THE NATIVE MEETING AT WHAKATIWAI.

Thames Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 1888, 11 August 1874, Page 3

THE NATIVE MEETING AT WHAKATIWAI.

To the Editor of the Thames Advertiser. Sir,—l must apologise for. having gain to trouble you for a portion of your aluabb space, but " Your 0 vn's" letter i Saturday's issue requires answering, le does not aeemto haveeither washed " ; " lands or rinsed out his mouth since 1 ; ist he wrote, as he still emits the same ilackuuard abuse therefrom. .He "has-: nk-n umbrage at the expression " loafer" wed by myself, and he would like me to save my card at your office, so that he an have an interview. .It shall be done. ,ndhe can have au interview, whenever ie likes; but I would like to.ask him pliether it struck him to leave his card at,riur offi'-e when he used_ the word' • coward" in one of his assinine effusions •■; i giiort tira'i since, coupled with 'other . epithets. However, he cannot 'tiUo leiveit noi. '>ne tiling,however; ; :, i- Kns done, which myself and ,; the '' v mhlic are interested in knowingrand:* hat' is, his"-' acqu'iintiug.'i-'-usi: aS"tO'i' lis connexion with ~Mr . Mackay., t , Bit the careful way in which ~, ias„ worded- the information ,at ..once, jroc'laims its untruth. How hard, and ;; .mg he must have tried before he arrived.'' ■ it tile wordsthatwouldgivetheexactmean-;! ing he required, viz.:' Those that would, W, joustitute neither a contradiction fession. He says, "Mr Mackay hag>%::; :; business with me personal to : and I have no busiaess with him .<?■ ;- personal to me." Now-sir^the^public^., and myself can plainly see.that that isy only shirking the question. We don't want • to have somuchpemiwJify about it, weare quite satisfied that Air iVlackay does not pay his (your own's) butcher's and baker's -. bills, neither does he pay Mr Mackay's. ', That, of course, would be a personals, affair of theirs. But (if report speaks, ■ truly) we are nor, satisfied that "your own has not during his recent self-banishmenfc in a rural district, and during an honourable course of business there, allowed his coloured brothers to contract certain liabilities with him, which, he now finds very hard to turn into ciah—that is without any assistance -but which might be all set rig it if these little liabilities were only broken up and acknowledged r • by a Land Purchase Commissioner-such _, a3 Mr Mackay for instance. la fact, could 3uch a nice little arrangement be successfully carrredoufc, no amount of r toadyism would be considered too great a return. vVhy doe 3he : nof conn out with a gooi, clear, honest dcuial; instead of troubling himself to write to the paper feeble explanations of the charges made against Mr Mactay by yourself? Mf Mackay is much better able to answer for hiuiselt than " your own" is- to answer for him, and perhaps hew 11 be able to give the public a proper explanation of the charges male against nim. The public certainly will not accept "your owns" explanation of the mitter, an.l he is only -lomg «lr Maekiy harm by touting it up m them. .It rea.ly nua-ies me to see .to i entirely " your o.vn" ins g■■»'. iiolJ of.: he wrong eni of the' stick; :>ud he is under the impression that he tor..vs perfectly well who "Pucßaix" is, so to show him up without mentioning his name;'he tries to call up old recollections,-aid s >ys iliat" he left his country for his country's good, though at.the public expense,":' l making sure that the public will knowwno he means. He never was more mistaken in his life. But supposing, him to;; have been correct, he cannot say tha'tf- " t'hoe nx" was ever tried, convicted,;and ■{ fined £10 for sly-grog selling , to'the ' Maoris, or that the day following he had to apologise in au open Court to a, wellKnown nitive ohief of this -place for - : making use of a very strong expression wita regird to his stepmot'tur. ".'\ieither Jii ' Puouix' siiortly after take .up his aoode at a certain nitive' settUmmt, auX whilst keepiug a busa "pub" for a few,., nuuths tie did not contrive to mate him.r : , self so disagreeable and obuosious to the:,, natives of tie place that the chief had to ask the Government, thnugtr its re- '' preseutative.at a large public meeting; to' turn him out, at tne same time refusing' 'l to sanction his license, whereupon '• fhoaaix' did not soon after acknowledge '[' uiuiselt' to be a Good icmplar. It has a > beeu rum mred of him tuat in conaec..iia jvitn a certain storekeeper of this jlicehe coinma.iceJ distributing stores, , 560., ad libitum, ,to the natives, taiiing only their signatures for value., received. Or when a certain tiuropeatt ' uouestly and fairly bought a piece 0t,,;. laud at Jhinemuri known as the Komata,.,,; 1 piying for it in cash and not in stores, or, i orders, "Phceaix" did not, in theoha-- - racterof an alarmist, write letters to a*'_ certain newspaper of this place to'the 1 -' effect that sucn a thing onght'to be "' stopped at once, as Mr Mackay had.;, bought the land, and that there would be'' a row at Ouinemuri and danger was very imminent. Nor did " Phmaix" have the impudence to advise the ttesident Magistrate in the matter, thinking .thereby to advauce the interests of.his quondam ■ master- .No, sir, "Phceaix" did.not do,, any of these things. If ue had he would be more ashamed than to know that "he left his country for his country's good," and at the public expense. But rumour says that 'your own" did all these things, , which, if true, ought to cause him to re- ! member the old proverb that" those who live in glass houses should not throw stoues."—l am, Ac, Phojnix.