"SHARP PRACTICE."

Manawatu Times, Volume V, Issue 169, 26 October 1881, Page 2

"SHARP PRACTICE."

TO. TftB EWTOK. Sir.-— ln your issue of the lsth inst.. yoiir Woodviile correspondent has a por-. tion of Bis letter written under the above, heading/ In reference td which with, your kind permission I will prove that the. only sharp: practice has been_ with, " Tour Own." In the first place, I deny the statement from beginning to end ; and I can safely say that it is a gross hbel on the Rechabites as. a Society. ■■« YourOwn" commences by stating that he haa inst heard of a smart action, &c, an* thinkyou will congratulate the Rechabites. upon having some amateur detectives, &c " YourvOwn" goes onto say tha^ the Licensing Act-came into force fl»j* day, whereas it. came into, force on the Ist October, and the supposed affair oc-curred-on the 14th inst: lie the fir st X Now for the second; '^And theKecha-bite-Society appoint four- members aa a .vigilance committee, to.watph the modest public boflse.'V I would hke L to ask " Yonr Own " where he heard that tale ; or, to put it plainly, He. "Pwsentljra ! boy with a bottle is seen going to the. f hotel, and immediately /our heads are laid together; m due course out comes the boy witha pint of beer for^fathers, dinner^ (his father is not m the district), when up rush the Temperance delegates, > sei*?, the bottle, draws the^ cork, smells^ (T wont say tasted) (and as well he didnt) and off- they rush to. inform the. police about the matter. 11 - The slatement concerning a boj going tc> and from the. : hotel and its being noticed by ti?o KecQabitea i.s what occurred, and all the pre-. vious statement m regard appomtmentof "Vmlance Committee Temperance delegates rushing to the boy^ informing, the police, &c.,&c, is a tissue of lies, and the imagination of the pubucans friend, "Your Own." The whole of the matterlies m a nutshell. I myself was m the shop of Mr. Walker, bootolaker, on the. day mentioned; thfe boy referred to went to and from the hotel, and to my certain knowledge no person spoke or attemW to interfere with, the boy ortl\e W*^

Following closely on the heels of the boy was mine host of the modest hotel. When opposite Mr; Walker's shop he stopped, and was then spoken to by another modest gentleman who is accredited wi»h being, ?• Your Own." So far the so-called Temperance delegates had not interfere d, but I understand that during the day Mr. Walker spoke m that manly straight forward, Christian manner, (which "Your Own" thinks would have been tlie proper course) and mine host pleaded ignorance that any such clause was m the Licensing Act. In conclusion, I would warn you to be careful not to publish such lying reflections upon a society or its members at the instance of a man who knows as little about V\ ood ville and its rechabites as be does about Palmerston. Further the . Rechabite Tent has been established here three years without being at loggerheads with the hotelkeejier, or having any wish . to interfere with him or his house; and! can safely speak for myself and the majority of Rechabites and Good Templars m the district m saying that they respect Mr and Mr. Murphy, and are Battened that m regard to the management, cleanliness, &c, of the Wobdville Hotel that it is second to none m Hawkes Bay, and we don't require a resident of about six months standing to tell us so. —I am &c, James Hutchins, Secretary Hope of Woodville Tent LOR., Wood ville Pioneer Lodge 10 G.T., and Unity »übdistrict No; 1 1.0. R. Woodville, Oct. 21st 1881.