COL. M'DONSELL TO COL. LYON.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume X, Issue 295, 8 November 1875, Page 4

COL. M'DONSELL TO COL. LYON.

Wellington, Sept. 25, 1875,— Sir— I .beg to acknowledge your letter enclos- ' ing me the copy of a letter you have received from Mr Brissenden, con ta taring insinuations against my oharacter as a gentleman, and asking me to fursnish some' explanation of the circumstances. On Monday evening last, I .was sitting by tbe fire, in company with some gentlemen, when a knock s came ' to the door of the bouse. I ex- ; claimed; " There's a knock," and went to t! a door and opened it, when a man said, "Does Colonel M'Dounell live •"here ?" I replied, " Yes, lam Colonel M'Donnell." He thtn banded me a note, saying, " This is for you." I took it, and said, "All right." He then , went away, and I closed the door. I held ap the note to the small lamp that ' I kept burning in the ball, and notioed 1 my name written in pencil, or what was intended for my name. It was for "Col. Mac Donald." I took the letter into the room where I had been sitting, >. resumed my seat, and opened the envelope i the light was rather dim, and I could ecarcely make out, but I took it ' co to be a letter of warning to myself. I asked Mr Plympton, the master of the house, to help me to decipher its contents, when we found it was addressed to Mr -Brissenden ; we could not make out the signature until, showing the letter to Mr Cameron, he at once said, J* It is from J. S. Macfarlane— -that is 'his signature' plain enough." I was completely staggered aod oould not

comprehend it. Presently, I asked Mr Plympion to come with me into my room, and we consulted over tbe affair. I had some idea of returning the note to Mr Brissenden at once, but from the nature of it, and knowing he had denied some statements made by me before the Tairua Committee, I paused to think. I thought I would show the letter first (as it had been brought to me) to Sir George Grey, the Chairman of the Tairua Committee, and ask his advice. After my conversation with Mr Plympton, I left and went straight to the House of .Representatives ; upon near ing the building I met MrSheehan. I said, " Can I see Sir George Grey 1 I must see him at once, if only for a moment,'- Mr Sheehan fetched Sir G. Grey, and then left us. I told Sir George what had happened, and asked bim what I had better do with the note. Sir George Grey said, " We will speak to Mr Sheehan, he is a lawyer, and he had better advise yon," or words to that effect ; and Sir George went end called Mr Sheehan back. Mr Sheehan said, " Let me ace the note,*' ahd be read it. I said, " What had I better do V He replied, " You had better he prepared to bring up the note before the committee to-morrow." I then left ; the nest day I did not appear before the committee. On Wednesday I saw Sir George Grey, and said to him, " This note bothers me, I think I bad better send it back ; I don't like •keeping it any longer," &o. Sir Geo. ; Grey said, " You had better take some legal advice, and consult with Mr Sheehan first." I afterwards saw Mr Sheehan (I think it was the next day), and said, " Mr Sheehan, I am going to send this note to Mr Brissenden : it contains good advice, and he had better have it." Mr Sheehan said, " Yes ; that is the best thing to do with it. My advice is, yon had better send it back to him." I thonght it prudent, under all the circumstances, to take a copy of it; so I copied it myself, and asked Mr Meredith to certify to it. I then wrote a short note to Mr Brissenden, and enclosed him the letter addressed to him, giving it to Mr Meredith to deliver; and this is all I know concerning the matter, until I was told yesterday evening (I can scarcely write it) and to-day, that it was reported all about the town that I had taken Mr Brissenden's letters from off the club (able. I cannot express by words tbe deep indignation I feel at the abominable insinuations cast npon me, and which have beea co freely circulated in Wellington yesterday and to-day. I have not been asked for my opinion, but it has been gradually establishing itself in my mind, till it passed into a firm conviction, tbat the whole thing is a deep-laid and foul plot, that would do credit to a fiend, to cast infamy and disgrace on my name. Thie ia cot the first attempt made by the person wbo has written to you, air, to entrap me, but from which I was rescued, it eeems to me, by a chance. I only hope, sir, if I cannot insist, that all I have said be thoroughly investigated, and tbat no means be left untried to sbow up the truth. I feel, and have felt, that I have been fighting aa uoeaual b»ul« . «.f-i„*„, ctiuugiron~ my side it nas been truth aod honesty agaicst falsehood and deep, unmitigated rascality. — I have^ &c., Thomas M'Donnell, LieutColonel N.Z. Militia. MR. BRISSENDEN TO COLONEL LYON. Wellington, October 7, 1875: — Sir —I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a letter of the 29th September, with enclosed copy of a letter from Lieutenant-Colonel M'Doanell to you, in answer and explanation to, and of mine to yon, of 23rd. September. I beg to inform you that it is my intention to publish all the correspondence connected with this subject. — I have, &c ,E. T. Brissenden. LieutenantColonel Lyon, Acting Under-Secretary of Defence, Wellington. *** ' i — — "■■