ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVII, Issue 1768, 18 September 1862, Page 3

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

(To the Editor of the Independent) Auckland, Sept. 2, 1862. Sib, — The hon. member for Napier, Mr. Colenso, in the House of Representatives, on the Bth of August, brought forward a motion regarding the " supervision of the serial called the Maori Messenger" which was seconded by the hon. member for Taranaki, Mr. J. C- Richmond, whose speech on the occasion as published in the local uewspapers, is very far from being creditable, either to his intellect or his heart. It may not be out of place to remark here, that the " serial" is under the " supervision" of His Excellency's advisers, and that three out of the four articles more particularly complained of by Mr. Colenso, were supplied by the ministry, and ordered by them to be published in the Messenger; which I shall notice in a subsequent letter on Mr. Colenso's criticisms: — in the mean time I shall refer chiefly to Mr. Richmond's strictures. By a reference to Mr. Richmond's speech, as recorded in the Daily Southern Neivs, of the 25th of August, supporting the motion for the supervision of the Maori Messenger, it will be seen, that the hon. gestleman had so far forgotten bis position as to have laid aside the dignity of his high office to attack my character; and being " a greit master of ambiguity" — of which he accuses me,— his dark insinuations are cunningly adjusted \\ in good set terms," apparently to escape legal consequences. Here- are some of his dark sayings: — "It had been rumoured that the person in charge of the paper (the Maori Messenger) was a person who stood in a very peculiar .and equivocal attitude towards the Government and the Natives of late,— a person who is a great master" of ambiguity, several of whose letters of a doubtfully loyal character, addressed to natives during the late war, were to be seen filed iv the Native Office." The " letters of doubtfully loyal character" of which the hon. member i< r Taranaki insinuates in the House of Ass&inbly, that I am the writer, are said to have been " filetl in the Native Office." lam daily in the Native Office and I have seen only one letter, which has been printed and no man dared to affirm that it was disloyal, no, not even the Duke of Newcastle to whom it was sent in order that if possible bis Grace in England might ferret some disloyalty out of the Maori sayings, and song, which the letter contains. It is well known that Mr. J. C. Richmond, at the time in question, had full access to the records of the Native Office, and could have easily dragged forth from their hiding place the " doubtfully loyal " communications he ambiguously refers "to ; but he preferred that the * l letters " should still remain in their alleged place of. concealment, with the full conviction that as soon as they were seen, if such a sifjht were possible, the " mystery" would be dispelled and with it his dark insinuations and defamatory charges. That no such disloyal letters ever existed, is perhaps, too well known to Mr, Richmond, and being fearful before the honorable House of committing himself, he is obliged to call in the aid of a qualifying " if," or of a vague " rumour" to shelter himself from the indignation of the hon. members witnessing his cruel onsets on my character, who otherwise would have called him to order. Again, Mr. Richmond insinuates that I am indebted to the Government periodical for the dissemination " through the whole country of misconceptions of the most dangerous kind " Mr. Richmond is remarkably fond of general, indirect and vague statements. To particularize would not be convenient. He pretends to be unaware of what is universally known, that I have long had a printing establishment' and that the very excellent press purchased by the Maoris, has lung been under my sole control ; and that I now can, and could at any time, have employed lLat press in "steroeotypiug and scattering through the whole countty misconceptions of the most dangerous kind ;" but I have not done so ; I have, on the contrary, "scattered through the country" during the last three years, what was far more dreaded by the bon. Mr. Richmond, incontrovertible facts and the most momentous truths. The next count in the hon. gemlemnu's charges against me is the receipt on my part of what he is pleased to call " Hush Mosey." Mr. Richmond is no doubt measuring me by his own small soul fancying that I, like him perhaps, may be bought with money. Did he' not know when he ventured to defame me in the House of Representatives, that my well known antecedents unrnistakeably refute his calumnious charges? If I l la( i valued money, I should not have voluntarily relinquished my yearly salary as I did when I resigned my office to the Government, which office, it urged me afterwards to resume. The Government itself has treated Mr. Richmond's series of defamatory charges, and the charges of those who follow in his wake, as a nullity, by requesting me to resume my official duties. No better refutation can be adduced against the argu ments " of this master of ambiguity ;" nor can a more complete vindication of my, character be exhibited before the public, than my. leappointment to office in the service of the New Zealaad Government. J. O. Dayis.

To the Editor of the Otago Daily Times, Wellington, September 17th, 1862,

Per favnr of the Wellington Independent*

Sir, — In your issue of September 12th, under the head Commercial, I iiud the following: — Wellington, Sept. S, ISG2. In my last I indicated that the then prices of stock were not to be depended upon, for more than a fortnight. The present state of the market fully justifies my remarks. The demand for cattle, fat or store, is brisk ; prices have risen and have still an upward tendency. One gentleman, a late arrival from the south, brought up an order forlOOO head of young stock, but will have to increase his offer by some 50 per cent before he will get them, though three months ago, the writer would have been very glad to have sold such a mob at his price. Purchasers from North and South are actively bidding against each other, but with the probability of a still better market at our own doors, by the supply of the troops expected this year, to be introduced for road making, makes it difficult to buy at all. Of actual sales, I may mention a mixed lot of 450 head, sold by Rhodes & Co., last week at £7 a head, cash, deliverable at Wanganui — equal to £7 10s. at Wellington.

Sir, Now I can assure you that the above statement has caused the greatest astonishment here, I am largely interested in the growth and sale of cattle, and should be delighted 10 witness the demand and consequent rise in price your correspondent indicates. I certainly have heard of Rhodes & Co. selling a prime lot, mostly bullocks, at about £7 per head, but the rest of your informant's statement is so strange and contrary to facts, that there is an impression here, that you must have been hoaxed. We know nothing about troops coming 1 to eat our beef — the demand for Auckland is falling off — and the so percent, rise only exists in the imaginative brain of your versatile correspondent: but we do know, that a gentleman, Mr. Bird from Otago, came here some time ago, sent his agent up the country, and bought a mixed herd, consisting of bullocks, cows, steers and heifers, (the latter not calves), at £3: ss. per head on the run, but finding he could get plenty at £3 per head on the run, he lowered his price, and advertised to give only £2 : ss. per head, delivered in Wellington, of course no one would look at the latter price. But I beg to inform you, Sir, and the Otago public, that at the former prices, there are plenty of cattle to be bought in this Province,

I am, Sir, Your's obediently, A Cattie Holder