, etc., AN old Resident. [It must not be forgotten tint we disclaim responsibility for the opinions expressed by this and other correspondents. Our celumns are freely open for the discussion of both sides of any question, so long as correspondents are fairly temperate. — Ed. Ensign.