THE DISMISSAL OF MR REID.

Evening Star, Issue 3039, 14 November 1872, Page 2

THE DISMISSAL OF MR REID.

The following is the correspondence referred to in our second leader to-day : Wellington, 16th September, 1872. My Dear Sir, —I have waited several days in the expectation that you would have communicate i with me on the subject of the position which you have accepted in the Colonial Government. It is true that in taking office you have assumed a position which is considerably superior to that of the Superintendent of the Province, and that therefore it may seem to you anomalous that I should call upon you for an explanation ; but you must recollect that you still hold the position of head of the Executive, and in that capacity 1 have a right to call on you for advice and assistance. It was in your power before taking office to have relieved yourself of the anomaly of the position by resigning your scat in the Provincial Executive. You not only have not done so, but you have failed evt-n to apprise me of your intention to accept a position which it is of course obvious is entirely inconsistent with your other position as head of the Provincial Executive. You are aware that I have not allowed difference of opinion to influence our relations, and that I have scrupulously left to you all the discretion, and awarded you the consideration to which, under a system of constitutional government, yon were entitled ; but, as you now hold an office which, as already stated, is altogether incompatible with your position as the head of my Executive, it is incumbent upon mo to say (and I regret that the necessity of doing so has been thrown on me), that I have to beg of you to be so very kind as to place me in a position at once to make more satisfactory arrangements. I have to observe that I consider this letter official. I am, &c., J. Macau drew, Hon. D. Reid. Wellington, September 17, 1872. My Dear Sir,—l bag to acknowledge the receipt to-day of your letter of yesterday’s date. 1 regret to find that the acceptance by me of a seat in the Colonial Executive should have caused you so much uneasiness. Had 1 known that you expected me to apprise y»u

of my intention to accept such a position, or reason to believe that such a course would have met with your approval, it is possible that I might have consulted you and asked your advice before coming to a decision. I thank you for the information that you have not allowed differences of opinion to influence our relations, and that you have scrupulously left me all the discretion, and awarded to me the consideration to which under a system of constitutional Government I was entitled. I was not aware that mem* bers of the Provincial Executive could when absent from their Province, occupy a position as members of the Executive, and act in that capacity. If they could it is difficult to understand the necessity for appointing deputies to act in their stead. The tone of your letter will be my excuse for reminding you that I have my responsibilities to the Provincial Council, and that I shall be prepared to justitiy my conduct to that Assembly. 1 am, &c., D. Held. James Macandrew, Esq., M.H.R. Wellington, 19th September, 1872. My Dear Sir,- I have received your letter of 17 th instant, in reply to mine of 16th. You arc mistaken in assuming that I expressed what you are pleased to term “uneasiness” at your having accepted a seat in the Colonial Executive, or that I arrogated to myself any right to be consulted as to your decision on the subject. No such construction can fairly be placed upon my letter. I regret that you have evaded the real point at issue, namely, the incompatibility of the position of Minister of Public Works with that of head of the Provincial Executive. Yon must be quite aware, both as regards myself and the members of the Provincial Executive at present in Wellington, ‘that although absent from tjie Province we have beep to some practically directing'|tjj[ affairs; in fact, there gpe §f thig mopiept questions of more or less importance which require mutual consultation on our part, As to your responsibilities te the Provincial Council, I feel assured that that body will share ray surprise at the unceremonious manner in which, even without the courtesy of a notice, you have accepted at) office incompatible with those responsibilities. It now only remains to say that, in consequence of the complaints which Lave reached me of the neglect which has characterised the conduct of public business in the Province during our absence, and the necessity for making other Executive arrangements owing to your service* being no longer available as my responsible adviser, 1 purpose proceeding to Dunedin to-morrow with a view to placing matters on a more satisfactory footing j and that 1 shall be glad if you will tpare me the disagreeable duty of making fresh Executive arrangements other than in the usual way, I am f &c., Hon.!,. HeW. ‘ . * '> 1 , Wellington, September 19, 1872. My Dear Sir, - I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this date. I am. &0., D. Klin. James Macandrew, Esq, M.H.R , &c., &c., &c. (Copy) Superintendent’s Office, Dunedin, 25th September, 1§72. Sir, Heferping to the correspondence which took place between us at Wellington, as to you resigning your se ,t as a member of the Executive Council of Otago, I have now the honor to intimate to you that the position yon have accepted as a member of the Colonial Executive is, in my opinion, so utterly incompatible with the proper performance of your duties as a member of the Provincial Executive, that I feel it my duty to exercise the power vested in me by the Executive Council Ordinance, and to remove yon from your office as a member of my Executive. I have, &c., (Signed) James Macandrew, Superintendent of Otago, The Hon. Donald Reid, Wellington.

Wellington, 10th Oct., 1872. My Dear Sir,—The circumstances which led to your ceasing to be a member of tjm Provincial Executive having now determined, I shall be glad if you resume your former position in the Executive, in which case directions will be sent to Dunedin, to comrauniciate with you officially to that end. Please reply as early as convenient. I remain, &c., J. Macakdkew. D. Ttoid, Esq., M.H.E. Wellington, October 12, 1872. Sir, —I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 10th instant, in which you inform me that the circumstances which led to my ceasing to be a member of the Provincial Executive having now determined, you would be glad if I would resume my former position in the Executive. .before proceeding to reply thereto, allow me to review the position in which matters stood at the time those circumstance arose which you state led to my ceasing to be a member of the Provincial Executive. You will no doubt recollect that, before I left Dunedin to attend to the interests of my constituents in Parliament, arrangements were made, and a deputy appointed, with the concurrence of yourself and the other members of the Executive, for carrying on the business of my department dining the term of the Session. 1 may also state that I informed the Provincial Council that 1 would be absent from the Province during the meeting of the General Assembly, I at the same time intimated to the Council that, if in its opinion ray absence from the Province during that period would prejudice my position as a member of the Executive, it would be necessary to make other provision to fill the office, and the Council acquiesced in the arrangement, on the understanding that a deputy should be appointed to temporarily to discharge the duties of the office. It was, therefore, with surprise that 1 received your letter of the 25th ult., intimating that in consequence of my acceptance of the appointment of Minister of Public Works, you had removed me from office as a member of your Executive on the ground that the appointment was in your opinion incompatible with the proper performance of my duties as a member of the Provincial Executive. It must have been obvious to you that I had no intention of filling both offices, and that in due course my resignation would have been placed in your bands, but I considered it was due alike to i yself, to my colleagues in the Provincial Executive, and to th© Provincial Council, tliat 1 should return to the Province before tendering my

resignation. One reason which induced ui& to take this course was my desire to conclude certain iiegociations now pending which were entered into by myself acting on behalf of the Executive, and which could not be completed before I left the Province Having conducted these negociations so fur, I felt it my duty to see them carried out in the spirit in which they were entered into. I believe this could have been accomplished in such a manner as to fulfil the engagements made and at the same time conserve the interests of the Province and allay the excitement which has in some instances been created in regard to them. It was also my intention before resigning to have ashed that the Provincial Council should be convened immediately after the prorogation of the General Assembly. In order to comply with an opinion very generally expressed by members during the last session of the Council to the effect that it was desirable that the meetings of the Council shou d in future be held immediately after the meetings of the General Assembly, and also for the purpose of bringing the Highway Boards Empowering Act into operation within the Province. Owing to an oversight on the part of the Provincial Solicitor, this matter was overlooked during the last session of the Council, and I take this opportunity of reminding you that it is a question which very seriously affects the position of the Road Boards of the Province, and which if not attended to may lead to embarrassment and litigation. It appeared to me that the reasons given for requiring my immediate resignation were not of a valid nature. You must be fully aware that none of the Executive business was transacted here, and while I was always ready and willing to give my opinion on any matter in regard to which I was consulted, it could neither be required from me as a member of the Executive while I remained m Wellington, nor qould I, while residing pi*t of the" Province, Interfere in the slightest degree in Provincial matters, even if I had the desire to do so, which I had not, Under these circumstance, I am at a loss to know what necessity existed for the hasty action taken by you in requiring in terms at once discourteous and peremptory my immediate resignation, or for summarily removing me from office. I have only to add, in reply to your letter now under consideration, that while I consider it, and trust it will always be esteemed to bo, an honorable position to be leader of the Provincial Council of Otago, and I will be prepared, should the Council again require my services, to place them wi.h pleasure at its disposal, nevertheless, after the uncalled for and unmerited indignity to which 1 have been subjected, a sense of the respect which is due to myself, and a eideratiou of wh»*; ue l 0 ti, e important constituency whom 1 have the honor to represent, compels me tirmly but resnectfqlly to decline to accede tP >’P ur request. 1 am, &c., D. Reid. James Macaadrew, Esq., M.H.R. Wellington, 19th October, 1872. My Dear Sir,—l have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 12th instant. In doing so 1 have to express my regret that you decline to accede to my request that you should resume your former position in the Otago Provincial Executive. My action in this matter has been taken from hrst to last pupejy on public grounds, and in the exercise of an official duty, which was incumbent on me, and which, as the correspondence shows, I should have been glad to have been spared. 1 altogether disclaim having been actuated by desire to cast upon you “indignity” in any shape or form, and can only reiterate my regret that our opinions should be so entirely different, as regards our respective duties in the public interest, under the circumstances in question. Yours faithfully, J. Macakdjievt D. Reid, Esq., M.H.R.