Mr Baeyertz in Reply. TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Witness, Issue 2006, 4 August 1892, Page 26

Mr Baeyertz in Reply. TO THE EDITOR.

Sir,— ln Saturday's Times " Civis " misquotes me in the following manner: — "Here are two expressions equally correct— 1 (1) the overtures of Hiindel,' ' (2) an overture of Handel's.' If (1) is right, argues Mr Baeyertz, clearly (2) must be wrong." I challenge " Civis" to produce the sentence, or sentences, in which I imply anything of the kind, and until he does so I claim that he is misleading the public and misrepresenting my statements.

I still maintain that it is only because we associate the name Handel with musical composition that we understand by the expression "an overture of Handel's" that Hiindel was the composer of the overture. This is easily seen if we take a common name like Smith and a common article such as a writing desk. Now, in the phrase "A writing desk of Smith's," we have simply substituted for the word "overture" a common, everyday word — "writing desk," and we have also replaced the word "Handel's" by the word "Smith's" — Smith being a name that is not associated in our minds with the manufacture of writing desks.

Now, Mr " Civis," please tell me what the partitive genitive has to do with the question at issue? The expression, "A writing desk of Smith's," is just as good an example of the partitive genitiveas the phrase, " An overture of Handel's," and may mean, I take it, either one of several other writing desks in the possession of Smith, or simply one writing desk owned by Smith as distinguished from the number of other writing desks in the world ; but can anyone by any stretch of imagination make the phrase, "A writing desk of Smith's," mean a writing desk made by Smith ? Similarly, "An overture of .Handel's" is, strictly speaking, simply an overture in the possession of Handel. Auother example: "An overture of Mr Smith's, which he lent to the Orchestral Society, is said to have been composed by Handel in 1782." This obviously refers to an overture composed by Handel, but the manuscript or a copy of the overture is in the possession of Smith. In conclusion, "Civis" tries to make his meaning clear to my benighted intellect by an illustration.

If he uses the expression " the absurdity of mine," it is necessary, he explains, to mark it off from my other absurdities, past, present, and future, in some such way as this : " The absurdity of yours which you wrote in your last letter to the Times."

Does "Civis" refer to my last sentence, which ran: "The Passing Notes of 'Civis* are always interesting and instructive " ? If so, I will amend the sentence and mark off his Passing Notes referring to Mr Jude and in reply to myself from his other Passing Notes, past, present, and future, and say : " The Passing Notes of ' Civis, ' with the exception of those in reference to Mr Jude and myself, are always interesting and instructive." — I am, &c, C. B

July 30.

lAEYERTZ.