A MILLER IN DEFENCE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10423, 27 July 1895, Page 8

A MILLER IN DEFENCE.

' TO THE EDITOR.

Sir,—Kindly allow me space to reply to etatementa. iriaaebjr the Rev.' Mr Sauhders at a meeting Kpldjia the City Eall.onfche Bth inst. to protsst agairi3<! the" passing of the Lottery Bill!; Hi 3 remarks are- these: M A gentleman had; met^hjm recently and said, 'Yon ministers have got hold of the wrong 6nd of the stick, as usual. YquVare; protesting now sgain3t this lottery. Why don't you protest against com rings and so .forth? * There is a cora ring existing at present, while corn is not scarce, and people have to pay extra for their bread.' The gentleman, who made that statement was one of the largest merchants in the city, and the speaker was ready to' take; the platform and protest againfet those rings." I delayed'writing until-1- found out who the large merchant was on whose authority Mr Saunders' made such a slanderous statement, and ove^ which he waxed so earnest arid'eloqnest'at the meeting.' '

I have now proof positive that the gentleman referred'to is Mr Hudsob, miller: of this: city. For some time: anonymbus letters snd articles on the wheat and flour trade,' and on the enormous profits of bakers, have, appeared in the Ddncdia papers, ami these lt-.tters, written with all the animus and exaggeration of a disappointed man, have 'been; sent to members of the House in Wellington, the malicioua object being to prejudice the minds of the community against those millers and bakers who had the audacity to buy considerable lines of wheat and flour'before the market rose and 'before a certain individual had satisfied his requirement!!. We have been 'accused of rasing tha pcics of bread upon the workiDg man, and Scripture has been employed in support of tbia consention. It is needless to Bay that the application is very crude, and indicates that tbe author has not.had much practice in tha use of\ such" a divine weapon. Satau showed more aptitude in the quotation he made when he encountered Christ in tho wilderness.

' Bat:the most absurd and amusing part of these letters is. the suggestion that the duty should be taken off wheat but allowed to remain on jlour. This proposal proves two -.things: first, that the man who made it has.co cheap wheat in steck; and, seoond, that his talk about cheap bread for the working man is hollow and hypocritical. The entire reasoning is so incongruous and illogical that no man not utterly blinded by selfishness would- ever allow it to-sec the light of day.. The whole thing has been a mean and cowardly efiorfc to regain lost opportunity by aspersing the character of men inSbesamo trade who were fortunate to buy part of thfiir holding in a cheap market. I do not say who is the, author of these egotistical and fallacious productions. I leave your readers to draw fcheii- own cooclusions. To my mind, they have all emanated from tha pea of one man—a man who has missed his^cbance, and who instead of rejoicing iv his neiahbour's prosperity as every right-thinking and rightfeeling individual will do, iuvokes the aid of Church and State in h;s frantic effort to crush theso who have'baen more lucky than himself. But it is uot with anonymous writers I have to deal in this communication, bat with Mr Hudsou. He has made grave charges against men engaged in the same business a? himself, and in their name as well, as my own I now call upon him to substantiate the statements he made to Mr Sauaders. If'he cannot, he will be justly regarded-as a slanderer, aud treated wii* contempt by tha whole milling fr&tsrnifcv of this city, and of the colony at large—l am, &c..

Manor place, July 26

John Rylev