Greymouth Evening Star, AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 1903. THE ROBINSON COMPANY.

Greymouth Evening Star, 26 January 1903, Page 2

Greymouth Evening Star, AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 1903. THE ROBINSON COMPANY.

Oua cablegrams to-day tell us that the shareholders in the J. B. Robinson Company, whose property is situate in South Africa, at a meeting in London on Friday last, took exception to Mr Robinson's criticisms of Mr Chamberlain's policy, and, as a consequence of such criticism, Mr Robinson left the meeting. That the shareholders should take very serious exception to Mr Robinson's remarks is not to be wondered at, nor is it surprising to find that the gentleman left the room, for we daresay the shareholders stated some facts that would not now be very pleasant to Mr Robinson. It will be remembered that Mr RobiDson is a gentleman who stood well in favour with Paul Kruger at the time of the outbreak of war ; that the Robinson bank and the Robinson mines were quite unmolested by the Boers. Indeed, it is rumoured that Mr J. B. Robinson was for some years in the private financial " know " with " Oom Paul," and that he and the ex-Presi-dent had many mutual profitable contracts and "deals" together. When these facts are remembered, Mr Robinson's advice to Mr Chamberlain to adopt a give-and-take policy—that is, we suppose, a Boer-favouring policy—must be taken for what it is worth, which is probably not very much. With the war; over, bitterness soon drops out of sight, but not to such an extent as to allow a gentleman like Mr Robinson to flout a policy that even finds favor with the more liberal-minded Boers. Mr Chamberlain doubtless knows a good deal more about Mr Robinson's past history than most folks, and will sine up his criticism at its actual worth. It is pleasing to find that Mr Robinson's " own shareholders " have " put him in his proper place."