THE PROPOSED BENEFIT.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 9182, 13 August 1895, Page 6

THE PROPOSED BENEFIT.

TO THB EDITOR OF THE FHKSS. Slß,—l beg, on behalf of a large portion of the citizens of this city, to protest, against the motive, the spirit, and the tone of Mr VVoodhouse's letter in your issue of Saturday last. Mr Wallace, having acquired a great reputation as a violinist in England, came to New Zealand some yean ago and threw in his lot with the fortunes of this city, with the result that we have benefited by his presence and teaching to an untold extent. His qualities as a gentleman, an organiser, and a musician are sufficiently well known, and I shall content myself with helping Mr Wood house's memory by reminding him that Mr Wallace assisted gratuitously at the Wairarapa Relief Fund concert, aud on another occasion, viz, that of a blind man Fielding or Fielder by name, I forget which, and doubtless he would have assisted oftener in this way, but for the fact that in his case there ie less need for cheaply advertising his wares in this manner. By the way, I did not know before that Mr Woodhouee and Mr Weir were such bosom friends—ret Another instance of the cool assumption, o> ■ *«is would-be reformer. We have had his <_-j ;aions on corsets and on babies' binders, now we have his opinions on charity, together with various ungenerous remarks about a brother musician. Odds ! gut strings and stomach notes, where ia it all to end ? I would in all sincerity suggest that, should Mr Wallace decide to expend his "benefit , ' on charity, it would be, from a charitable point of view, best spent in providing this meddler with a fair outfit and a ticket for New Australia, or ecme other plaje equally remote.—Yours, &c, Mus'cgs.