The Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 1877.

Oamaru Mail, Volume II, Issue 389, 25 July 1877, Page 2

The Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 1877.

It will be remembered by nearly every man, woman, and child in Oamaru —for it is a circumstance that will not easily be obliterated from the memories of the people of this town—that, at a meeting of the advocates of the Strath-Taieri railway, held on the 3rd of this month, Mr. Leaky, the gentleman who has just been invested with the honours attaching to the office of Mayor of the chief city of the Colony, spoke as follows :—" It occurs to me that it is to the interest of the people of the interior to have communication direct with the principal city in the country, so that their grain, if they export it—as they are sure to do—may be sent down to the principal port of export. If the produce they have grown has to go down to Oamaru, what difficulties may have to be met with there 1 A heavy northerly or southerly wind springs up, and the signal is hoisted, 'Out to sea, everybody.' And then you will find the Oamaru people saying to the Government, ' You have allowed this railway to be made, and expended such a large sum of money upon it, you must now make our port a safe port, otherwise your expenditure will be unproductive because people will not ship there.' That seems to me conclusive in favour of the line lam proposing." Mr. Leaky is now on a visit to Oamaru, and, we are informed, lie to-day for the first time inspected our harbour works - What Mr. Leaky's feelings were when he saw how cruelly he had wronged Oamaru, and realised the fact that he had been guilty of a fault that can rarely be ascribed to that gentleman, those who are acquainted with him can readily conceive. Mr. Leaky, no doubt, thought he was uttering the truth when he gave expression to the ideas above quoted, and now that he has discovered that otherwise is the ease, he will, if we are not greatly mistaken in that gentleman's character, hasten to make reparation. We are as sensitive and jealous as the people of Duneciin in matters affecting our commercial interests ; but all we ask for is that the truth be told of us and ours. What if we were to call the Danedin harbour a succession of mud banks i How would its citizens like that I But "we wouldn't do it." Courtesy would hold back our pen from making such a statement with reference to Dunedin, whilst common regard for truth should deter people from disparaging our harbour. It is not too late for Mr. Leaky to make peace with his own conscience, and withdraw the statements of which we complain. Standing on the Breakwater, he has seen how we are, by a headland, protected from southerly, south-easterly, westerly, north-westerly, and northerly winds, and how our substantial concrete structure, in conjunction with what nature has done for our harbour, oilers perfect safety to shipping. Assured, as we are, that Mr. Leaky is as anxious to make the amende honorable as we are to have his damaging statements retracted, we ask him to do so now, either through the Press or in any other way that may to him seem best. Mr. Leaky is known to be a man of sound judgment and probity, and such statements coming from him are calculated to prejudice our harbour in the minds of the people of the Colony.