THE REV. MR SCORGIE.

Evening Star, Issue 11863, 17 April 1903, Page 2

THE REV. MR SCORGIE.

AND THE LICENSED VICTUALLERS’

ASSOCIATION,

A COMPLETE APOLOGY TENDERED

The following correspondence has been handed us for publication: 4th April, 1903. Rev. W. Scorgie, Mornington. Dear sir,—We have been instructed by the Licensed Victuallers’ Association to write to you in connection with the speech delivered by you at the Garrison Hall on the 20tb ulto. That speech, as reported in the ‘Daily Times’ and ‘Star’ of the next day, contains the following statements."The chief end of the pubiican and brewer was to make money at the expense of men, and by ruining men. . . . They would find the whole trade stand solidly as an ally of crime, as an ally of prostitution, as an ally of murder.” The plain meaning of these words is that all the brewers and licensed victuallers in Dunedin carry or their business in such a way as to promote murder and other crimes, and also prostitution, and are themselves the allies of criminals and prostitutes. This, as you mustknow, is a slander on every brewer and publican in Dunedin, and unless Vou arc prepared to withdraw the charges thus made, and apologise for having made them, some members of the Association will bring actions aginst yon to vindicate the trade, and to recover damages from you. We are sure that on reflection you will recognise the injustice you have done to a number of respectable, men-—and by implication to their wives and children as well—by levelling such monstrous charges against them, and that it is your plain duty to make what

i.-pr/ition you can in the matter. Our clients can only believe that you were burned into making such reckless statements in the intoxication of your own eloquence, and that on sober consideration of the matter you will regret the wrong you have done, them, and will hasten to make the amende honorable. We shall be glad to receive a reply from you at an early date, intimating wiiat you are prepared to do in the matter. —We are. etc., Mondy, Sim, and Stephens.

The Manse, Mornington,

Bth April, 1905. Messrs Mondy, Sim. and Stephens. Dunedin. Dear sirs,—Your letter of the. 4th April duly to hand. In some respects lam glad you have written me, because I owe the public and the Licensed Victuallers’ Association an explanation and an apology, less for what I said than for what I .am reported to have said. Of course, I know it is very difficult to condense a twenty-minutes’ speech into a thrcc-minutes’ paragraph and keep the connection and continuity of the whole sjrcech. In the report you quote it has not been done—indeed, could hardly have been done in the space. Let me deal wi(b what I said. In my notes, “The chief cod of the publican and brewer was to make money at the expense of men ” is a complete sentence. The next phrase, “by raining men,” was used in another sentence and with another subject. In contrasting di. publican and the Prohibitionist I said :

" The Prohibitionist . . . can never be called p'-!fish nor blamed for making money by rnla’ng men. The next sentence you compLi'i of is the one I also complain of, as ii: i.s far too sweeping and far too strong ns n ported. I never said “They would find tlie whale trade stand solidly as an ally.” ■tc., (11 because ‘‘stand solidly” is not a phrase 1 two: (2) because in my opinion it is not true any more than in the opinion of vonr clients, and I could not sny a thin? I bdieve to be false. In my notes the sentence runs tints; “It (the trade) is an ally of gambling, prostitution, robbery, and murder.” 'Flint is practically what I said.

••'■rtainly not the other. Ynnr clients assert Hn.'t I referred in that sentence to “The Trade.” I admit at once that from the phrase “the trade” it appears so. But all ’(■much tnv speech I used the phrases “the drink traffic” and “the trade” as synonyms- and interchangeable. I carelessly "•icol that “The Trade” is the accepted business designation of the L.V.A., so that '■' dun speaking of the drink traffic in the •••briraet, as one speaks of the slave traffic, hr using the phrase “the trade,” instead of Ihe phrase “the drink traffic,” I created (h'yjmpression that I referred to the L.\.A. : therefore. I openly apologise to die L.T.A. for carelessly using an accepted In sin«ss designation—“the trade’—for the '..eueral expression, “the drink traffic.” As to tiro meaning of my words, yon sav ihat I make “all the brewers and licensed victuallers in Dunedin carry on their business in such a way as to promote murder and other crime.*!, and also prostitution, and are themselves the allies of criminals and prostitutes.” In my wildest moments I never dreamt such madness, because (1) I co not know a single brewer in Dunedin ; 1 2) with the. exception of a very few, Ido not know the members of the' L.V.A. in Dunedin, and the few I do know are, as far as I do know them, worthy men and good citizens; therefore I could not mean what you say, nor is your reading the plain meaning of my words. What I did mean was that when men and women were, under the influence of drink they would turn the more easily and eagerly to commit these crimes to get more drink. An illustration that exactly expresses my meaning is given in If,think) Mondays ‘Times.’ A young man (Eccles), who had been drinking,'broke into Iris sister’s house, stole her clothes, and sold them to get more money to buy more driuk. Thus drink, or the' drink traffic, was the ally to his crime. The other counts m the accusation can be similarly dealt with and illustrated.

Thus T have tried without quibbling or equivocating to explain my statements! I am sorry to have offended any members of the L.V.A., but I scorn the charge of having wilfully slandered them. I am also sorry I cannot give them the satisfaction of a full withdrawal and apology. To do so would be to sacrifice truth and falsify my own conscience and character bv admitting that I knowingly spoke a lie. I hope this explanation will end this unpleasant episode.—l am, etc.. War. Scop.cit:. P.S.—I am sending a copv of this letter to the ‘Times’ and ‘Star.'—W.S.

9th April, 1903, Rev. W. Scorgie, Morningtom Dear sir,—We have received yonr letter of yesterday’s date. You say that you owe the public and the Licensed Victuallers’ Association an explanation and an apology less for what you said than what you are reported to have said. It is unfortunate that you did nut take an earlier opporlumty of protesting against the way in which yonr remarks had been reported and the construction which had been put on them. In the leading article in the ‘ Evening Star’ of the 21st March attention is drawn to your “intemperate remarks” and reck Jess language,” and one of the passages of which our clients complain is treated °by the writer as making a charge against the whole trade of the City. Why did vou not protest at once against your remarks being construed in this way? Further in the fetter signed by Mr J.‘ J. Connor that appeared m the ‘.Star’ of the 23rd March the same construction is put on your remarks—“the Rev. Mr Scorgie accused all hotelkeepers, os a body, with being allies of clime, including murder and prostitution” arc Mr Connor’s words—and vet you allowed this to pass without a word* of explanation or protest. We propose to bring the matter before our clients again, but before doing so we should like to know from vou definitely what position you take up in the matter We understand from your letter that you Jiad no intention of reflecting in any wav on the character or conduct of the Dunedin brewers and licensed victuallers; and that, so far as it goes, is satisfactory, bnt it does not go far enough. Whab we wish to know is this: Are you prepared to withdraw any remarks that reflect—as some of your remarks certainly do —on the character and conduct of the brewers and licensed victuallers, and apologise for having made them? We accept your assurance that yon had no intention of wilfully slandering the members of “the trade,” bnt on yonr own confession you used language which appears to us to reflect seriously on their character and conduct. And ■we ask you to say, in effect: “ I regret having used language which can be construed as reflecting on the character and

conduct (.j (lie brewers and licensed victuallers in Dunedin, and 1 apologise for having Used such language. I had no intention of making any personal attack on the brewers and publicans, because as far as my knowledge of theta enables me to speak I believe them to be worthy men and good citizens.” Are you prepared to write to ns in these or similar terms?— Yonrs truly,

Mondj, Bim. and Stephens.

The Manse, Mornington, 11th April, 1903. Messrs Mondy, Sim, and Stephens. Dear sirs,—Yours of 9tb inst. to hand. I thought what I had said would satisfy you. But as I had certainly no intention of making any personal attack on the brewers and publicans, I am quite willing to do as you suggest. I regret having used language which (as reported) can be construed into a reflection on the character and conduct of the brewers and licensed victuallers in Dunedin, and apologise for it. I had no intention of making any personal attack on them, because, as far as my personal knowledge goes they are worthy men and good citizens.—Yours sineerely', Wm. Scokgee.