TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Witness, Issue 1916, 6 November 1890, Page 12

TO THE EDITOR.

Sir,— Mr Pyke Is good enough to aay that there Is not one word of truth in my letter in which, in your columns, I pointed out that he had been reticent on the gold duty questiou and had not recorded his vote one way or the other. In proof of this he refers me to Hansard No. 22, p. 355 and No. 24, p. 677. These Hansards I have got before iper and as I expeoted, they prove thetrnth of< what I said, and the mistake, let us call it, of what Mr Pyke says. Bir, I am a miner of 29. year*, standing In New Zealand, and I have followed' Wtrefiilly the movements of the gold duty questions during that time. I may be trusted not to make a mistake about it. I can remember the time when Mr Pyke had a good billet as county oha'rman, not ao maiy years ago, and that he defended the gold duty ag*inst the miners, and said it wa» not atnx at all. last seislon he said something pgainst ifc. and having laid that he did not seem to oare wh i became of the bill, but left it to its fate. He oou i manage to vote on other questions on tSt.it very <i.i?, but the abollbtoi of the «old duty was not worth hit trouble. Mr Pyke will have Ad opportunity of explaining, though I may not have the pleasure of putting the questions to him.— 1 am, &0..

Central Otago, October 31.