ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY

Globe, Volume IV, Issue 390, 11 September 1875, Page 2

ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY

The adjourned meeting of the Council of the Acclimatisation Society was held yesterday afternoon, at the Public Library, at 3 p.m. Present—Hon J. T. Peacock (in the chair), Dr Campbell, Messrs W. D. Wood. Wallace, Johnstone, Farr, A. Duncan, Packe, J. A. Bird.

Dr Campbell said that he wished it to bo understood that there was no personal feeling between Mr Johnson and himself. It was a public matter, and not a private matter at all. The garden committee and the curator were working for the public, and he must say that he wished it distinctly to be understood that he was not bringing the matter forward personally, but that he acted on behalf of the garden committee. Mr Wallace said he desired to bring forward a circumstance which had occurred with reference to the sending of trout ova to America. On going to the gardens he (Mr Wallace) saw the curator packing a case some three feet square, and on asking the curator what this was intended for, he said that he was sending some 25 or 30 ova to America. Now, some 25 or 30 ova would go in a very small compass, and it was absurd to suppose that he would send so small a quantity as this. Besides, at this time the curator had never consulted the society on the matter, and when asked about it had returned an evasive answer. This, ife must be remembered, was at a time when they had none for themselves. He would ask the secretary to read a letter sent by the curator to California by the Cyphrenes, under date July 31st, 1875. [Read.] He (Mr Wallace) objected to the curator stating that he conducted these experiments at his own expense, because the ova was the property oil the society. In the Lyttelton Times of a recent date it was stated that owing to a new experiment being tried, some 6000 egga had gone bad. Now no one could have known this without the curator had informed the newspaper, which he denied. During the past year some £4OO had been expended on labor, &c, and what had they to show for it ? Really nothing; none of the experiments had been a success, and they had been told by the curator that the young pheasants had been killed by cock sparrows. The garden committee had had a great deal to contend with, and it was perfectly impossible that the present state of things should go on. If they wanted anything done, the garden committee had to go up and insist on it being done, or their orders and suggestions would be ignored.

The Chairman said that it had been understood that Mr Johnson would prepare a further statement in answer to the remarks made by Dr Campbell, and the Council would be ready to hear it.

Mr Farr said that he desired to say a few words. The receipts by subscriptions and rules had gradually decreased year by year, and the question now came what was tha reason for it. He, as secretary to the society for six years, knew why it was. Members of council and members of the society had resigned from amongst them on the ground of being unable to work with the curator. Many had taken their subscriptions from the society on account of the insubordination of the curator. Last year the curator reported that there were 6000 young fish in the gardens; but what had become of them? The curator had reported the sale of some 900; and again, the curator stated that he had placed 150 young fish in one of the ponda. When the pond was emptied there was not fifty fish in the pond. The curator had, besides this, proved himself thoroughly insubordinate and unwilling to carry out the orders of the council. In Dunedin they had a curator who was insubordinate, and the society had done no good at all in the work. Now that they had got rid of this man and got a common sense man to superintend the work, the rivera were stocked, and they were able to sell fish to the Canterbury Society at less than it cost the latter to breed them. In fact the fish which they sold at £5 cost them something near £lO a piece. They must remember that they were dealing with public money, and it was not right to allow the curator to fritter away the money of the public in the way he had. Outside he had been told by a number of persons that while Mr Johnson was curator of the society they would withdraw their subscriptions. Therefore it was necessary that some change should be made. In saying this he had no personal feeling in the matter at all, but simply looked upon it that it was his duty, and that of the Council, to see that the money of the public was properly expended. Colonel Packe said that he had heard dozens of people say that they would withdraw their subscriptions if Mr Johnson remained in the service of the Bociety. Had they been at all successful in their rearing of pheasants and trout the South Canterbury Society would never have been established, and then a large sum of money would have been retained in their hands.

Mr Johnson's supplementary answer waa then read, which, together with the first statament, are given below as follows :

" I. As to the remark that • The curator is at variance with the garden committee.* This is not strictly correct, as most of the members of the committee are those for whom the curator entertains the greatest respect, and with whom h£ has always worked smoothly and pleasantly. The variance is with Dr Campbell only, on account of his continued interference in the fish-breeding arrangements, in such a manner as to have already entailed on the society such severe fosses, with a prospect of permanently ruining for breeding purposes a large number of the best trout in the gardens, and the curator fears that if the sa/ne plan isadopted with the salmonit may be equally prejudicial. The ideas expressed by Dr Campbell on the subject of fish culture are generally so at variance with the experience of thecurator, and the ability of the doctor so great, in indirectly demonstrating that the curator is untruthful and not to be relied on, that the curator desires to express his regret at not having on all occasions accorded him the respect due to every member of the Council, especially when hearing such remarks from Dr Campbell—' That no trout were to be stripped unless in the presence of either himself or Mr Wallace: ' that the curator was not to attempt capturing spawning fish in the Avon, at Ham, or Riccartoa unless similarly accompanied;' «that he (the doctor) would require a duplicate key of the fißh house ;' ' that he would insist oa having his instructions carried out to the letter, even if every egg were lost.' "2. As to the denial by Dr Campbell that anything like 17,500 eggs were ever placed in the hatching-house this season—lt m quite possible the numbers may not be exactly correct, as out of forty boxes obtained full of eggs, only six were absolutely counted ; it is, however, quite as likely that the amount is a few hundreds over as under. Upwards of ninety trout were this season obtained for stripping from the ponds, g*& they were the healthiest and beat lot * fi^i

ever utilised for the purpose in the gardens, although with a large number it was the first season of spawning. " 3. As to conveying a false impression by exaggerating the number of bad eggs.—The bad eggs, as removed, were measured, and the number entered in the diary, and that instead of exaggerating, this by no means includes all the losses brought about through the action of Dr Campbell, as several of the best female fish were accidentally killed in consequence of removal, and thousands more eggs have been lost in consequence of there being no male fish in Season owing to confinement and separation. Out of about 10,000 eggs and very young trout that were lost last year, at least half might be attributed to a similar mode of treatment as directed by the doctor. The only deceit of which .the curator is conscious, is that of having stripped some fish in the ordinary way without acquainting the doctor, who had given strict directions that no fish were to be stripped unless in the presence of either himself or Mr Wallace, and it is these eggs that have hatched out the best.

"4. With respect to disregarding the instructions not to use the old fish-house. If such instructions had been acted on, 5500 ova would have been lost, as this was the number placed in the old house over and above the thirty boxes, all full, in the new house. The only intimation approaching such instructions was the remark, made by Dr Campbell, •That the new fish-house was quite large enough to hold all the eggs likely to be procured.' The curator had previously, on several occasions, expressed his expectation of being able to obtain this season more eggs than all the boxes in both houses could hold, and he is now more fully convinced that had.he not been so hindered from carrying out arrangements made for stripping fish in other localities, at the lowest estimate 30,000 young trout might be now in the boxes, instead of about 5000.

"6. With respect to incorrectness of temperature—The curator perhaps might have avoided being misunderstood if he had stated that the average temperature taken between 8 and 10 a.m. every day till ova hatched, had been 52deg in the old fish house, against 55deg in the new, a difference sufficient to account for the unusual large number of bad eggs, in comparison to those hatched in the old house, and this difference of temperature was caused by the increased flow of water directed to be sent through the boxes by Dr Campbell. No objection was raised by the curator to the darkening of the fish house, and this experiment has been faithfully carried out. The only objection made was to any alterations tending to raise the temperature, as the water direct from the well is 5 deg higher than desirable. "6. As to the charge of creating an impression tending to injure those who were doing their best for the society and the public, this impression the curator fears to be partially true, but it certainly was unintentional, and has occasioned him great sorrow, as he is convinced that few have •worked harder for the interests of the society than Messrs Campbell and Wallace, and their action arose from over anxiety to obtain a large number of trout ova. The daily interference of Dr Campbell and Mr Wallace during the few busy weeks of the spawning season, so hampered the curator, hindered his time, and upset all his arrangements as to occasion him great annoyance. This feeling is, however, but momentary, and crushed out by the lasting impression made on the curator by the great consideration and kindness experienced for many years from both these gentlemen. Nearly every unpleasantness which has arisen in the society has been brought about by causes similar to the present—viz, interference in detail work, and misstatements, such as were made by Dr Campbell during the curator's absence for the salmon ova—viz, ' that only 300 or 400 fish of that season's hatch had been sold, although 2000 were hatched; that the curator had turned out some blind fish into the Avon expressly to deceive the council ; that the trout in the gardens were all diseased ;' representing to the council that so much ill-success had attended the trout breeding, as to get a resolution passed that all the spawning and hatching arrangements were to be under the exclusive control of the garden committee, and also obtaining a resolution that all the fish in the gardens were to be turned out in the Avon and the ponds •emptied. The curator must express his regret at being compelled, under a sense of duty and in self-defence, to make these explanations; but with every desire to carry out his duties faithfully, economically, and successfully; under present arrangements the task is indeed difficult. " 7. The allusion made by Mr Farr, ' That the curator was in the habit of inserting so much offensive matter into his reports that one had to be returned to him three times.' The objection raised was only by Mr Farr himself, and the report alluded to was the very one that caused Sir J. C. Wilson to so strongly remonstrate against Mr Farr persisting in calling it the curator's, when it was essentially the garden committee's, the draft of it being in Sir J. C. Wilson's hand writing. Attention is called to this, because there is scarcely a meeting but what Mr Farr has not taken every opportunity of placing the curator in the most unfavorable light in the eyes of the Council, so much eo as to place him with Dr Campbell in the position of accusers. "8. The statement first made by Dr Campbell (see newspaper report)—' That the number of fish available for stripping did not exceed twenty-eight or twenty-nine, and many were of the first year's spawning, consequently the committee arrived at the conclusion that there could not have been more than 7000 eggs put into the brxes,' By the accompanying minute book the council will see two separate entries, in Dr Campbell's own handwriting, of seventynine fish in all caught for stripping. This did not include some caught by the curator out of another pond, or of six presented by Mr Wynn Williams, which brought the number up to over ninety. " 9. As to the charge of ' insubordination In sending ova to America unknown to the -committee," Mr Wallace was present part of the time, and saw the ova packed ; all the correspondence on the subject, both recent and for years back, is in the letter book (see letters) ; a local also appeared in ona of the morning papers, and a note was also entered in the diary when sent. By a resolution passed many years ago the curator was empowered to make exchanges, and he considered this in that light, having received some thousands of both trout and «nlmon ova from America. These were, however, obtained entirely at hia own expense, aa it has always been bis practice to refrain from recommending that the society's money should be expended in ways purely experimental.

" 10. As to refusal to go to Waikuku, this is about the mot>t astonishing of ail the extraordinary accusations, seeing that it was the hindrances given to the curator that caused him the greatest annoyance in not being able to carry out arrangements made for stripping fish in this and other localities. [See letters to H. B. Gresson and J. Dickenson, and also order book, proving that what eggs the curator did collect were at the risk of having to pay all expenses himself and rendering himself open to the charge of insubordination] The curator refused to go just at th<: time of emptying the ponds and leaving Dr Campbell in charge to strip the fish, fearing for the lives of the fish and the safety of the eggs, as in the previous year two large female trout which were handled by the Doctor died, and the eggs went bad. "11. As to the indirect charge of being the author of all the recent letters and leaders which have appeared in the newspapers, the curator must again disclaim all connection in any way with the letters or leaders referred to, and nothing has surprised him more than the universal and great consideration and sympathy he has experienced, seeing that from time to time so many ungenerous and one-sided remarks have been made, calculated to place his conduct in the most unfavorable light in the eyes of the council and the public. " 12. Charge of insubordination in not having an enclosure in the river completed as soon as ordered. Before commencing this work the curator represented that, owing to his absence for the salmon ova, and the additional work of having so large an iin portion of birds on hand so long, the ordinary and necessary work was so much behind, that he could spare little time for this extra work, but would do his best towards it. Notwithstanding, however, a series of unforseen delays and the difficulty of working in the water whilst in fiood, the enclosure would have been finished within two days at furthest of the time promised, without any extra expense or assistance, had not Dr Campbell stopped further work (see memo in diary) by sending a carpenter, who, assisted with a laborer, partly completed it in four days under the personal supervision of Mr Wallace. The enclosure was not made in the manner as at first decided on, and the curator expressed his conviction that it would be insecure and always clogged np with rubbish; and because this has turned out to be true, he is now accused of being accessory to the escape of the fish, and of having surreptitiously made away with their eggs, and that too, after having been for four nights a week for five weeks together, wading in the River Avon till near midnight, to capture spawning fish, on three occasions, accompanied by Dr Campbell, Mr Wallace, and other enthusiastic sportsmen, with torches, nets, lanterns, &c, and the result of all the united efforts was only four female fish and about thirty males; most of these latter were, however, the same fish caught several times over.

" 13. Charge of incompetency, as represented 'by the failure of the large glass aauarium, which cost (as stated by Dr Campbell) £150.' Without the opportunity of going into exact figures, this is about the amount that the large new fish house cost, including the aquarium, the most expensive item of which was £2O for the plate glass. The aquarium has been empty, with a view to getting the wood better seasoned, and till the proper description of indian-rubber can be obtained with which to bed the glass, several of the been broken in consequence of the indianrubber losing its elasticity from continued pressure in water. All the harm done is that some of the squares will be smaller than others.

" 14. As to mixing trout with the salmon in the floating cage. It was not till the fish had been in the cage some time, when the difference between the two was sufficiently perceptible, that the curator had any idea that the fish had got mixed. Before the salmon were liberated out of the boxes, the run was emptied to make sure of no enemies, so that the trout mnst have escaped out of the hatching boxes, and were six mouths younger than the salmon. The fact of the fish having got mixed was well known to Dr Campbell, quite as soon as to the curator. " 15. As to the charge of showing no interest in the salmon experiment. Before leaving for Southland for the salmon ova, a remark to the following effect was made in a report by the curator, 'As the salmon in the.cages are not yet sufficiently advanced to render their removal to the salt water necessary, it is recommended that their contemplated removal be deferred, as being too great a risk On the curator's return from Otago he was astonished to find that not oidy had the salmon in the cages been removed to the clear salt water,, but that Dr Campbell had been to the gardens, and caught all the salmon he could find, and removed them also straight away to the salt water ; and this, coupled with the fact of information having been received by the curator that six or seven dead fish, either trout or salmon, were seen in the possession of the doctor just at the time of the removal, led to very uncourteous words. Seeing also that the poor fish have been so long confined in the salt water at a time of year when they ought to have been in the fresh, it is a subject for great congratulation that there are still sufficient left to ultimately stock the whole colony, as the council will hear with regret that all the salmon out of the same shipment in Southland have been lost or have escaped. The reference made to Mr Young's experience in stripping fish, although apparently so similar, is in reality surrounded with circumstances and conditions altogether different.

" Fearing lest he might weary the patience of the council by further explanations, the curator trusts he has sufficiently proved, without the shadow of a doubt, that he is guilty of nothing but that of having done his duty under the most unpleasant and harassing circumstances; and he trusts the council will also consider that the honest truth has not been told with too much severity against one who, although a member of the Council, has not been satisfied with striving to ruin and. degrade his (the curator's) character, but to cast such reflections on the society in general as to bring discredit on the labors of others who have unselfishly devoted their time and built up a society which can compare most favorably, as regards good results, and in other provinces at least, is acknowledged to be the leading one in New Zealand." The chairman then asked whether Mr [Johnson had anything to add to the stateKent?

*■* Johnson said he should like to say a few wh, as regarded what had fallen from

Mr Wallace and Mr Fair, and proceeded to reply generally to them. Mr A. Duncan said he thought it was a great pity that the council was placed in the position they were. He might say that he came there perfectly unbiassed to hear both sides of the quesfciou, and he could not but look at the fact that garden committees in times gone by had had differences with the curator. He might say that he had thought the society should have gone into the acclimatisation of trees, &c, as well as the breeding of fish and importation of insectivorous birds. The garden committees had had to retire from inability to get on with the curator, and he regretted that it should now have come to this pass. He fully believed that Mr Johnson had his heart in his work, but unfortunately his opinions and those of the garden committee were not in consonance. In this position one party must give way, either the garden committee or Mr Johnson, and he thought that the curator would see it was necessary to.give way and let the society be resuscitated into ; imething useful to the public. Dr Campbell said that so far as regarded practical experience in pisciculture he had had largo experience, and even without this the garden committee had brought common sense to bear on the practical knowledge of the curator, but he would not allow them to do anything. The garden committee had a very unpleasant duty to perform, but they could not help it, as it was forced npon them. Then again as regarded the ova being sent to America, Mr Johnson might have at least had the courtesy to inform the garden committee of his intention. Mr Farr had referred to the small sales compared with the number said to be available. He (Dr Campbell) felt that Mr Johnson had not taken sufficient care of the young fish. It seemed to him that the public they represented were the subscribers ; they recognised no other, and therefore it was not necessary to take any notice of letters from persons such as those already appearing. The persons who would withdraw their subscriptions on account of Mr Johnson being dismissed would be far outnumbered by those who would join the society as new members. As regarded the stripping of the fish, referred to by the curator, he (Dr Campbell) would refer to Mr Wallace, who was with him on all occasions, as to the truth of this. With all the curator's professional knowledge, he had not succeeded in taking one female fish that year, while the garden committee had caught several, which had been handed to the curator, but nothing more had been heard of them.

The resolution of Dr Campbell, recommending the dismissal of the curator, was then put and carried unanimously. Mr Wallace moved —" That the curator receive one month's salary, instead of notice, from 15th September, and that he give up possession of the house he now occupies on that date."

Dr Campbell said he would move an amendment to that motion. The curator had been an old servant of the society, and he should like to see the curator receive a quarter's salary. Ul ear > bear.] The curator had been trying to do his duty, he believed, and he thought they should show some sympathy with him. He would ask Mr Wallace to alter his resolution. Mr Wallace consented to alter his resolution by the substitution of the words " three months" in place of the words "one month."

Colonel Packe seconded the motion, which was agreed to. Mr Duncan thought that the society should also give Mr Johnson something in lieu of the house, which was attached to the salary. Dr Campbell pointed out that the three months' salary proposed to be given included the allowance of house.

The garden committee were authorised to take the necessary steps to supply the place of the curator, to report at next meeting of the Council. m The meeting then adjourned.