HE WHO EXCUSES, ACCUSES.

Hastings Standard, Issue 157, 28 October 1896, Page 4

HE WHO EXCUSES, ACCUSES.

[To The Editou.] Sir, —The Rev. John Hosking, in attempting to excuse the conduct of the Prohibition leaders, accuses them. I have made certain statements which I have substantiated by proofs; Mr Hosking does not disprove anything—he simply denies. That is not sutti-cii-nt. It is matter for regret that he should have such a faulty memory. Let us recall the Taylor-Collins incident to his memory. lie says he was present at the Opera House when T. E. Taylor proved his contention that the votes of the publicans, prostitutes and blackguards of ('hristclmreh returned Mr Collins to Parliament. Now what are the facts? Mr T. E. Taylor endeavored to explain that he did not specifically state that these votes were recorded in favor of Mr Collins : in fact, he shuttled miserably and said : " I saw these people (publicans, prostitutes, and blackguards) brought to the polling-booth, saw them in company with Mr Collins' supporters, and then-fore the only conclusion I could come to was that they did vote for Mr Collins! *' \Ws this proving his statement up to the hilt'? Bui I am so used to this shuttling cn the part of the Prohibitionists that I despair of getting a straight piece of dealing from tliein. A man cannot put his hand into pitch without being defiled, and I am afraid the Rev. John Hosking, through bis association with the leaders of the Prohibition party, has lost some of that freshness and straight-dealing which ordinarily characterises him. I challenge Pr Hosking to prove that Mr T. E. Taylor ever proved his shameless statement about Mr Collin-, and I ask him at 1110 same time to tell your readers why bo has not shown that my accusation against the Rev. E. Vk. Isitt about that steamer leaving the West Coast port was not well founded. Again, tlxe Rev. John Hosking's memory is at fault concerning the young gentleman with the long neck ! Is it not a vear or two since the case was heard in Chri>tchurr-h ; but even if that were the case, let me look how long it takes to convert a, wrong into a right? What about the ini-iroprcsen-tation of Mr Bishop's judgment ? Pr Ho-king is silent. Then with regard to those persons who went to a prayer meeting and then sallied forth to cheat men and women into a breach of the law. Mr Hosking's only answer is : •• Pid Mr Horn shy never do any fooli-h thing when a young man ? " This, remember, from a man who prates of logic! And lie, a minister of the Gospel, calls the parodying of the Litany and the Lord's Prayer " simply a bit of sarcasm." This should prove to Christian men ami women that Prohibitionisis are prepared to saerilice the most sac-red things and to set at defiance the omnipotent Cod Himself to compass their shameless purpose. The lie that was told concerning the late John Ballance lias been fully proved by me against the one who spoke it; and the only retort Mr Hosking can make is to talk about the number of men who came to grief through drink ! This is the logical gentleman, let your readers remark. .Mr Hosking says the average prohibitionist will compare favourably with the average publican and drunkard, so far as veracity is concerned. "We generally," he says, "present facts that are indisputable." I have already shown that the so-called " facts " are wilful lies for the most part, and I will now show how untrustworthy even a logical Minister of the Gospel can lie —in the person of Mr Hosking. He says the average publican and drunkard cannot be compared for veracity with a Prohibitionist. He says nothing, mark you, of the thousands of men and women too, who are moderate drinkers. That is one example of his trustworthiness. But I will go with him all the way. I have in my life, known hundreds of publicans. I have met them in the city, the township, on the diggings, and in the wilds of the bush ; I have seen them under every peculiarity of circumstances and have met the good and the bad of them. As a mere child I have travelled about my native country and dwelt in the old-fashioned inns ; have associated with the children of these men, and as a man I have been the recipient of the hospitality and the hearty goodwill of many of them. And I now say deliberately, and with a full sense of the responsibility for my utterance, I have found the majority of them to be more honest, more worthy, more charitable, more generous ; better husbands, better fathers, and better citizens than the average teetotaller. For the average teetotaller, is selfiish,. narrow-minded, fanatical, hungry, lean and wanting in generosity and manliness of spirit. As for the drunkards —well, they at least have mainly erred through a foolishness begotten of good nature, and I say here that with all his faults, I would rather trust the honor of myself and my friends in the keeping of a drunkard, than permit it to be at the mercy of men whom I know and have proved to be the bearers of false witness against their neighbors, the traducers of respectable men and women, ritlers, even, of the graves of the dead. Does Mr Hosking ask me for proof of this last ? I will give it him. Not long ago, there died in Christchureh a man and a woman — husband and wife. They were, I regret to says the victims of excessive indulgence in drink ; in a word, they were drunkards. What did the saintly Isitts and Taylors do, think you ? They published the portraits of the man and woman, they besmirched the name of the dead woman and accused her of gross acts, and they excused themselves because of the fact, that n ither husband nor wife had relatives in this colony! Away in England a sorrowing father and mother be-

wailed —in a village parsodage —tha do;;th of their child. Who knows but souio cruel hand sent that abominable paper to those parents"? I vouUl not womb r though its editor did so. The man who can parody the Lord's Prayer and besmirch the character of a dead woman might, I think, be depended upon the heip bring the grey hairs of the brokenhearted father and mother with sorrow to the grave. I think I have proved my case. I believe that I have exposed the cruelty and the falseness of the want of every good and righteous feeling 111 the hearts of the leaders of the Prohibition party, and if Mr Ilosking is not ashamed of them, then I am ashamed of him, for J know right well that he has done good work in the cause of the Master he serves. It is because I know the Prohibitionists for what they really are that I oppose them and expose them, and I shall continue to do so as often as the opportunity presents itself to me.—l am, iVc., .T. T. M. Tlokxsuy. Wellington, Oct. 27, 189 G.