A REPLY.

Southland Times, Issue 703, 31 July 1867, Page 2

A REPLY.

(TO THE EDITOB OP THE SOUT TTT; ATO TIMES.) , Sib, — I notice that ,at a public meeting held at the Theatre Eoyal on the evening of the 26|th inst., convened for the purpose of enabling the electors of Invercargill to determine whether Messrs Lumsden and Eoss were " fit and proper persons " to represent them at the ensuing election, Mr G-eorge Lumsden was good enough to relate conversations which took place at various times ber tween him and myself. The ordinary conventionalities of society require that a private, conversation be held sacred unless the express consent that it should, be made public is first obtained. I think however, that the breach of such in the present instance ought not to be considered as a heinous offence against good taste. Amongst the North American Indians, and the Northern Maories, an innate sense of honor prevails, supplying the want of cultivation, but in the present case perhaps it "would be unfair to cavil at Mr iLumsden's faux pas ;^ every I man should be judged by the lights which have been vouchsafed to him. lam the more reconciled to this obtuseness as regards honor, on Mr Lumsden's part, by the fact that had it not been for these conversations, he would in reality have little or nothing to say to the assembled expectants. Sir Oracle would have been mute. In the dearth of amusement of any description so intellectual a tieat as the exposition of Mr George Lumsden's views on men, manners and things in general ought to be and doubtless is a subject of gratulation, combining as it did a display of the highest forensic with the greatest scenic powers ; affording everything which wa3 pleasing to the eye, and satisfying to the mind. . Under these circumstances I would not have considered it worth while to have noticed the little solecism in manners of which Mr Lumsden has been guilty, but with that ingenuousness for which he is remarkable, and which is one of the prominent features of the Southland patriot, he gives his own colour to the remarks wbich passed between us. This, coming from one of such intellectual and social weight and mark necessitates notice. During the session before the last of the late Provincial Council I used every endeavour to induce the Council to attempt to procure the construction of the Oreti and Mataura Eailways by giving a long lease ofthe Bluff Harbor and In vercargill line. In other word?, obtain if possible internal communication at no expense tothe Province, and atthe same time get rid of a liability in the shape of the Bluff Eailway, which, in our present financial position, we have no business to entertain. 1 will not presume to say whether such a scheme would have proved successful — the present low rate of money in the home market favors the supposition that it would— at any rate, iti was worth attempting for many

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reasons which I explained at the time. Mr G-eorge Lumsden was good enough to oppose my proposition, on the grounds that the Bluff Harbor and Invercargill Eailway was a valuable asset to the Province. I trust it may prove .so, particularly when repairs become necessary. The squatting members of the Council, with short-sighted policy also opposed, and the motion was lost. It must bave been about this time that the first conversation, treasured up in the valuable repertory of Mr George Lumsden's memory, took place ; that I never dreamt of so liberal a proposition being made by the General Government as the one submitted at the last session of the Council cannot be a matter of surprise, nor do I suppose anyone else in the Province could have divined the possibility of such. Could I however, have foreseen the prospect of such a proposal, I would still have advocated the leasing scheme. One ofthe great temporal objects while fighting the battle of life, ia to obtain something for nothing ; in this instance, if it could have been compassed, we would have procured a great deal for less than nothing. As regards the conversation relating to a want of confidence in the late Execntive, the remark I made was the result, not of any want of confidence in their integrity, but from a conviction that as then constituted too much labor devolved on one member, Mr Blacklock. The other members of the Government residing up country could not take a fair share of the work. Moreover, it appeared to me that the unanimous acceptance of the proposal of the G-eneral Government was of greater importance than - the retention of the Executive in their seats. This view was also taken by themselves when they promised to resign after the resolution was passed; to doubt the sincerity of their promise to that effect may be considered a good political subterfuge — it is none the less disreputable. I would imagine that the private or political character of any of the gentlemen composing the late Executive would bear comparison with that of their self-imposed censor, Mr G-eorge Lumsden. Ail experience of human nature tends to prove that those loudest and most constant in denouncing others have a weak point themselves; just as in a London mob, the pickpocket is the first to cry " stop thief." Had Mr Lumsden, instead of villifying others, confined himself to an explanation of what he had done since he had obtained "political power," given an exposition of his views as to the future, he would have been more likely to have obtained the confidence and sympathies of disinterested and impartial electors at the ensuing election. His colleague, Mr John Eoss, presented a marked contrast in this respect. lam Your's &c, W. H. Pearson.