ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1319, 16 November 1880, Page 2

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

TO THE EDITOR OP THE OAMARU MAIL. Sir,—As my reply to the question, of Councillar Headland at the last meeting of Council seems to have raised the ire of soine of your readers, I will endeavor to explain what I really meant when I said the little word "yes.' ! By your correspondent's remarks, he would lead you to suppose that I am opposed to all tho,se that are wise enough to be o:\iyfnl and saving, This \ emphatically <H-viy, and who couM 4° otherwise, for we have only to cast our eyes about this %o\\'\\ and district and, J believe the Colony generally, and we - will see th:it the bulk of our merchants, farmers, storekeepers, and others, are those rhnt have raised themselves from Lhe ranks of working men. These, of a necessity, must have been careful, steady, saving men. My impression is that tho depression that at present exists is the result of our improvidence at the time of our prosperity, In giving my explanation I will ask you to exercise your imagination, by supposing that I have a person in my employ who hfla been with me, say sixteen years hjs. average wages W *U hp Lg Qs per week during that penqd, and, knowing that for many years ho has been a capitalist—that he has been lending money out at interest— -I should consider that the wages and interest, and compound interest that have accrued, would give him a sufficient income to &§ep him independent of daily labor, and in gomfort, the remainder of his days. I thinl? I should be acting justly and charitably in requesting him to retire in favor of a person with a wife and ohildren who were in want of that employment to give them the necessaries of life. For it must be understood that my man is a batchelor, therefore he has only his particular self to provide for. I must own to a slight prejudice against bachelors, and while I have the privilege of employing labor, either in my private capacity or otherwise, I shall always support those that have families to pyoyide for, Something was said in the Qou,ncil about reducing the wages. This I object to, as I think the wages of the working man are low enough, and I think the Government has done this class a great injustice. The high-salaried officials could have borne a larger reduction without interfering with their comfort. Your correspondent wishes to bring Mr. Foster into the discussion in some way or other, but I don't see the drift of hia remarks J have heard that gentleman speak once or twice, and he gave some very gopd advice on those occasions.—rYours, &c, J. J. Spence..

TO THE EDITOR OF THE OAMARO MAII* Sir, —I have read all the correspond? ence;which.has.appeared in your morning contemporary, also its leader anent the letter written by the Rev, J, Foster of

this town and published in a Lincolnshire paper. It is only just to expect that tho rev. gentleman will, by the outgoing mail, write a honest letter of retraction and a confession of indiscretion for having written so prematurely of what he is now pleased to term "a country of immenao resources, with a superb climate, its inhabitants given to kindly hospitalities and conditionally a country with a great prospective future." (Vide Mr. Foster's letter to North Otago Times in Saturday's issue.) I am glad the reverend Bir is. coming to his senses, and dreads having to make a compulsory exit from Oamaru when he writes thus :—" As a sphere of usefulness is apparently opening out to me here, my friends need not worry themselves that I am secretly plotting to leave them." Mark, he arrives in the Colony in January; in July he writes a letter highly condemnatory to New Zealand as a field for emigration for small farmers, and sweepingly characterises its inhabitants as grovelling in the lowest depths of immorality and degradation. In November he only begins to find out that "a sphere of usefulness" is "apparently opening out" to him hero. As it is rumored in Oamaru that the reverend gentleman has been making overtures to another denomination during the past two or three months with a view of leaving hia present little flock, we can understand the necessity for he telling them not to worrythemselves or be afraid that he is secretly plotting to leave them. Now, Mr. Editor, I would have the reverend gentlegan to be a little more candid in his next letter, and admit that, so far as he is now able to find out, his knowledge of bankrupt tradesmen or anything else concerning the Colony is limited. This is only just to thoso on-, gaged in business. As the last English mail brought prs vate information that the said latter is doing a great amount of harm to this Colony by actually stopping intending and eligible settlers from starting after making every preparation for setting sail, it is likely that the reverend gentleman will ba made answerable for his indiscretion in a manner which wijl prove very disagreeable to the author of the Spalding Free Press' letter. I am, &c., Tkadksman. Oamaru, November 15, 1880.