The Bank and the Minister.

Feilding Star, Volume XVII, Issue 86, 8 October 1895, Page 2

The Bank and the Minister.

As the Minister of Lands was unable by the rules of the House, to make an explanation we (N.Z. Times) sent a representative to interview the Minister, with the following result: —My remarks, said the Minister, on the second reading of the Bill have been greatly misconstrued. This evening I wished to take the first opportunity of making a statement as to what I really did intend to convey to the House in connection with the Bank of New Zealand. The question of what was the cause of the Bank troubles was raised by three speakers who preceded me. They attributed those troubles to my land policy. One of them went so far as to accuse Government of putting a liability of .£lO upon every man, woman, and child, in the colony, for the Bank which their land policy had got into trouble. In my reply I stated I would not allow my opponents to bring false accusations against my land policy. I said that if they continued to do so I would give a statement showing the true position of those who had brought the Bank into trouble ; and the people of the colony would know 'who they were. I intended if the Chairman had allowed me, sr id the Minister, to take the opportunity of stating that I had received no information, either directly or indirectly, from the president or auditor or any past or present officer of the Bank ; that I knew absolutely nothing of the present or past accounts of the Bank. I would have said that I made that statement on my word of honour, and that I was prepared, if necessary, to make a declaration on oath to the same effect. The first of these is the schedule of the Bank Act of 1895 (this session's Act.) That schedule gives the names of the properties transferred from the Bank of New Zealand to the Estates Company ; properties on which the Bank made advances, and brought consider- I .able trouble upon itself by so doing. Tbe names of the owucrs are well known and the majority of them could not be said to belong to the Liberal Party. The second source of information I will mention; and would have motioned in the House this -evening, is Mr George Buckley^ report aiuL correspondence published some years ago. - <