A MOLEHILL AND A MOUNTAIN.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1106, 12 May 1893, Page 39

A MOLEHILL AND A MOUNTAIN.

TO THE EDITOR. Sib,—Where is Mr Duthie ? In common with many others I have been eagerly wait. ing for the indignant protest of that gentleman against Mr Saobie Mackenzie's references to the political immorality of some of the M.H.R.'s of this country. Sir, Mr Mackenzie 'dealt with members of Parliament in a way wh.eh was lowering and degrading to Parliament in the eyes of the public,' and honest John Duthie is silent. Mr Maokenzia "alluded to various members of the Government, and the references all pointed to time-serving insincerity as characteristics of the House of Parliament,' and, strange to say, Scobio Mackenzie lives unscathed, and honest John Duthie is dumb. The thunders of Mr Duthie's indignation have not yet awakened, although Mr Mackenzie, by direct inference, accuses the late Premier and his Government of 4 political imposture,' -of ' deluding his followers,' of * paltry tricks,' of 'busi. ness that is nauseous to every honest man,' of 'political infamy,' of ' specious humbug' and of ' flaunting the flag of the mountebaak,' and in addition he taunts a man lying on a sick bed with promising, under certain circumstances, to resign, and then breaking his promise. All this, and Mr Duthie, whone righteous soul boils within h\m when Mr I&itt says but a fiftieth part of this sort of thit?g, says never a word. Where .now is Mr Duthie'a chivalrous championahjp of a political op. *

ponent ? It is possible that while Mr Duthie thought to gain a little cheap popularity at the expense of the clerical Prohibitionist, he knows too muoh to attack his brother Oppositionist 1 Can the rumour be true that in the course of the past twelve months honest John Duthie has said in private things almost as strong as Scobio Mackenzie has given public utterance to,andtbathisso-called defenoe of the late Premier and attack upon the direct veto leader was but a happily timed piece of political postuiising intended to win public approval ? To the onlooker there has not been for a long time a more extraordinary evidence of the utter worth, lessness of public blame and public approval than the different treatment accorded on the one hand to the mild blame of the Rev L. M. leitt and the politioal butchery of Scobie Mackenzie. The former stated what nine out of every dozen know to be an absolute truth, i.e., that just as surely as if Mr Carson was elected for Wanganui he would be bound to do nothing in opposition to Prohibition, so Mr Ballanoe, by virtue of the support he received from the liquor party, would in return for that support do nothing to help Prohibition that he was not obliged to do. The other practically says that Mr Ballanoe and political honesty were unacquainted, yet one is execrated and the other approved. For one blow Mr Isitt may have struck Mr Ballanoe, the party to which Mr Mackenzie and Mr Duthie belong have struck ten hundred more cruel and bicter and false. Why doesn't Mr Duthie smitoMr Mackenzie and prove his honesty ?—I am, fee, J. G. W. Ellis. Palmerston North, May sfch, 1893.