The Temuka Leader SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1882. MR MENDELSON AND THE PRESS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1005, 16 September 1882, Page 2

The Temuka Leader SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1882. MR MENDELSON AND THE PRESS.

The conduct of Mr Julius Mendclson at the meeting held last Wednesday in the Wallingford Hotel was most extraordinary. It took every one by surprise. So that it may be properly understood we have undertaken to put the matter plainly before the public. The meeting had been called together principally to elect Provisional Directors to float a company for the purpose of developing the linseed industry ; there was nothing to be said or done, as the Chairman (Mr Talbot) pointed out. which was not fit to go to the public, and in our opinion there ought not to bo. The public arc to be called upon to invest their money in the project, and we think that they have a perfect right to know the good and the bad about it. But Mr Mendelson thinks different. He holds the extraordinary view that the public have no right to know anything about it, and in order to carry out that idea moved in effect the expulsion of reporters. While connected with journalism in various parts of the colony we hare seen a good many public meetings—more at any rate than Mr Mendelson has seen —we hare been present at the launching of many a project, and we have always found the people very glad to sec representatives of the Press present. Now, supposing the meeting of last Wednesday had adopted Mr Mendel son’s views, and constituted itself into a Star Chamber at once, what would hare been the result ? Siaaply this : the public would lose confidence in the project, they would think that there was some” thing underhand, something that could not bear the light of publicity going on, and when they were called upon to take up shares, they would not do so. What could the public say but “ you have concealed everything from us, we know nothing about it, and we will not take shares.” Thus anolboi viciim would hare been added to the list of industries which have been strangled in their inception in this district, everyone knows by whom ; and thus one of the greatest sources of wealth that it would be possible to start would have been destroyed, Is it possible that Mr Mendelson is so devoid of common sense as not to sec this ? or can it bo that he tried to get the reporters expelled fer Ihe very purpose of putting an. end to the thing. He gave no reasons for his conduct, and consequently we can only conjecture what lie was aiming at. “ Taking one consideration with another,” however, we do not think he bad fliir sinister inir-ntien of destroying tin' pro jeel , Mr MemMson i- * man -Those brad is (till ol lads and erratic notion- with whir!'* common ■ .sense can can have no sympathy, and he really, we candidly believe, did not see the harm he would do if he could. Mr Mendelson was not aiming at the ex pulsion of reporters ; his conduct was

! too transparent. We saw what lie was i driving at,” plainly —what he wanted was to got the representative of this I paper turned out of the room . That is ! the secret of the whole thing, He did i not care a straw whether the company i llcnted or not if he could “ score a ! point” against him. Well, the way he , wont about doing so showed how extraordinarily shallow-minded lie is. lie said in efleet to the mooting, “ if you eject ! reporters I will take more shares than 1 anybody else, and I will use my influence to float the company, which is j greater than any canvasser you could j employ, but if you do not 1 will have i nothing to do with it.” Wo do not mean to say that these are the exact words he used, we only say that they express (he meaning of what lie said, and we now ask : can he hi* a man of sense, or ot sound understanding who thus insults a meeting hj first offering inducements to adopt his views, anu next, issuing a threat if they no not ? He first tried to seduce those present by offering to take up more shares than anybody else, and also his influence, if they ejected reporters, and then threatened to have, nothing to do with it if they did not, This cculd not he looked upon otherwise than insulting, for it was as much as to say ‘‘ you can’t get on without me,” and the meeting resented it by not one in the room supporting his view, If Mr Mendclson were a man of tact, or reuse, he would not have

adopted this method. We fancy he might have been able to shut out the reporteis if he had only had some b’ttlc gumption. If he had told the meeting quietly thatjit would be better to discuss matters in committee first, and when they had arrived at a just estimate of the project allow it to be published, we have very little doubt that his view* would have been adopted. But Mr Mendelson had not the tact to do so. ile tried to frighten them with his money, but it did net do. But any man, who has a vast amount of money has a vast amount of brains, and consequently Mr Mendelson must bare a vast amount of brains, so there is; no use in saying he has not ; but if he were poor no one would believe h ehad. Mr Mendelson made a personal attack on the representative ef this paper: He tried the same thing at the previous meeting, evidently witli the intention of crushing him out e-f existence. Hr Was taken no notice of on either occasion, and he did not crush anybody. We will now let Mr Mendelson into a little secret, and it he had known it before perhaps he would not have been so awfully bumpt'ous as be has been. At the first meeting, when gentlemen from all parts of the district were being selected to be written to, somebody suggested to invite Mr Mendelson as he was in favor of the movement, but it was unanimously agreed that it was better to keep him out of it if possible, and so he got} no invitation. But Mr Mendelson attended without an invitation, ani sat as dumb as a pump, until the meeting began to scatter without anything being done. When the thing appeared to be falling through for want of information on the subject. Mr Twomey put a few questions to Mr Pearce and succeeded in eliciting the information that was wanted. Now why did not clever Mr Mendelson get this information first? He did not, but as soon as Mr Twomey brought it out Mr Mendelson jumped on him, then began to build on it, took all the credit to himself, and Ins name was submitted as a provisional director. Supposing Mr Twomey had reminded the meeting there and then that it had been decided Mr Mendelson should not be in it, and asked him to leave, how would he hare liked it ? And Mr Twomey did not publish it in his paper either, as he might have done if lie were so anxious to abuse Mr Mendelson as that genllcmanwould have people to believe lie is. Can Mr Mendelson now see that we do not do all we could against him. Mr Mendelson accused a certain journal of abusing him, and of course lie meant ourselves. We deny that we ever abused Mr Mendelson, Fair criticism is not abuse, and we certainly never exceeded its bounds. We defy him to show that wc ever called him any name except the one he is known by, or that we interfered with hie private affairs, or his private life, or his past career, or in any way whatsoever that was not jiisfifFd by his ciiriduri, He is imf.wtuiiKp’ iu in>l b.'ing whip to appear iu ! public in any rapacity with.nit laying liiinsclt open to criticism, ari l in fact to ridicule. Ho is suffering from an infirmity that leads him into the delusion that lie cannot make a mistake, and this inordinate conceit in the infallibility of his own judgment makes him commit the most egregious blunders, frequently to the disadvantage of other people. He has also a most inveterate habit ot

i being in opposition to every movement that is sat on foot, for what reason nobody knows. We have frequently asked what interest he can have in opposing everything, and no one can tell. What could be more erratic than his conduct in connection with the linseed move- j men I ? He was enthusiastically in favor of it at the meeting which Mr Pearce attended, but in reply to the invitation to become a provisional director be wrote declining to take a prominent part in it at present, and yet he went to I the meeting, and ie(t again in indignation because reporters would not be turned out of the room for him. Ho is (ho junior J.P., and according to Court etiquette he ought not to sp.-iab at all except through the Chairman, hut in violation to this rule lie scarcely gives the Chairman any opportunity of speaking, he does it all himself. Thus, wherever wc come in contact with him he is Sir Oracle, ho must have Ids own way. If be exercised his extraordinary talents in the management of his own 1 affairs, no one aught to interfere with him, but when he meddles in every-! thing, and inflicts hardships on indi- | riduals as well as injures the district, I we say that it is the duty of a public j journal to expose his doings, and that ' the journal that would not do so would j, be to the intorc,stg of itg read- i ]

ers. We have been frequently aeked to point out blunders made by him but w« have declined. The proceeding's of the Court last Monday have been the talk of the town, and we have been taunted with having neglected our duty. We are getting sick and tired of pointing out Mr Mendelspn’s • mistakes —. it was very well for a? time, but it is becoming monotonous' from its frequency. When .he gave £5 towards the Timaru Belief "Fund we praised him up for it ; we gave him credit for feeling an interest in the school—so as to show him that if he did

' : * j I' 3 1 goodj instead of mischief, we |would recognise it. We had great hopes when we saw him taking an interest in the linseed movement that he was on the right road to reformation, and congratulated ourselves on being iqstruraental in bringing the reformation about. We were preparing to praise him handsomely if he deserved it, in fact we should be very glad to have an opportunity to do so just for the novelty of the thing, but bow can wc ‘lib it when he does not give us the opportunity ? If anybody knows of any praise worthy actions of. his and.giye os an account of them we shall be most happy to publish it. 1 We arc afraid we shall not get the opportunity, as he seems getting worse every day. There is no hope of it, at any rate, .until' Mr Mendelson opens his eyes to the fact that are passing up and down the street, and moving about the town in every direction at every hour’> in s the day, hundreds of men who know far more than he does, and who have common sense and can form a far more practical opinion on things than.he can. When ho can realise that there - are cleverer men than be living, when he ceases to be a creature of impulse and gives himself time to think, when he gives subjects mature consideration instead of jumping at conclusions, he may become a useful citizen* but never until then. And there will be a linseed factory, and « paper mill, and atKakahu mine, and a harbor at Milford established before then. Now there was another subject. A few weeks ago we took a petition around in favor of the railway to Kakshu. Everyone signed it except Mr Mendelson, who characterised the construction of itas a disgrace. There was a matter, which every man in this district was iu favor of but Mr Mendelson. But we let this pass, and did not abuse him in the paper about it. We let hundreds of things pass the same way sooner than be at him every day. We have only to say that we never ’ abused him, and if he has been criticised he has only himself to blame.

CATTLE STEALING. - Bridget Leonard Ryan, the wife of Ryan the levautcr, was brought up-in Timaru last Tuesday charged with ca'ttle stealing. The evidence was to the effect that James McCormick, a laborer, had a heifer gracing on Ryan’s farm at the. Washdykc, and that Mrs Ryan sold the (infer to one Jo'm Denip'tj without Uiantliorir/ of McCormick. ’I lie solicitor fur the accused submitted that > th p re

. was uu evidence to corroborate JJeuuehj is statement that lie gave £1 lor' the heifer, anil on thO, wo supple, the case was dismissed In answer tc this we may say that Dennehy’s oath was enougli when there was no oath to contradiet it, and that evidently a miscarriage of justice took place, which will inflict hardship on a great many people. Ryan lias .swindled every man in the district that ho could, and Mrs Ryan was aiding and abetting his rascality. She had about £3OO in her possession when arrested, and if she had been even committed for trial it is possible that Ryan might have been got at, and that honest people would have been able to get their own onto! him. But Justice’s justice lias allowed her to go free, and no hope remains now for the creditors.