THE PANMURE HALL.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIV, Issue 3358, 21 April 1868, Page 4

THE PANMURE HALL.

I To tht Editor of tho Daily SouiHuur Cross. Sir.— ln the issues of the Daily Soothbrn Cross of the 10th instant and 15th instant, I find articles referring to me and to my charge. I tru«t, therefore, 'that you will kindly publish, at the earliest convenience, the following in reply. In the paper of the 10th in»t., a note, headed, "Th« Panmure Hall,! 1 and signed, "A Fanmure Episcopalian," insinuates :— • 1; That the establishing of the Panmure Hall was largely aided ty Protestant contribution!; "tnkny Protestants," im the -words of the writer, "giving money taaidJn building it." < • 2. That the money wits given with the distinct understanding that it vas to be a public hall, as is the one at' Ooehang**. ; ' - 3. 'That the though desirous of j its use for tbe soirSe held on Easter Monday, were not to have it :*aiad, hence, concludes the note, " I don't know wHer« the fault lies, butchers; is a great deal : of unpleasant feeling about it." r ■ ■' 1 . Again, on the 15th inst., in the~report of the goitre, the Key. F. Gould, Chairman, regrets that the exclusive course adopted by, and depending upon tho will ofj oue gsntlemsn, had rendered the hall

not a public lull, and had deprived the company of iti use on the evening of the party. The epithoti I must apply to these charges are, that they, are all disingenuous and false. , As to the "Panmure Episcopalian," my long acquaintance with the settler* in and about Panmure -Would not justify me \a regarding him as the "ab uno disce omnes " of the Episcopalians of the district.' And with. reference to the speaker at the ' soiree, hi« position would induce me to have expeoted better sayings. I have said that the charges are disingenuous and false. They are disingenuous, because they tend to make an unfavourable and a wrong impreision on the public mind with regard to myself and my flock. They are false, inasmuch as they convey to the stranger and to the uninformed that which is not true, as X shall endeavour to show. 1. The Proteitant Contributions : With regard to these, I maintain that the words of the " Panmure Episcopalian " would lead to the belief that they were something considerable ; but let them be placed alongside the estimate of the whole work, and it will be at once seen what claim there exists, upon the ground of money contribution, to entitle the hall a public hall, or what reason there is for botst abont Protentant contributions. The site of the building is a portion of a piece of ground purchased some years buck by Catholic money alone, at a cost of about £150. To the site, therefore, L think that not even the " Panmure Episcopalian " can establish, on behalf of Protestant interests, any right of claim. The estimated value of the hall and of the works in connection was set down, by competent authority, in the report of the opening day, at at least £300, and the whole of this devolves upon Catholic responsibility, with the exception of £5 15s. promised by the Episcopalian settlers, of which £3 bare been p*id,leaving due £2 15 a.; £7 12s. 6d. promised by the Presbyterian settlers, of which £6 12s. 6d. have been paid, leaving due £h; ss. promised by a Wesleyan and paid ; one day's carting, with one oait and two horses, by an Epucopalian, given. In addition to these 1 have received £3 9s. 6d. from workmen and sojourners who have mostly left the district. From this it appears then that the whole amount given by Episcopalian, Presbyterian, and Wesleyan settlers towards the building of the Panmure Hall amounts to no mure than £9 17s. 6d. and one day's carting— a sorry pittance for the " Panmure Episcopalian*' to call public attention to, when the hall account be fairly considered. With reference to these contributions from Protestants, I have selected this mode of replying to the "Panmure Episcopalian" as the least unpleasant; but I am prepared, if required, to publish the whole in extenso. 2. The " Panmure Episcopilian" states that the Protestants gave their money with the distinct understanding that the hall was to be a public hall, such as is that of Onehunga. Now, lam of opinion that,if the " Panmure Episcopalian" be a subscriber, he is alone in "the distinct understanding" ; for no man of experience in worldly transactions would be mad enough to call that public in effecting which all the business details were truly private. There ■were no advertisements in the public papers ; no public meetings convened j no general consultations held, consisting of the settlers in the village of Panmure and of the neighbouring districts ; no constituting a company, furnishing funds and holding shares for the due carrying out of the work ; nor, in fine, any of those leading circumstances that attended the establishing of the Onehunga Public Hall, or the hall at Otahuhu, or that are usually connected with the establishing of places intended for the convenience of } the public. All was canied out quietly and privately ; and the young men who acted as collectors -were instructed, — should they call upon any who were not Catholics,— -to clearly state that, whilst the h%ll might, on certain occasion*, be made to serve other purposes, its real object was to assist Catholic interests, and to be a place of meeting for the members of an institute to be fully formed so soon as circumstances will permit. Hence some parties declined to aid ; and, on the opening day, but very few indeed of the Protestant settlers countenanced the occasion by their presence, fully evincing thereby that they regarded the whole as a Catholic affair. The reason assigned by the Rer, F. Gould on the occasion of the soir6e is too frivolous for further notice. 3. With regard to the refusal of the use of the hall, I regret to have to say that, since my arrival in the colony, now close upon 20 years, it is the first instance of eucti an unfair and mean attempt to impair my influence and injure my position with the public. , . . . When the note of the 10th appeared m print, insinuating that the use of the hall could not be obtained, no application had been made. There was no reason to even suppose that I knew whether the use of the hall would be accepted or declined, even if offered without application. Three days between the publishing of the note and the occasion of the soiree were allowed to pass. Each day afforded convenient means of communication : still there was no advance, no explanation of the note, no application made ; all was quiet and silent except the tongue of slander, which reported the intention, on my part, of an opposition tea-party, or an exorbitant hire for the use of the halL At last, on Easter Monday, a party applied for the hall. I at once alluded to the unjust and discourteous way in which I had been treated, and replied that, as the question of the use of the hall had been opened to me through the public press, I could entertain no application until duty permitted me to answer through the press. I do thig now, and I avail myself of the opportunity to state that had the use of the hall been applied for in the right manner it would in all probability have been readily granted, with an arrangement that would have precluded future misunderstandings. Moreover, as the "Panmure Episcopalian" informs the public that " there is a great deal of unpleasant feeling amongst the Protestants about the hall, 1 request him to kindly make known to the frotestants that the circumstances which have originated this correspondence have induced me to form the resolve to return their respective contributions to all the Protestant subscribers, in order that henceforth the hull may be in name, as it really is in deed, a Catholic-Church Hall and under Catholic- Church management. Those Protestants, then, who have paid subscriptions will, I aincewly assure them, oblige me and give me peace of mind by at once applying to me in person, or by note through tne Famnure Post-office, for their respective sums ; and those who have not as yet met their engagements are from this date released from their promise. A» the "Panmure Episcopalian" has not defined whom he means by Protestants, and as he ranks with thd dissatisfied whilst he subscribes himself an Episcopalian, I have understood by Protestants all who are not Catholics : hence the introduction into this letter of Presbyterian and Wesleyan. Should any offence unwittingly be given, let bJame attach to those who originated the correspondence. I heartily wish to be in friendship witb, and to promote peace amongst, all ; and, to effect this, to be permitted to attend, myself, to my own business, with a desire to never officiously intermeddle with the busineis of others; and, whilst I should be happy to be treated, 1 am also prepared to treat upon all occasions my fellow creatures, without distinction, with fair play and due courtesy. Permit me, sir, to apologue for the length of this letter, and hoping to have no similar occasion to intrude upon your space,— l am, &c, H. J. Fynes, Catholic Pastor of Howick and Panmure. Howick, April 17, 1868. [This correspondence is now closed. — Ed. D.S.C.]