ANOTHER.

Patea Mail, Volume III, Issue 214, 28 April 1877, Page 2

ANOTHER.

[to the editor of the patea mail.] Sir, —I must confess that I cannot make head or tail of part of Mr Middlemas’letter which appeared in the columns of your paper of the 25th instant. Such a rigmarole I never heard tell of before. He has made porridge of it, by mixing up such a lot of other nonsense—to wit, Spence Hoad cutting, the Manawapou bridge, the Manutahi bridge, and all the metal for the road in and near Carlyle. Hid any sensible man ever hear tell of such a stringy-bark yarn ? Another part of his letter put me in mind of an old adage—of cutting a man’s head, and afterwards giving him a plaster; but Mr Middlemas gi\es a whole poultice. To quote his own words, he says —“ I explained to him that he had a very exaggerated notion of what I did say, but that if I had unnecessarily wounded his feelings, 1 was very sorry for it.” Again, ho says, “ From what I saw and heard of Mr Joyce, I came to the conclusion that he was not at all corrupt. 1 was sorry I said hard tilings about him.” This is what the Yankics woidd call soft soap, or cutting a man’s head, and then giving him a plaster. I emphatically deny Mr Middlemas’ assertion, that I confessed to him that 1 was influenced by Mr Sherwood ; nor do I think that the other gentleman, whom he drags into it, will corroborate his statement. And strange, but still true, Mr Middlemas never mentioned a word in his letter about his asking me to go and have a drink with him, and say nothing more about the matter, which kind offer I declined. The conversation that took place between Mr Middlemas and myself, I am ready and willing to repeat before the Council or the public at any time verbatim.

What I demand of Mr Middlemas is—by what right, law, custom, or tradition does he justify himself in making use of the abusive and iusulting language he did, to me or to any other man, in their absence. Has Mr Middlemas got a license for vituperating others as he may think lit ? This great man, who is an honorable member of the Patea County Council, and Chairman of our Education Board, is allowed, under the roof and protection of the Council chambers, to indulge in any language he thinks fit, or that his imagination gathers. Do our British laws not afford protection from the tongue of such a man ? I certainly must say that Mr Middlemas is a credit to himself, to the Council, to the Education Board, and to his constituents and to the public generally.—l am, &c.,

RICHARD JOYCE. Whenuakura, April 26, 1877.