THE LAKE'S PETITION.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 11, 2 December 1863, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE LAKE'S PETITION.

The following sensible article on the absurd arguments of the Dtinedin Telegraph and Witness is from the Wakatip Mail, :— •' The miners on the Wakatip field hive every reason to be proud of a certain portion of th* 1 Dunedin press. The call made the other day by the Telegraph upon the miners to hold a public meeting, and speak their mind upon the '* celebrated Petition" has been responded to with a venggavce. The meeiing at Arthur's Point, however, did not exactly fulfil the desire of the Telegraph. They looked upon matters from quite another point of view. If our contemporaries are not now satisfied, then all we have to say is, they ought io be. "The Solons of the Wakatip Mail" and the '' three tailors of Tooley -street " have resolved themselves into several hundred diggers ; men sirong of will, and earnest of purpose to carry out what they have begun. The Telegraph persists in dinning into our ears that the circumstances of Otago will bear favorable comparison with oilier colonies. Mr Gillespie, in his speech on Monday night, answers that argifment very satisfactorily, and we now beg to say further that the argument is not ranch nepded. It was never known in Victoria that a whole district was held at the mercy of one man for the staple article of food. It was never known in Victoria that the lands were held so as to prevent population settling, long after they were virtually in possession; and in addition, we lake Uie liberty of saying that it is a fool's argument to tell any man to grin and bear it, because bechances to be only a little betler off thfin a badly used neighbor. The insinuation that the miners here are disloyal is best met by the conduct of those at that meeting. It will be long before the Queen receives in any portion of her dominions a more spontaneous tribute of respect than the one then paid her. "The old rocks " did ring, and we hope that the echo of that ringing cheer will tell to our rulers that the days have long passed for miners taking any but legal steps to redress their wrongs. It is unjust and untruthful to bring a charge of rowdyism against a body of men who are seeking redress for their grievances in the way that the law prescribes. So far as regards the somewhat ridiculous charge against ourselves, we have only to say that tiie allegation that the Petition emanates from us is best refuted by the declaration of the miners themselves on Monday night. We do not think that recrimination is conducive to polite literature ; and while doing our best, therefore, to shew the fallacy of our contemporaries' arguments, we will refrain from saying anything oersonal : we can generally manage to cxpo.=e their bad logic, and knowing this, religiously refrain from calling them bad names. With reference to the " Wakatip agitators" we can oniy say that such do not exist ; we can assure the people of Dunedin that there never appeared in the world a more long-suffering race than miners in general; and we can say for the miners of this district * after a good deal of daily contact with them, that they are the mildest men in the Province. Half the iniquities of which they have to complain, would have driven the citizens of Dunedin mad. We further say that no taunting of the Dunedin press will ever provoke the miners here into breaking the law; but that they will fight, and win their battle through the means of" peaceful and constitutional manifestations." That they will win their battle we feel assured, and our contemporaries feel the same assurance, no: withstanding their attempt to throw ridicule upon the miners and their Petition. It will be long before we again see so many hard handed men leaving their work, and conducting a meeting in the way the Arthur's Point men did. The speeches may be criticized, and if our contemporaries ciioose to put them in juxtaposition with the forensic displays in the Provincial Council, we do not think that they will lose much by comparison. Is it likely that the men who addressed that meeting are " rowdy aud unthinking?'' We have one word to say to the parties who got up that meeting. Thpy have managed to brinorup^n themselves a most signal do feat, and it is very- likely iliat their popularity will suffer amongst their fellows. We advise them henceforth to make the interests of their class their study, nor think that all their compeers are fools. There is not a miner in the district but is capable of judging of the necessity or otherwise of signing the petition; and to attempt to drive into the heads of a whole district 'hat they have been making fools of themselves is a hopeless faslc, On'Mvord more to ouv contemporaries, the Wit?iess and Telegraph, and we have done. We advise them to get up their next meeting to oppose the Petition at the Dunstan. Lot it, for instance, be held at the place which the diggers have so much reason to remember in consequence of the monstrous Hill charges for crossing — let them try their chance there, and send ' timely word to Arthur's Point of their j intention, and ws will guarantee that they ] will be met, and as signally defeated, as j they fvere on Monday ni?ht. I