TOWN BOARDS V. ROAD BOARDS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1173, 3 May 1884, Page 2

TOWN BOARDS V. ROAD BOARDS.

TO THB JSIUTO*. Sir, —I am sorry that my friend Mr Coltman should have so far lost hii temper as to unfit him to simply acknowledge he made a mistake,- or, at at least, explain what he meant by the statement he in reported to have made at Mr Tripp's banquet, ' That steps were being made to do awav with Road Boards and establish Town Boards in their place.' Instead of doing this he launches out into a personal attack upon the character and motives of his opponent. Now, sir, whatever may have been the motive of the writer of the letter in your issue of th» 26th April, there can be no two opiuions as to the feelings of Mr Coltman when he wrote his reply. Evading the qeestioa at issue he allows his bile to ovsrflow in the vain hope of befouling his opponent.. He says he is charged with making the statement, re Town and Koad Boards referred to above. Who charged him f He ii simply reported in yo«r paper, sir, to have made the statement, and he does not question the correctness of that report but tries to get away from it by saying ' I am charged,' as if the charge was not true. Had not Ms remarks, through the medium of your widely circulated journal, gone forth to the district, no notice would hare been taken of thew. They would hare had no weight outside the mouth of the speaker in the placa where they were made. But when, sir, through your papar, psople at a distance hear that attempts are being made to do away with Road Boards by the establishing of Town Boards, they would wonder what hallucination we were suffering from had not this statement been dented* If Mr Coltman did not wish to mislead he could easily have qualified his remarks, or, when he found he had made a mistake, he could have written in your issue of the 26th April and have explained what he meant to have said. Bat no, sir, this would not have suited his purpose. He is running a candidate at the coming Road Board election, and if he could have got people outside of the town of Geraldine to beliere that a clique was formed to abolish the Road Board it would have helped him whom he has kindly taken under his sheltering wing and perhaps have secured his election. But, sir, we are not going to have dust, thrown in our eyes this time. We, and the wbole of the Geraldine and Temuka districts, know what to expect from Mr Coltman's candidates. To his personalities I shall not reply. I know, . from experience at the last election for the General Assembly, that he has aa especial aptitude for this line so I shall leave it to him. In concluding, I mult object to Mr Coltman's inferences, and to la's endeavor to find out and apply the antitheses of my nom de plume, because, sir, his premises are not sound. Suppose .1 had signed myself ' A Fool,* he could not conclude he waa wise, be- * cause in opening his reply to mine of the 26th April he admits his stupidity. As Mr Coltman does not always sign lih name to his letters, I shall still remain Anti-Parasite. Geraldine, April 30, 18S4.