FANCY BALL.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XII, Issue 829, 8 June 1855, Page 3

FANCY BALL.

To the Editor of the Soiithorn Cross. 'i Sir, — In the ' New-Zealander's ' issue, of Saturday last, there is an article headud " Fancy Ball," which t states that " his Excellency, Colonel Wynyard, and , Mrs. Wynyard entertained a large party ot the colonists to a Fancy Dress Ball, at their residence, on Thursday j last." Now I beg to protest against such a false statement being published to the world without contradiction. That his Excellency tnd Mrs. Wynyard gave a fancy dress ball may be quite true, but that they entertained a large party of the colonists is not true. What object the writer may have had by atating that which he knew to be notoriously untrue, is not my present purpose, nor have I any wi»h to detract from the brilliancy of the assemblage which was present, or from the hospitality of their host and hostess, but merely to correct the false impressions which must be convtyed to parties at a distance by such false statement. The real fact of the matter is that his Excellency Colonel and Mrs. Wynyard gave a private ball, to a few of their most immediate friends, which comprised the officers of Her Majesty's service at present stationed in Auckland, together "with a few of the present numerous officials and government clerks now in office, and but a very small sprinkling of colonists indeed. I cannot believe his Excellency ever authorised the affair to have been made public, certainly not in the manner in which it has been as representing his having entertained a large party of the colonists. Yours, &c. A Colonist. June 4, 1555.

To the Editor of the Southern Cross. Sir, — My attention has been drawn t"> a letter, in your paper of the ISth instant, headed t( The Mammon of unrightioumes again," and signed " Neither Mammon nor Gammon," quoting extracts from the proceedings of the Provincial Council. \iz, " Mr. Hill had held office under the Government at home, and if such a letter had bean sent to him he would at once have resigned. If such messages were sent, they would get no man of common honesty to hold office." I did use these words, and more which you have not repotted. Please permit me to correct them, ii», "That they would get no man of honour or common honeity to take or hold office, and that the hon. member of the Executive who conveyod that false statement to his Honor the Superentendent, which induced the message conveying a false imputation upon the Council, de->ervod the severest censure of the Council," the truth of which the writer has not attempted to arraign or deny, but after some jeering observations, on titles, provincial honours, &c, requests you to ask me what department benefited by my abilities, or whether " that " vile jade report caluminated me, when she said I belonged to a class of the Excise who rejoice under the denomination of q augers. Allow me to deny his statement. Report never did say so. It is a creation of the writers own disappointed imagination. Nor did I ever hold office in the Excise Department, but I have known gentlemen who did, and who by the strictest sense of honor and integrity in ail their conduct were promoted to ths very highest rank in the Revenue Departments of Ireland, and who would not degrade themselves by chastising such insulting I sciibblers, except as they would one of the canine speces. It is well known to several here what offices ! and rank I held, and if the writer has not been a pubi licly convicted blnnderer or the odour of his calling too foetid to keep him out of decent society and is not ashamed to make himself known, he can see in Mr. John Williamsons hands a few of the commissions I have had the honor to hold under the Crown, of such high trust and responsibility, that I waf under nearly £20,000 security for one of them alone, also testimony ials presented to me both substantial, and written from the highest rank in the Nobility, Gentry, Clergy of the Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches, Merchants, &c, &c , as also from the persons who held sub-offices under ma, for nearly t wenty years, such as will mako him stare, hide hib demolished head, *nd exclaim let us part in peace, I could not havo thought it, I have never seen the like, no, not even in New Zealand. I have only further to say iftho writer thinks by such unmanly attacks to deter nic from discharging my duty " fearlessly, independently, and conscienciously," either in or out of Council, ho has mistaken his man, and he may sciibble away, I will answer no anonymous writer. I am, &.C. J.VM7.3 C. Hill. Hillsboro, June 4, 1555. [Mr. Hill's former position in society is a matter of little consequence— it may bo well estimated by the style and tone of his own letter. Tho statement made by the Executive Officer was hterly correct.]

To th* Editor of the Southern Crots. Sir, — Permit me, through tha m»ilium of the 'Southern Cross,' to state, in an-uvor to a letter in last Saturday's ' New-Zcalander,' signed " Bowie Knife," that Bowie Knife's statement is as false as it is malicious and stupid. And when bowie knife or shoemaker's knife thinks proper to gire his name, which may in fact be ■ as ugly as the one he assumes under which to throw falsehood in the eyes of the public, then the writer of this will authenticate its contents with hit name also. He or she, for it might be au old woman, a'*ks " what farmer in the neighbourhood of Onohunga employed two men for the public service of hawking a paper about that A-illage, on Tuesday night last, for signatures to a petition to his Excellency th« Officer administering the Government, praying him to dissolve the ProYinciftl Council ? &c, &cl" In answer to falsehood the first, the paper was not a petition to dissolve the Council, but one to dissolve both Superintendent and Council, and a<? such bears the signatures of some who supported Mr. Whitaker at the last election. Neither was theren name attached to it for two hoivrs before sunset, ao Tuesday evening, though Tuesday evening is mentioned as the time of hawking. The writer must bo a pedlar or a cobbler, who thinks he is justified in hawking malicious scandal or cobbling unfounded falsehood, to impose on the eyes of a discerning public. Now may 1 ask bowio knife was there not a counter petition hawked on that day ? Were there not men I could name, collecting subscriptions to defray the expanses of the last election. Ondays previous men to paste up the yellow slanderous hand bills, but yellow wanted a deeper dip; then it would be the colour revered by Mr. Bowie Kniie's especial friends ; not the many but the few! the latter are acquainted with'the kernel,tha former but with the shell of the game they are playing. "Were these yellow boys pasted up in broad day light, openly? at the petition was hawkod among all who ought to be desirous of progress and prosperity, not tha working men walking about idle burdened with large families. Will Mr. Bowie Knife inform the public how many men have been idle in Onehunga these months past, or whether the few employed on public works would remain there, suffering every indignity, as well as leaving their homes before dny, to support their children in honesty, without a breakfast ha.lt" hour, or even their wages weekly ? With regard to tho payment of the hawkers, v. ho paid the bill stickers of last election ? (vote for Whitaker and the Land Regulations). I tell you, Mr. Bowie Knife, they are not paid yet, though they expect it. The subordinate, uninitiated tools to a factious machine are told when the money is collected they will be paid. Mr. Bowie Knife, has any one lately applied to you or any of your friends for compensation for loss time ? or did you ever hear tell of a travelling printing press, to throw off impressions on yellow ground at 7 miles distance from Auckland— a ruse to save the honour of an honoured printer ; that the mulatto placards were not born in Shortland-street. Now, Mr. Bowie Knife, confess you cut a hole in your own yellow cause, a truth which will a little extenuate for the fibs you committed to the columns of the ' New-Zea-lander. Until I get another cut of the bowie knife, I am, &c. Old Scissors. P.S. — The base insinuations contained in the last few lines are unworthy of notice by any honast man. Onehunga, June 4, 1855.

To the Editor of the Southern Cross. Sir,— l learn from the ' New-Zealander,' of tho 19th inst., that " the groateit bore in creation " is a "strictlylegal government." I have heretofore thought that a nanow minded sectarian journalist is such. Perhaps we are both mistaken; nevertheless I presume that no man in his senses would ask the ' New-Zealander any such question. It, self-prompted answers its own questions ; proclaims the fulfilment of its own prognostications,

and pats its own baA ior tho advice it gives to the public. No thanks to the ' New-Zul.mW ' aid its p-r y, v-e have tho basis of a " strictly legal vent," and ir« character is paternal. Its great aim is to reprcs, all wrong; to protect the weak ngxinst the poweilul, so that e\ery man, however humble or obscure his station J in society is, he may enjoy his civil and religious rights in peace and comfoit. A strictly legal govenmont is framed upon ho law of God. Its highest attribute is. justice. Mo^al icctituib is its sceptre, and uivler its b inner brethren dwell together in unity. By the new Constitution, granted by our beloved Sovereign, the rights of tho people are placed in their own hands. In the exercise of those rights they have elected their own Superintendent to represent them, and protect their rignts from the usurpation, of any uresponsible power. Between a free people and their representative head \ relative duties are involved. In the discharge of his i duties the people should protect him from annoyance, 1 insult, and persecution, by those whose pecuniaiy in- ■ terests may be affected by a chango from ii responsible to 1 the more popular form of responsible government and ' free institutions, or bj those whose broken vows to the , best ot causes, render them the ready instruments of evil. That his Honor the Superintendent is the willing advocate of rv.iponsible government and free institutions is well known. It may be seen m his fr.mk extempore statement at the hustings, when soliciting the sufforages of tho people for the Superintendence, he said :— " This occasion is one pregnant with important results to the present and future welfare of the Province, and is desei ving of th,o gravest consideration. By the Constitution Act, every elector is eligible for the office, and you were entitled to select from th» whole Electoral 801 l any one you thought proper." This is the language of freedom to fieo men. For tho language of despotism and insult tee tho ' New-Zeulancler,' 13th April, 1853. The so called unflinching advocate of the inte:ests of education, mor lity, and Christian missions thus write? : — " ThoreJ should be an of all parties in the choice of a Superintendent, and we must confess that notwithstanding our knowledge of the principles and past conduct of a selfish and mischievous clique, which have been perpetually meddling in public affairs and trying to establish its own supremacy over the public nund. Yv'e had hopod that this consummation stood a fair chance of being realized when we saw a gentleman brought forward, a\ ho, perhaps of the whole community, was one of the least identified with political party, and whose career dining a long residence in the Province docs not present a single point from which a suspicion agninst his integrity and impartiality could be taiily inferred. That Mr.' Bartley was first in the field and that therefore a second eondidate could enter upon it only in the attitude of an opponent, strengthened our expectation that in this part of the introduction of the now Constitution, the tranquility and harmony of the Constituency would not be rudely disturbed." "What excellent logic ? llo'v befitting a leading spirit of the rotten hundred of Wesleyan Methodism ! How fit for slaves ! But how disgraceful to free men, in the latter part of the ninteenth century to allow themselves to be so insulted and see the axe laid to the tree of liberty, at the very moment it is planted in our soil. The first act of the new Constitution was to elect its Superintendent, and the Wesleyan Methodists — to use their own words — " with as little noise and delay as possible," put their man into the field and claimed the field as their own. They said :—": — " Mr. Hartley had been first in the field, and that therefore a second candidate could not enter upon it only in the attitude of an opponent." On the contrary, Mr. Brown said :—": — " Every elector is eligible for the office, and you (the public) are entitled to select from the whole Electoial Roll any one you think proper." And common sense says yes, not only the " first in the field " or the second or the third, but as many as you please, and give a fair chance to all. Mr. Barlley is too good a man for the ' New-Zea-lander and its party. He would not allow himself to be hawked about from pillar to post and from post to pillar agaia, blowing his. own trumpet, proclaiming the good deeds he had already done, and promising how much he would do, if the people would be kind enough to put him in office,— not he md&ed, ho could not buy the Superintendeney at such a price. Ho is a gentleman of far higher order, standing upon much higher ground. Consequently tha ' New-Zealander and its party forsook him, to fawn at the feet of Colonel Wynyard, with tho fulsome panegyric on their tongues, " we find in you a combination of qualificationt such as certainly are not united in any other person." Colonel Wynyaid's reply shows how the flattery wrought upon his heart. He styles it " a very flattering invitation," and after stating his views of the office he says :— " Still I have felt compelled by various considerations more than onre to decline to allow myself to be put in nomination." Hence it seems he was pestered with the question*, until lured by the magic music of foul idolatry he fell. • * * The cltse of the poll shows that Colonel Wynyard, with a combination of military influence, official influence, and clerical influence, p'ollcd 922 ; Mr. Brovrn, despite all these and every species ef foul opposition, polled 820 ; majority for Colonel Wynyaid 102. The •• New-Zealander,' 2nd July, 1853, says :— " We heartily congratulate the friends of gocd order and the real progress and prospeiity of the Province in this result. They have escaped a great evil, for none but the wilful blind can fail to see that had Mr. Brown been unfortunately oloeted, the distrust with which he would have been regarded in such an office as that of Superintendent, by a largo number of the most enlightened and influential of the" colonists must have operated with tho most injurious effect on the general interests of the community. " The general interests of the country have been much more injuriously affected by the wilfully blind ;" leaders of the blind,* whose high position in society should have kept them above all partizanship, but 'who being in honour abode not." Elated with pride, dizzy with the eltvation, and fancying that they were the men to whom belonged the right to appoint our rulers, and dictate our duties, tkey rushed into the vanguard of political electioneering, and made such n hub-bnb about the ears of the victim of their venge .nee as naught but priestcraft could Taise. In utter despair of help from any other quarter, they fell at the feet of Colonel Wynyaid and besought his aid in the idolotrous language before mentioned. The baneful effect of their conduct is not quite fully known. Sach is Weileyan Methodism; but its palmy days are past, yet in the bitterness of disappointed aspirations it continues to fulminate its anathemas at Mr. Brown, Mr. Superintendent Blown, &c>, &c. i About two years since, the ' New-Zealander told us 1 that: — "The nature of their opposition is such as to insure its perm anencc. It would not be overcome by Mr. Brown's achieving success at the poll. On the contrary, its temporary discomfiture by & popular vote would probably in\ est it i\ ith a character of more stem inflexibility." Such is Wesleyan Methodism I Out of its own mouth we condemn it, and pronouuee it the league spot of Auckland. Under the hollow pretext of watching over " the general interest of the community " its pestilential breath poisons the moral atmosphere, and turns a fruitful land into barrenness. It never originates any good, but watches with an evil eye the good of others to destroy it. The circumstance of Mr. Brown's friends presenting him with a silver vase and salver, in token of respect for his piivate character and moral worth, was simple in itself and injurious to none, but the malevolence of Wesleyan Methodists' opposition could not allow it to pass without insult and burlesque. See 'NewZealander' 19th instant. On the 12th March, 1854, a public meeting was held in the Hall of the Mechanics' Institute, by the Auckland Association for the prevention and suppression of Intemperance and Immorality. At that meeting, an humble individual suggested to the Chairman the propriety of adding to the means already embodied in one of the resolutions, that of a much wider distribution of the Scriptures than New Zealand had hitherto experienced. Upon this simple occurrence, the''New-Zea-lander,' on the 29th following, wrote a long, stupid article, in which it exhibits a little knowledge of Biblic History, and a perfect acquaintance with the crooked •' courses "of the serpent and his wily arts. In the only extract I shall make, he recognises the " cloven foot," as readily as if it were the principal feature of his family escutcheon. He says :—"lt: — "It would be no ra«e sketch of fancy if we were to describe a case in which tho cloven foot of private spleen and vindicativeness vras revoltlngly visible beneath the hypocritical robe of offected zeal for tke purity and efficiency of a good undertaking." Such scandalous interference with public opinion would cause any cheek to blush except that of the Methodist Magi, who with those tools of their craft, the Bible in one hand and the " cloven foot " in the other, are' fully equipped for mischief. When they strive to debar a citizen from obtaining his civil rights, then no tool suits them like the Bible. When others — not tkey — suggest the distributioa of the Bible, among the means of promoting good and suppressing evil, then their evil eyes descry the " the cloven foot of private vindicativeness." Shame on such professors of religion. Traduction of character is their element, and in it they wallow. Yours truly i G. Vailb. May 28, 185.3.