THE TOKOMAIRIRO SCHOOL.
TO THE EDITOR.
SIR, — The Herald of to»day asserts he is not accustomed to bandy woids with any correspondent, least of all with an anonymous correspo n * dent, and yet he devotes about a column and a half of a leading article in reply to my letter which appeared in your paper of the 3rd instant* I feel proud of the exception th 6 Herald has made in my case, or at least perhaps I ought to He wants a personal introduction to me, but he won't get it. I'll confess to you the reason. You know there are certain vile creatures, Which, when pressed by a powerful pursuer, and when they find ordinary weapons of defence insufficient to shield them from their just punishment, have the power of emitting a very offensive stink which has the effect of checking the adversary. Such is the case with the Herald ; it carries its stink-pot, " John Smith," out of which it casts its stenclr upon .all who are too powerful for it. So Ion? as I am concealed I am safe, but lefc me once show face, tbe more innocent and powerful I am, the greater would be the stink from the polecat. Having thus explained, to the satisfaction of the Herald I hope, the reason for my anonymity, I have to express my satisfaction that my former letter has had the effect of leading the Herald to abandon " the promised continuance of our articles on the school." This is the only spark of prudence the Herald has manifested for some years past. In his previous article he said, "In that institution (the school) some 450 children are being educated at the cost of their health." In my letter I said "I believe the number of scholars attending the school is Under 350, "but a few hundreds are neither here nor there with the Herald." The Herald now says,. " Our authority is Mr Hislop's report . . . We know better than any anonymous correspordent, the statistics relating to the school, but we also know this, that the average attendance was 275, and the number in attendance at the end of the year was 371 " I would readily admii that the fferald knows better than me, but I won't, as in that case his own figures would prove that he penned a deliberate falsehood. I prefer to assume he knew nothing about it. It lets him off easier. The Herald wishes to refer the matter in dispute between us to Professors Mac gregor and Coughtrey and Mr George Bell, and undertakes, so soon as I and another correspondent give our names, these gentlemen will be requested to view the school. I have given my reason for witholding my name, and I don't see that it; is necessary I should give it in order that the gentlemen referred to may be asked by the Herald to view the school. lam quite satisfied as to the state of tbe school, or if anything is wrong I have confidence in the Committee that they will put it right. I had this confidence in them when I sent my children to attend the school, and I have never hep.rd any complaints. Besides, I am not aware, what pretensions the gentlemen named have to experience in the way of ventilation and drainage operations. I suppose the men are respectable, but before sub- ' nutting the question to their arbitration I would require to know whether they are Centralists or Provincialists. The Herald says bad drainage and bad ventilation is solely owing to Provincial* ism, and if the gentlemen are politicians they may be prejudiced. But the cause of the evil is now removed ; Provincialism is abolished, and thus drainage and ventilation will now be all right, so that the proposed arbitration is rendered iinnecessary. Centralism and good drain, age for ever ! Cheers for " John Smith " and ventilation ! If I were to name an arbitrator I would, in my simplicity, name the Herald, which made a wonderful drain upon an establishment across the street some time ago, and the subject has now been thoroughly ventilated. I think, therefore, he ought to be a judge of drains. I believe, however, that so far as the Herald is concerned, the effluvium and other terrible things he complaiis of, emanate from within, from his own putrid mind and corrupt feelings, the effluvium from which is sufficient to produce both mental and physical nausea wherever its influence extends. I warn him that if he inflicts upon the teachers his threatened articles about their salaries, he will stink them out of the place. At all events he should wait till the holidays when they can get out of the way. — I am, etc., A MILTON BaTBFATBB. Tokomairiro, November 14, 1876. P.S. — As the Herald inserted mv last letter, I trust it will be in keeping with his " ethics of journalism," that he should publish this reply to his article. • .
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Bibliographic details
Clutha Leader, Volume III, Issue 123, 17 November 1876, Page 5
Word Count
825THE TOKOMAIRIRO SCHOOL. Clutha Leader, Volume III, Issue 123, 17 November 1876, Page 5
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