THE LEEK AGAIN.

Evening Post, Volume XIX, Issue 110, 13 May 1880, Page 2

THE LEEK AGAIN.

Our evening contemporary haa again been obliged to "eat the leek." A week ago it published the following gross paragraph : — " The Hawera correspondent of the Taranaki Herald, nnder date of the 3rd instant, says : — 'It is rumored here that Sir Dillon Bell has already entered into negotiations to secure for himself a large part of the reserves on the Plains.' If this be true it will, seeing that Sir Dillon ia one of the Royal Commission who recommended the extravagant reserves to be made, afford a curious and instructive commentary on Government by Eoyal Commission. We trust, for the sake of New Zealand's reputation, that the rumor is unfounded." A more offensive imputation on a gentleman of honor and high political standing could hardly be conceived, and our contemporary, on its own admission, deliberately omitted a portion of the telegram, to the effect that the report was discredited at Hawera. It was not to be supposed that so vile an insinuation could be passed over, however obscure might be the paper in which it was published, and our contemporary received a communication which speedily produced a most abject recantation and apology, published last evening. Of course it is quite right for a journal which has recklessly slandered a public or private individual to retract the falsehood, whether on compulsion or not. Still it is rather unfortunate for a journal when it is obliged to " eat the leek" so very often as our evening contemporary had to do.