RE-UNION.

Southland Times, Issue 1159, 5 November 1869, Page 2

RE-UN lON.I ON .

: (TO THB BDITOB OF THE TISMS;) ■ . Sic,—Tour contemporary, like, his quondam friend-. the watchmaker,. seems partial to old fables, and frequently gratifies,.his fondness for. such, juvenile reminiscences by retailingthem ad libitum. His leader!' rarely' appear without some little cock-and-bull story to " point the moral, .or-adorn J;he J,ale," and that which, anpearedr in v Tuesday's News: was no . eiception-, ispmeth.ingf like- ai^hird. of ft column being occupied with the nursery " sunny memory" of the for, the cat, and the; jhdunda;. .He J' lauds greatly the uaionisis for their singleness of aim and idea. ■.; •' They > kiio wj nothing^ care for nothing, hope^ -. for nothing dream of nothing^and limrfor nqthingj bufe their cherished ••.annexation."" *' In, this lie aays,,they.are .like thevcat^rOrimalkin, of course^which found her one device of going "up a tree'.';,far j more effective as avmeans,of escape from the " bloodthirsty hoiinda"—the public creditors— , than ji.ll th(B, shifts, of! Joxy.^JHThether the' feline illustratiott of }%c" situation " be a good brie or not, I won't pretend to say^ but it is at least suggestive^ of the fact that, should the party of which the^ News is the mouthpiece, succeed in their" designs, it wi^bJ^iß^V up a tree" with this unforMtfateT ''district. It is very candid of him though^ to admit so" frankly the narrow-mindedness of the entire reunion lot-^-just fancy, " one schemer." Besides, " cats is bad," they have few amiable qualities, and the, compliment of 'being likened tor such howling, treacherous " varmint;," will be duly appreciated by 'the champions of the causes The" necessity of the comparison" which led him to put the public creditors in the position ; of animals," was very unfortunate, and must have been excessively annoying. The vexation thus occasioned must, however,' have been instantly relieved, when it was observed what an excellent opportunity the necessary explanation afforded of informing the " great unpaid" that " our sympathies are with them !" Think of that, ye ravenous holders of " duly certified" but dishonored vouchers! Is it not worth all you have suffered to be assured by the News that "our sympathies are with you!" But really, Sir, it seems as if your contemporary could see no good thing this side the Mataura, and as for -there- - being anything like public moral!ty 6'or energy in the citizens of Invercargill, he cannot for a moment admit. For months the province has been run down to the lowest, and the townspeople besmeared with dirt. Every effort made by. them to better, the condition of things has beep stigmatized as a "political dodge," a "little game,"a "throwing of dust in the eyes of the people" —the annexationists alone constitute the "people" apparently in his estimation —" little manoevrings," " little tricks," or something equally honest and honorable. The latest phase of this incurable mania for depreciating everything connected with Southland is the tirade of aspersions and insinuations cast at those who have at last bestirred themselves to _ procure .ud much-needed municipal institutions. The News has itself ere this lustily advocated a muni. cipality, and in the very article above alluded to, quotes from a former one to that effect. Now, however, it suits its purpose to throw the wet blanket upon the project, and it does so in no charitable mood. With strange inconsistency, however, he concludes by refuting his own' arguments in the first place. He Bajs — <* Jt should be in the meantime distinctly understood that the question " —a municipality for the town —"is one altogether apart from re-union, and should not be allowed to interfere with its consideration in the slightest degree." Very well; everybody knew that without the News's dictum on the subject, ■ and, so far as I am aware, nobody has mixed the two but himself. Whence then the necessity for the insinuation that "it has been got up to divert public attention from a matter of 'infinitely greater importance," or by, what means has it been made " tolerably dear " that it has originated in any such desire. In conclusion, Sir, I think the Editor of the News would do something for ./his good —it would be a new sensation, too-— were he.to follow the example he> quotes in praise of his party, and quietly go" up a tree "himself for a short time, and leave "the people" to fight it out.—Yours, Ac., „ , Old Fox.