DR. LAISHLEY AND MR DESMOND.

Auckland Star, Volume XXI, Issue 285, 3 December 1890, Page 4

DR. LAISHLEY AND MR DESMOND.

To the Editor: Sir,—With respect to the wild statements made by Mr Desnaond™ l»eb evening, permit me to state that I have bad no interest either directly or indirectly in any Patafcero land or Company eince June, 1885, when I sold out; nor have I ever owed the Bank of New Zealand or the Globo Company Is in connection with any Patatere land or any Patatere Company. I am not a eharebroker in the Bank (or the Globo Company) ; nor do I bank there. I write only because most) people mietake assertion for proof.—l am, etc., R. Laishlet.

Regarding the letter which Mr Desmond alleges to have been sent by Mr Mitchelson to the Employers' Association, the document bears the evidence of fraud on its face, and Mr Adam Porter ran Very little risk in branding it as palpably spurious on first sight. In confirmation of his conjecture we have received the'following state/nent sworn by the Hon. E. Mitchelson and Mr F. G. Ewington to-day:—

AFFIDAVIT BY MESSRS MITCHELSON AND EWINGTON. We, Edwin Mitchklsok and Frederick Geokoe Ewingtox, both of Auckland, in the Colony of New Zealand, jointly and severally, solemnly and einceroly declare— And first, I, the said Edwin Mitcbelson, for myself declare— 1. That I have read in this mornings "Now Zealand Herald," the report of the proceedings at the meeting of

electors of Auckland City, held last evening in Saint Sepulchre's schoolroom. 2. That in the said report appears a copy of a letter read qt> the said meeting by a Mr Desmond, and which Mr Desmond stated wai eignod by me. 3. That I never wrote, nor signed, nor saw such letter, nor any other letter of a similar kind. And I, the said Frederick George Ewington, for myself declare— 4. That I have alee read the eaid report. 5. That I never saw, heard of, nor received, the letter referred to by Mr Desmond,nor any other letter of a similar kind. And we, the eaid Edwin Mitchelson and Frederick George Ewingfcon, jointly declare— 6. That it ia absolutely untvue that any such letter, alleged to have been written, was ever received, seen, or heard of, by the said Froderick George Ewington or Edwin Mitcheleon. And we make this solemn declaration conscientiously bettering the sanie to be true, and by virtue of the provisions of •* The Justices of the Peace Act, 1882." EDWIN MITCHELSON. F. G. EWINGTON. Declared by the said Edwin Mitcheleon and Frederick George Ewington, at Auckland aforesaid, this third day of December, 1890, before me, James P. King, J.P, Note. —If Mr Desmond, or any person or persons connected with him, can prove that I havo even had any communication with the Emuloyers , Association, on political matters, directly or indirectly, I ehall be prepared to give up the contest for EScn. EDWIN MITCHELSON. We do not hesitate to say that this disclaimer will be accepted by every sensible man in Auckland against the assertions of Mr Desmond and his mysterious friend of the Employers' Association, whom he depicts as trembling in his shoes for fear of boycott, and at the same time acting as spy and traitor in the camp. The other so-called " secret" circular, which Mr Desmond read with such emphasis, there was no secrecy about at all. It merely notifies what has been advertised by Mr Ewington, secretary of the Employers' Association, in the columns of the daily press, that such influence as that party can bring to bear on the election will be used in favour of certain candidates. They are men to whom we are politically opposed, and we are positive that a large number of employers will reject them despite Mr Ewington and allthepowerandinfluence which Mr Desmond declares to be at his back. At the same time employers have a perfect right to torm an Association if they please. Such an Association has existed in Auckland among the master bootmakers for many years, and has been found of the greatest service to the trade union connected with that body. Similar Associations have been formed more recently among the butchers, the bakers, the printers and other trades with the express approval of the Unionists, who have pledged themselves under their rules to support these associations as the only safeguard against the cutting competition which grinds down master and man. Mr Millar, who holds the foremost position among the Trade Union leaders of New Zealand, has publicly upheld the formation of employers' associations, and intelligent working men who are alive to their own interests, must be heartily sick of the stupid tirades of Mr Desmond against the Employers' Association, and the slanderous attacks upon its secretary, than whom we believe there is not a more upright, honourable man in Auckland, or one whose word we would more readily accept.

By letter in another column, Major George denies the reckless allegations made by Mr Desmond against the Globo Assets Company. It was hardly' worth while to publish

such a denial in order to satisfy any man who is not a born fool of the untruthfulness of the wild statements made last night. The Globo Assets Company consists entirely of an English combination of capitalists. The money which it undertook to furnish the Bank of New Zealand with has been paid over, the estates transferred, and the Government coffers enriched to the tune of upwards of ;£io,ooo in stamp duty. Major George is as yet the only representative of the directors in Auckland, and he has only been back about five weeks. Mr Desmond must have a very low opinion of the Auckland working men—even the extract quoted abovedoes poor justice to his sentiments—if he supposes that he can persuade them that the Globo Assets Company fished Dr. W.allis out of Lucas' Creek, and Mr Adam Porter from the Elliott-street factory and put them forward to fight the company's battles. The suggestion is too contemptible to discuss seriously.

It is now for Mr Desmond to satisfy the public that he is the victim and not the author of the imposture which has been attempted. But a still more awkward task is set him by Mr Adam Kelly, of the AntiPoverty Society, in a letter published on our second page, in which he charges Mr Desmond with barefaced literary piracy in a paper on " Christ as a Social Reformer," which he has foisted upon the public as his own. The issue of the " Twentieth Century," dated New York, April 27th, containing Van Deusen's paper, from which the extracts were made, has been shown us by Mr Kelly, and there can be no mistake about their genuineness. Readers may institute a comparison with Mr Desmond's effusion for themselves. We leave that gentleman to wriggle out of the dilemma as best he may.

But enough of this miserable business. We have never approached any subject with more £enuine regret, or written under a deeper sense of pain. For a period of twenty years we have fought, and fought successfully, in Auckland on the Liberal side, against class laws and class distinctions. The North was the hotbed of Radicalism in the old provincial days ; it has continued so ever since. Its contingent of men who owed what little they possessed to personal industry, has sometimes been the butt of the nabobs of the South, but they have made their influence felt, and will do so again. We have too profound a faith in the justice and certain triumph of sound principles of progressive Liberalism to stand by and see the cause imperilled by a resort to disgraceful tactics; and though the shock given to the public conscience by last night's attempted imposture will doubtless be severe, we earnestly entreat the great body of Liberal electors to discriminate between the unwarrantable action of irresponsible persons who thrust themselves upon every worthy cause and the; cause itself.