MORE ABOUT E. A. SMITH.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 728, 29 January 1910, Page 5

MORE ABOUT E. A. SMITH.

.::;;:y;;;^<I^EESTING7:-!BITBB."''-/':J''■'" ,: (By Teleßraph.-SDecial; Correspondent.) •';." ;"..'-ic - -! v .i 1 ?;■'. : '•:;'• /■': 'Auckland, January 28.',': :.'A .correspondent :-:who^'has levidently-.taken;;a:close;interest-;in..the firm of.E. A.; Smith,, shipping', agents,-his furnished 'some furthers points that call for explana-1 :taon:.' -Writing- to the' ."Herald," he says:' •"I--read Sir/ Joseph :Wafd's. .statement' with: astonishment. It is difficult': to. believe .the;. Government:, was- ignorant of :what everyone; visiting the* offices of the .High '.Commissioner in- London'could> not help being: aware of. .Sir.'■ Joseph,' must: ;be well awnre i. that • the business of E. A.<Smith : ;was started',by,Mr. Eennaway; iahd':; Dot^-'-as,rhis :statement,. implies, ..an '.oldf-.busuiess'.; in -which Mr.,'Kennaway became a partner. Further,, the offices ;of,E. A, Smith were as much rjart and •parcel'.; of the , High \ Commissiohei's offices as Sir .'Walter Kenhawajps ; own .■office! was,', and'l.defy 1 , any" man to'say ■ different - honestly.; :I have' visited these offices many, l many," times,, and I.always 'thought-E. AiiSmith ,a -paid Bervant.of 'ithe :New:.Zeal_nd:'Government.-. .'lcame out, herß'Lfivbi'years,,'since;by.rapplying : 'to -the High: Commissioner 'for ; assisted 'passages, for .myself and my family. 'My .letter ,;was addressed-,to, 'the .'High'.Com-.answer-to it, came fromE. A.' Smith, arid; all further correspondent relating,', thereto Iwas: conducted by E.VA. v -.Smith..: The.passage-inohey : . was paid.to;!E;-A.'Smith,; and I .know, there are ; in-this.,colony,^"whb:'.'can" prove; their experience to be -the : same" as mine..'-.. E.- A. ; ; Smith, has .-painted oh his doors, which are in the. wing of a building in which' there- is not a room not'occupied by the-.New Government, 'TE. A.'.; Smith, - shipping agent to:the New• Zealand Government'.-No one ...can:.visit- the "High Commissioner's offices/ _ or. any one of. them, without see- ■ me.this; nor - can.you leave them without: seeing it, His stationery ■is printed m the :same : way. : Ir enclose : a-heading for your inspecfaoh.: If the Prime Min-ister_is-really so simple in this- : matter as his statement would lea'd:one to think, 1.-shall, be pleased to supply him with, the original' correspondence between my--self.and Ei .A.- Smith; but ■■ seeing that ' tar-' Joseph 'has himself visited, and more than' once,, the' High- Commissioner's- ofiices, and that he could - neither enter : nor leavo,them without, seeing that E. A bmithivas, shipping agent .loathe- New. Zealand Government, I fancy) he is only throwing dust politically into, the::eyes of the public. For obvious reasons I _sign.'myself t /A Farmer.'",.,',;' ;:: I V.: -i V.iv-'- A!' REAL 'V V i!-,,;':,:' '(By Teleeraph.-Presa -AsBoelallon.) : ; . 'Z '~'■''■ ; Dunedin, January 28 :.. t Mr..von Haast, a member of the' Se- ' ate of the New. .Zealand University; gave a -TJaily, Times". reporter'-'some ": infbrmation to-day 'with reference to - "E. A. Smith."-"■: 'It eeams to -.bo' generally' assumed in discussion: on this subject," he ?•";>■'. ■ tHnt,--B.- A.-.Smith: never existed ' m theflesh, but that'name was used'only to "conceal the identity of ■': Mr. Mward Kenndway and his' relation-' ship to the secretary: to the 'High- Commissioner. ■ This; was; not: the case. I -knew Mr.-E.' myself. Before Mr. Jidward Kennaway joined the firm, Jlr... : bmith .onginally had .'■ a 'shipping ' business alone. ■' Later he was jdned by l Mr. R.: Kennaway, - and, when Mr. Smith •' retired on account of old age and ill--lieaith,; Mr. Kennaway continued "the business under the original name of the firm. ~,;: , ■ ; -Referring to. what he termed the per- ■ 6isteht: efforts mode by tho Opposition to ■■ misropresent tho Government, Sir Joseph Ward, at a meeting of Ministerialist last night, instanced what had been done in tho matter of the Smith incident. One paper said-the Government had allowed -.£SOOO to be paid away' whioh they. should - have stopped; other papers put it at ,£2OOO. By the-time they had done, the amount ■: would, perhaps, be raised to, . Only that morning, in spite of. the explanation' he had made, and that the ; High Commissioner had been asked to report to Parliament, so that tho matter could be placed fully before the House, and tho people, an anonymous letter was allowed to appear in the local Opposition paper saying that .£2OOO w.m bwn» lost , annJuUly, . * !