DR. IRYINE'S VOTE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IV, Issue 106, 7 May 1869, Page 2

DR. IRYINE'S VOTE.

To the Editor of the Nelson Evening Mail. Sir—ln your leading article yesterday you appear to have followed the military custom of sentencing one mutineer out of every ten, for you have singled me out of that number of Councillors (all my seniors, by the way) who have incurred your displeasure by one of their votes, to gibbet me, or rather to blow me away from the muzzle of your editorial gun. But perhaps editorial guns are as liable as others to recoil. I am not, nor have I ever been, a Separationist; on the contrary, Ihave spoken against it publicly and privately, I have taken more than ordinary trouble to set forth the arguments for the integrity of the Provinces and the Provincial system in the face of their avowed enemies, such as Sir David Monro, and such "an ally to a certain extent " as his Honor the Superintendent; I was a party to framing the resolutions which forced Mr. Stafford, the prime abettor of Separation, to resign his seat for this city; and when his place had to be filled up, I moved Mr. Shepherd's nomination, indicating expressly as a strong reason for returning him that he had avowed himself a sincere Provincialist. Now, sir, as these things were not done in a corner and must have been known to you, it was due to me—if editors are to be held as responsible as other men —to pause before you denounced me as you hav? done; it was due to me even had I been quite unknown to you; it was still more due when you thought fit to declare that you had " admired " and " entirely trusted " me. I wish I could thank you for such a tribute of praise and esteem, but I have a difficulty in doing so when I find that your estimates of public men have so little root, that a single act of theirs that puzzles you suffices to overthrow, them. I must do the Editor of the Colonist the justice to say, that though we took opposite sides on the question, he enquired of me about my vote with courtesy and consideration. So much for the personal question —on a very early dayT will send you another letter in which I undertake to show that the paragraph under debate was an ill-judged one,,and that the Council by adopting it have unintentionally helped on the separation of the West Coast. I am, Sec, F. W. Irvine. Nelson, May 6th.