Mr Pownall in Reply.
[to the editor.] Sir.—By your courtesy, as being the tait day before the election, I have beensnown the manuscript ot a letter (if it can be dignified by that name) from the Rev. Robert Wood on the Bubject of the dressing down he and Mr Glover received at the Theatre Royal on Tuesday svening Just. If the public will look at his letter they will note "rafnau' r and other choice explethes, which come exceedingly well from an occupant of the pulpit. Had I objected to these terms, Sir, probably you would have Btruck them out, but I did not object as 1 can afford to laugh nt the pigmy and his darts and permit him to go on injuring himself and his cause by his extremely silly c3!iluct, and by his rushing to extremes in a most unguarded manner. He attempts to explain among his broad statement " that he had repeatedly sent orders to the - hotels in Masterton to prorub men with food and lodging, but had tound in every case that the men came out far worse than they went in" by a most lamentable and lame explanation, which does not in the least remove the impression that the rev. gentleman wentjtoo far, put his foot in it, and was A 4 up, and he will, t feel me when I the hotel keeper's BtatemenWPcorrect until it is refuted by something better thau the my. gentleman has yet brought forward. It is curious, too, that thisexpla ation was not. forthcoming at the meeting where the rev. gentleman met with such a severe handling. If the rev, gentleman feels a pain beneath his little vest by reason of the strong physic that he received at the public meeting, let it warn him to pause in future before he tarnishes his position, however good his cause may be, by an interference which creates discussion and ill-feeling among people *lio have lived amicably and well in this tow. for a considerable number of years, undisturbed by such extreme agitation as is now, it seems, the order of the day,—l am, etc., C. A. Pownall.
The Late Debate[to the editob.] Sir, —In common with the mass of the people of this town I attended the monster meeting called for the purpose of fully and freely discussing the various aspects of the drink question. In > common with those present I had naturally supposed that the debate would be of an exceedingly interesting nature, that the Secretary of the Moderate Committee, who had made bold' to challenge the representatives of the Prohibition party, would be fully prepared to advance all the logical points possible in favour of the intelligent party to which he belonged. I had also naturally supposed that the Moderate party would exercise discretion in their choice of men to do battle on their behalt, in short, men of recognised intelligence and of good report. In common with everybody, I w»s sadly disappointed. Mr Walker evidently assumed a position he was totally unfit for. Not a single argument worthy of notice did he attempt to adduce, and beyond succeeding in making a painful exhibition of himself and of the commonsense and intelligence of the party he represented, he did nothing to move the minds of the unrffcsed present. After holding forth of five minutes, Mr Walker sat down amidst the applause of all the assembled " topers " present who held him as their champion. In due course Mr Walker was succeeded by Mr Pownall who, to a still greater extent, succeeded in holding his party up to public scorn and deiision. This rash inconsiderate youth foolishly mistook the plaudits of a few small boys and unthinking men at the rear of the pit to be the approbation of - the assembled multitude, and consequently iaunched out in a tirade of rude personalities, thoughtlessly imagining the while he was demolishing bis opponents, and at the same time advancing the cause of the Moderate Party. Mr Pownall was also a failure, at least, as far as his party was concerned. His demeanour on the platform did more for the cause of Prohibition than all the rhetoric that the eloquent Mr Glover could command. Now, Mr Editor, I would appeal t J you it* it is a fact that the thiMtgentlemen who spoke in opposition to the principles of the Prohibi tion party are a fair reflection of the sentiments and principles embodied by that party. Surely the cause is a weak one that cannot, in this intelligent community, command a sensible champion to plead its virtues. Surely the ratepayers present at the meeting detected the hollow assumption of moderation on the part of the " Moderrate " candidates. The whole deportment of the " mob" very clearly indicated that the gentlemen occupying the unenviable position of ««moderation" candidates were, after all, merely the nominal representa tives of the beer shops of the town. In conclusion I would ask, will the ratepayers of Masterton place confidence in a body of gentlemen who have not the courage to publicly express their convictions on a question of vital importance to the community, bnt also must rely on three gentleman to discharge that duty for them, three geatlemen who through gross ignorance of the subject they tackled, clumsily played their party into the hands of their more skilful opponents ? _ I am, &c, James Comvay.
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Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XII, Issue 3879, 6 August 1891, Page 3
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895Mr Pownall in Reply. Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XII, Issue 3879, 6 August 1891, Page 3
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