The Times has been a little silly about Dr. Underhill's
letter. Its theory is that if any man writes a letter of private advice and suggestion to a British colonial minister that minister is morally obliged to send it out to the colonies, the Colonial Government to publish it, and that the whole responsibility of such pub- lication lies at the door of the man who privately wrote and despatched it. " There was no alternative," says the Times, between taking no notice of it and publishing it, in an island where the Governor thought the consequence of its publication likely to be very mischievous. Of course all any one can say in answer to that is that it is ridiculously untrue, and that no sensible man can believe such childish nonsense. Of course it was not com- petent to Mr. Eyre to write word, that in the existing state of the island any public discussion of such a document might lead to serious disorders ? It is a popular conception no doubt to smite the Baptists hip and thigh, at home and in the colony,—that no Baptist happened to reside in the " disturbed districts" being im- material,—but it is always desirable to have something plausible in the words of your accusations. Now the British public writes letters itself, and knows that there is an alternative as to publishing them. Hence, though it felt the right sort of thing was going on with re- gard to the Baptists, more than one sleepy person stared at that particular charge, and felt there was a hitch somewhere.
