A PLEA TO THE WOMEN ELECTORS OF OTAGO. TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11598, 5 December 1899, Page 7

A PLEA TO THE WOMEN ELECTORS OF OTAGO. TO THE EDITOR.

Sib,—l should l,ke to appeal, through the medium of your valuable columns, to mv fellow-electors, of the district, and oh that I were able to make them realise the responsibility that at present.rests on them! °£ ■ »;,-,£"= -ar -= sufficiently the increase in drunkenness. Only to-day we see a woman, with a soul to be saved, as we have, going down headlong to destruction, bringing misery on h er family through the accursed thing. The inabi itv of the police to cope with the cases, the fact that » conßtanlly. patent that prohibition order, are openly disregarded by the hotelkeepers, and the perjury entailed on keeping up this so-called respectable trade, ought to be enough to induce every right-thinking man and woman to vote as I have described? He TnT?F c we clo°? tT P°^ , and if we do not do our test to put a stop to ,t, the awful responsibility rests with us and not with the poor drunkard. Treat it then, as a quest.on entirely apart from tho election for representatives, and vote "No license. And when you are voting for the members remember, also, that the men on t c aide of the Government are not on theM o of temperance, or anything else that in likely to benefit our country. T nm | lm ,.i j ""■cly f« that they havedone* « during then- time of office , but a Vu, 0 3 that has been accomplished, all the bills That they take credit for having nisspri l, wide door through which I SflanSur m?y ?\ c ,esif lly d?lven wllell >f suits the makers of «ud bills to ignore the clau.es t at do Zl su.t their purpose. Also remember in votTn? to go straight for the three members, oy voting for two gives a vote to tho other side and weakens the chances of putting out on,' of tho most imqiHtoua Governments we have over had in power in New Zealand.-I am

A Woman Eleotob,

THE HON. JOHN M'KENZIE AND MR

JOHN MACGREGOR. TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —Enclosed herewith is a copy of a letter I have today addressed to Mr John MacGregor, ex-M.L.0., and I shall be obliged if you will find space for the same.—l am, etc., John M'Kenzie. Heathfieltl, Palmerston, December 1, 1899.

Sir,—The Otago Daily Times of 29tli ult. reporting a. speech delivered by you in Dunedin the previous night states that you referred to a certain letter I wrote to you two years ago. Why did you not tell the people that you commenced the correspondence by writing to nic on a certain subject, and that the letter you mention was my reply. On this occasion there were only two letters—yours to- me and my reply to the same. Your letter ,was of a private nature, and so was my reply. In the whole of my political experience ■ I have never known a private letter to be used in the manner m which yon have iised mine without the consent of the party writing being obtained. You have done this at a time when I was absent from the colony by writing to my colleague, ■who knew nothing of our corresuondenco, and when my return to the colony was doubtful. I am not able at the present time to publish your letter and my, reply, as both are looked up in my d<?sk in Wellington, and there is no possible means of my' getting them until I return there .myself. However, to get over this difficulty I shall bs glad if you will publish both letters., and let the people of New Zealand judge befwaen us fairly as to whether I deserve all' the censure you endeavour to throw upon me for the letter in question. I also notice in .your- speech you thought proper to attack my land policy a"nd administration. You do this at a time when you know it is impossible for me to take the' platform to reply to you: Generous this, of you whose letter I hold expressing gratitude "to myself for your ever having any existence as an M.L.C. However, you may rest assured that if my heath keeps improving I will at no distant date bo able not only to defend my land policy and aamiiiistra.tion, but will also expose your politic'l hyprocisy in its true nakedness as a lapsed Liberal.—l have, etc., (Signed) John M'Kenzie. Palmerston, December 1. - PS. —I iutend to hand a., copy of this letter to ,_!\e press for publication,—J, M'K. John MacGregor, Esq.