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Oamaru Mail, Volume II, Issue 409, 20 August 1877, Page 2

As we thoroughly recognise the wisdom of abstaining from remarking upon any case whilst it is mb judicc, we have uttered not one word in reference to the so-called "breach of privilege" now pending, and in which we are the principal actors. Nor would we now break our silence upon this question but for certain remarks which have appeared in our contemporary, the Dunedin Star. Mr. George Bell, the editor of that paper, has infringed the rule which is always observed by respectable journalists. Even if the truth is told, it is exceedingly unfair and injudicious to comment upon a subject such as that at issue ; but when a writer, as is the case with the editor of the Star, essays to devine motives and to enter into the circumstances that called forth the article in The Mail, he exercises that capacity for falsehood with an ease and grace for which some men are | unfortunately too celebrated. He says that The Mail has got into trouble. This is as yet a debatable point. Whether we have or have not will be determined by the highest tribunal of the Colony, and not by an individual whose most excellent characteristic is his bland smile, and who is so feeble-minded that with the exception of his adherence to the Government, which he follows like a spaniel, he seldom holds the same opinions for two consecutive moments. The Dunedin operatives will thoroughly appreciate our meaning and endorse our sentiments. Mr. George Bell asserts that the charge was " evidently maliciously invented." What an evil-minded old man. Who would have thought that behind his smiling face he possessed so much naughtiness ? But we can only conclude that he speaks from a personal and experimental acquaintance with the way these things are done. All men, however, are not similarly constituted, and the wicked motives that exert an influence over one may be abhorred by another. The old gentleman's professions of knowing all about our particular case is supremely ridiculous, and, indeed, the mirth it has provoked has been so refreshing that we forgive all. We regret exceedingly that expediency at this juncture debars us from commenting with that freedom on the old gentleman's remarks that would have been so delicious to our nature.