CONCERNING SNOBBERY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10599, 20 February 1896, Page 3

CONCERNING SNOBBERY.

: TO THE EDITOB.

I Sib, —I am not a new women, nor am I an ] advanced woman in any shape or form, and I ' do-not readily rush into print personally ; bnt I , feel it is the duty of some one of us to reply to _ the venomous letter of " A.-E.B:" in support ot j the pedantic tirade of the Hon. J. MacGregor i against the publication of (to us) interesting { items of social gossip in the weekly papers, j ldo not know the Hon. J. SfeeGctgor, nor j anything about him, which may be to argue | mystlf nnknown; bnt I should like to bo in- | formed on what grounds the hon. gentleman • eets himself up as a censor of manners and j customs, and attempts to alter " the fashion of i the day."

j "A. R. B." states that he does not believe : men, as a rule, care for the fert of thing he de- ! nounces. Then why doc! be interfere with | that which doee not concern him or tbem ? ! And why should be attempt to stop us: j from indulging in our, to me, harmless vanity, inqnisitiyeness, or call it what yoa will? I j would point out, toy, th&t the reports of oni j social functions, to which these gentlemen bo i strongly object, appear in the ladies' pagefc ot i tbe Witness and other weekly papers, and tbera jis not tbe slightest necessity for any mau who I objects to such frivolous matter to psrose these 1 pages, which are not intended for iris exalted ; mind. Our small caramnaity does not permit jus to have a papur such as tbe Queen or ! Gentlewoman to ourselves, and surely " A.R.8." | should not grudge us tbe space dftvoted to that which interests perhaps ns alone in thelocal prints. We do not protest against the details of racing snd stud matters, or of the doings of Johu Smith or Jim Jones on Hie bicycle track or other fields of sport, all of which are quite a» unimportant to the majority of us as the of cur teas,' garden parties, &c., Ac. are to the Hon. J. MacGregor. and "A. B. B." And let me tell the last-named

S gentleman that, in my opinion, the ovil he j denounces is trifling compared with the custom >of csrtain gentlemen who it is w<:ll known tear -' wme of our characters to pieces at certain ! luncheon rooms in thi- city, aud tbere concoot j and promulgate item:* of scandal which can j often be traced back to these sources.

In concluding I would quote Thackeray on the question of snobs. He says : —" None of ns should be too confident that we are' not snobs. That very confidence savours ■ot arrogance, and tb be arrogant is to be a snob." We are all born snobs, more or less; and I think this attribute of nature is fully developed in your correspondent "A. R.- B. " (one of my yonng friends suggests tbat thfse letters stand for A Regular Brute), —I am, &c,

February 15.

A Weak Woman,