MR. BROWN'S STORY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1840, 28 August 1913, Page 4

MR. BROWN'S STORY.

ABOUT SEALING SHIPS.

HO CORROBORATION DISCOVERABLE. The Hon f ; Ei, M. B. FISHER refer-' red to ."a statement inado during the debate ontho.Address-in-Reply by the member-{or Napier (Mr. Brown)., Ho quoted tho following passage front tho' Hansard report of Sir. Brotvn's speech: "Now;'.thero is another matter. For 25 years there has been a close season for seals. What have wo got now? It was talked, of by the Hon. the Minister i'or Marino when in Melbourne. Tho matter was discussed there. What happened, when ho arrived in Now Zea- ! land!-' " A Gazette notice went forth giving a certain time—l do not know how many months—that these seals can bo'dealt with. 1 At tho very time that that Gazetto;. notjeo - was - made out and ready to publish in the papers, thrco parties in Melbourne were ready equijJped: to go down and got the-seals, and we, ■in New Zealand, knew nothing about it at all; I want to know 'J . . who aro interested in those sealing industries on tho 'other side,' and I will bring it before the House if possible. iWhen the Gazette niifciue name out thero woro thrco parties equipped to go to tlio Islands and got those seals, which, I understand, aro worth about £80,000 to tho parties. Why did wo in New Zoaland not know about these things in our own country." Immediately after the statement was made, said Mr. Fisher, he dispatched tlio following letter to tho Secretary of the Marine Board in Victoria:— "It has been stated that threo ve.sscls equipped for sealing have left Melbourne for New Zealand since middle of May last, but no definite information concerning them can bo obtained. I shall thertforo feel obliged if you will bo good enough to lot mo know as soon as you can whether tho statement is correct," and if it is, tho names and tonnages of tho vessels, their owners and the ports to which' they belong, the dates upon which they left Melbourne, - and , the ports for which the.v were bound; I shall also bo glad if you will say whether any vessels cquippe'd for sealing havo left J? 1 ' 1port for any of tho islands south of Now Zealand since the date mentioned,"

To that letter ho had received the following reply: — "Adverting to your letter of July 18, making inquiry as to certain sealing vessels, I beg to stato that tho Inspector of Shipping has reported that from inquiry mado, 'lio lias been imablo to obtain any information regarding the three vosscls mentioned in your letter, or of any vessel equipped for sealing having left tho port of Melbourne' since the middle of ; May last for. New Zealand, but Hie suggested that possibly the vessels in question had departed from ono or other of tlio two pnucipal out-ports' of Victoria; inquiry was accordingly made to tho Collectors of Customs at Portland and. Warrnamboo], but tlio replies rccoived wore to the effect • that no such vessels had visited either of t'hoso ports for some years past. If, in' tlio circumstances, you should bo able to obtain any information which would bo of interest to this board concerning the port of departure of these vessels ; I would bo glad if you would kindly notify ■this-office."

Tho letter from tho, secretary of the Marino Board, Mi;. Fisher continued, was sufficient refutation of the statement of the member for Napier, for of course the member for Napier could not find any record of' any statement mado by him in Melbourno about an open season for seals This, 'ho thought, Showed how inaccurate was the statement of tho member for Napier. Mr. J. V. BROWN (Napier) said the Minister had not gono far enough with his inquiry. Tho correspondence the Minister for Marine had read said simply "wo are not awaro." On tho other hand, his (Mr. Brown's) information so far as ho could make out was pretty sound. Strango to say, he also was in communication with Melbourne, but ho had not received a reply to his letters. Mr. Fisher: No, and you never will.

Mr. Brown said ho/hoped to got some more' Ho did not Bay tho Minister for Marine had gono on the public platform to make a statement. This matter was openly discussed in Melbourno at a certain club, and it drifted over to New Zealand through the shipping people. His informants wero 'shipping peoplo in Wellington.