A REPLY.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 77, 24 September 1879, Page 2

A REPLY.

YY TO THE' EDITOB>; ; .-..;: y ;Y Sir,— rln your foot-note to my letter m your Saturday's issue you ask two questions, each beginning "Will Mr- Macarthur deny," &c, and assuming my answer- to be those best suited to youv purpose: you proceed to draw you? own inferences therefrom. "tTnibi .unately for ihe correctness of your deductions, I do m the, firei place.-deny most distinctly-that my trip to Palmerston pn the day you refev to was made with the, object of inducing Mr. Snel3on to retire, or •to effect any arrangement by which eithe? he or Mr. Halcombe should retire, and, fpr, this very jiound reason, that I did nqt know Mr. ■nelson intended to stand at all, unfeil after my arrival m Palmerston pn that morning. In the second place, 'at. the little discussion to whiea you allude, m front ofMr-' Snelson'sy on r the Bame day, as to, the best means of settling which „of the two candidates should w-thebaw, not hairing the g : f tof prescience, I was uwable to inform those present that' Miy HalcoTribe hadde-; clared "he -would not reti;.'e-unde?, any ci.rcamsfcances," that dechvralion not' vhaving tc? my knowledge been the*i .mp.de.- .On the, face of it, , ; i{f ; is 'scarcely likely thai f Mr. Hnl- : combe would have made a. statement of that kind until he was i assured of Mr. SnelsonV onposiiion. 'Mi*. ; Halcombe was then m. Wellington, where he 'had been for some' three weeks, and so. far as I was 7 concerned; his resolution to ! persist m the contest was only made known to meon the morning "o_; the day ou winch, tu,e meeting m the Reading Rodin, took place, three days after oiir caucus m! the Square, and I did therefore take the first puTbJic opporturuty afforded me to ina^e.^hat resolution known. These facts seejn. to me'io 'demolish the 6up6i*structnre of inflUieuije. .which you m ycuv foot-note have bpilt'iip on the bhecurfoundation of a false, assumplipa, cr. to. adopt your o-gn/ metaphor, "your fl., v u. oi •light appears'littleheiiter.tban a "Will-o'-the-Wisp^' calculated the public astray! — I am, '"_;_., ■'•■', ''"■' ' . . ""■ y y y n \KElAoiSTroi,.; '■ [_fr, Macarthur deaies 1 that, his e§pec : al business to Palmerston was to' a^ange between the candidates. .'Well, that we^cahnot prove, so we give him the credit of "the: assertion j still lie lias admitted that j-w.hen down he. sought to bring , about such- ah f ar-'angemeut; ; Mr. Macavthui* L intimates [that rot being gifted with prescieiiceJ rA it I was impossible for him to learn Mr. Hal'combe's' iht e_t ; on, as that gentleman had L been for tfo'ee weeks m Wellington; aud the determination to stand at all risks was only made ;known,upon the mxn _ir>gof -theuieeting. We aw afraid .Mr. Maca/nbu? is s.Hghlly u» error. 1 We. ire ; not aware whether , Mr. , Halcombe was' in Wellington or not, so we I W'llnofc contradict ih.e ! _£atemenu,-b\ifc we do know that he 'was iv the^Ma yawatu three days before the meetiiig, innsmech as he ia company with Mr. Sneiuon ifitevViewed the editor, of this pqper to i-equesß, him l tp convene the meeting ailuded to. In fact we : are almost' positive tuafe 1 it was the evehmg ". after Mr. Macai'fchur jpinedihthe "caucus," that Mir. Haicomhe. called . UpopVusY Of this, howeveij, we \\'buld not be: • stive"; but • we have iib hesitation ia Rial ing that it was some days before t^e meeting, inasmuch, as the cards of invitation were, not issued until : next day, and then at the very lea.it ope., day was allowed ,to lapse.. " Does'it .nos, then ; appear strange that ; My. , Halcombe should ?wait unt'l the ve:y last moment to acquaint ' his tried frieUdpl his dete^mii^on.'; We will make no further comment, Thftihatter has bjeen e_nlained at considerable lenglli, ' and if the pubh'e can believe that Mr. Mac-a-jthur's.X^^sP?* ; tlie outcome. of his' open-hearted honesty, by all means give' him the credit of such praiseworthy conduct. '— EDi.M.T:J i; ' ; y .' y -Ay': =;:.';' '.y' : 'y- ; ; ;