SPORTING.

Globe, Volume XXI, Issue 1822, 23 December 1879, Page 3

SPORTING.

AUCKLAND TRAINING NOTES, [By Telegraph.] AUCKLAND, Decern 1 •• 23. The course this morning being in good order, all the horses for the first time did fast work, the cup horses all going tho distance. Harope put in first appearance with his team. Whitefoot went a good three mile gallop. He is improving fast. Lalla also did good work. Laertes and Kakapa stripped, went a couple of courses, the former having the best of it. Mathews had Ariel, Merlin, Edward James, Daisy, and Omega out. After walking some time Ariel and Merlin stripped, went about two miles at a good pace. Agent went a good gallop, and appears fit. W. Smith had Xantippe, Maid of Honor, and Tim Whilller out. Xantippe and Tim Whifllar went a steady gallop of a mile ; Maid of Honor only did gentle exercise. Bay gave Maritana a gallop of a mile and a half. She is looking fit and well. Sinking Fund and Lonehand went a strong gallop of two miles and a half. Templeton did a good steady spin, moving uncommonly well. Yallance sent Pinfiro and Lara tho cup course at a good pace. Lady Elizabeth did a capital gallop over tho cup course. Lady Gertruda also did a good gallop. NORTH OTAGO RACES. [By Telegraph.] OAMARU, December 22. Tho following are tho entries for the races to be run at Oamaru on Friday and Saturday next: — MAIDEN PLATE. Luck’s All May Moon Emerald Sultana Ada Little John Mabel Harakiki Adamant | COUNTY PLATE. Luck’s All 1 Little John Unknown I SELLING RACE. Numa Glencoe Emerald May Moon Mabel Seven Bella Deception COUNTY HANDICAP. Pulleuri I Harakiki Blue Peter j Unknown Little John | O J.C. HANDICAP. Camballo I Vampire Numa I Harakiki Adamant 1 Soukar NOVEL RACE. Luck’s All Deception Emerald Jean Seven Bella Glencoe May Moon Mabel The following are the acceptances : CUP. Vampire I Blue Peter Nnma I Soukar HURDLES. Unknown | Te Whetu Theodore j Little John publicans’ handicap. Vampire | Soukar Nnma | Bine Peter PRECIS OF PAPERS IN CONNECTION WITH THE PAYMENT OF £3OO TO ME W. L. REES. On the Ist August a requisition was sent in by the Native Department in the following terms :—“Required the sum of £3OO, as an advance for payment of legal expenses in connection with the West Coast Natives. To be spent under the direction of tho Hon. Mr Nahe. To be charged to Advances Consolidated Fund. — J. Sheehan.”

The Audit objected to the advance being made ; but wbat the precise nature o£ their objection was, done not appear on these papers. On the same day the Native Minister gave the following order to the Under-Secretary : “ Mr Lewis : Re imprest of £3OO, authorised to be advanced to the Hon. Mr Nahe, as contribution towards defence of Native prisoners. To meet the difficulties raised by the Audit Department, you had better take the imprest to yourself, paying the same in such manner and to such persons as the Hon. Mr Nahe may direct. Please attend to the thing at once.—John Sheehan. Ist August, 1879.” Thereupon the Under-Secretary minuted as follows : “ File with my requisition. It has since been arranged that the money had better be paid to Mr Siev weight, so that ho may be held responsible to furnish detailed accounts when required by the Audit Department. Native Minister has approved.—T. W. Lewis. Ist August, 1879.” The £3OO was thereupon paid to Mr Siovweight by the Trea'ury Cashier, in the follo wing way : A voucher was prepared showing the Native Department to be “ Dr. to Basil Siavwright: This money is wanted as part costs of legal advice to and for the Ngaliawa and Taranaki Natives, in regard to their lands on the West Coast. Approved : For immediate payment.—J. S. Ist July [Aug], 1879.” “The Paymaster-General: Please direct the immediate payment of this amount to Mr Sievwright.—T. W. Lewis. Ist August, 1879.” “ The Cashier : Please pay. — J. O. Q-. Ist August, 1879.” An Imprest Account was afterwards sent in, minuted thus :—“ Account of W. T. Thane, 6th August, 1879. Mr Lewis ; Bo good enough to direct how this expenditure of £3OO is to be charged.—J. Mobpeth. Gth October, 1879.” Upon which the Undersecretary minuted : “ Hon. Native Minister : For your instructions. This payment should, I think, be dealt with in the same manner as the amount) paid on account of Native prisoners, pipers relating to which are before you for consideration.—T. W. Lewis. 9th October, 1879.”

The Native Minister thereupon minuted that he would bring the matter before the Cabinet. On the 10th October the Native Minister (Mr Bryce) directed the Under Secretary to procure the detailed accounts referred to in the preceding minute, and to ascertain the actual services for which the £3OO had been paid. A letter was accordingly written to Mr Sievwright on the 10th October, calling upon him to furnish ns soon as possible an account in detail of the expenditure of the £3OO, and of the actual services for which the payment had been made. Next day (11th October) Mr Sievwright replied that he was employed by and received his instructions from Mr Nahe, and was not employed or instructed by the Government, and he therefore referred the Native Department to Mr Nahe, who had procured the sum in question towards costs which ho was incurring in connection with Native claims; that the money wes only received by himself (Mr Sievwright) as Mr Nahe’s agent ; but that, if Mr Nahe desired it, ho (Mr Sievwright) would supply all the information he possessed. Mr Sievwright added that the business towards the cost of which the sura was granted had only begun, and would probably bo both laborious and expensive. On the 13th October the Native Minister directed a telegram to bo sent to Mr Naha for the particulars of the services rendered ; and also directed Mr Sievwright to be reminded that the money did not appear from the vouchers to have been paid to him as solicitor for a private person, but as the person who was himself to render the service.

Mr Nahe replied to that telegram, on tho 16th October, as follows : —“Tho services performed by Sievwright and Rees were to make arrangements respecting tho reserves consented to by tho Government for the Maoris at Taranaki, who are now in prison; and when a Commission is appointed to inquire into the troubles at Taranaki, Mr Rees and others will act as lawyeis for me at Taranaki; for I represented Taranaki, and that is why 1 asked the Qovernmont to show me consideration, and give me money to retain the services of a lawyer for my people at Taranaki.— Hoani Nahe.”

Mr Sievwright replied to the Native Department’s letter on tho 18th October, referring the Native Minister to bia employer, and repeating that ho himself had never directly or indirectly applied to the Qovernmont for money in conrection with tho West Coast Native business ; had never, in fact, known of an application having been made until he was asked to draw tho money ; and never had been asked or employed by the Government to advise the Natives, or to obtain advice and legal a.-sista: ce for them. Ho therefore declined to supply any information in his possession, unless instructed by Mr Nahe to furnish it.

■ Upon this, tho Under-Secretary recommended that, as the Controller had power under the Revenues Act to demand whatever information was necessary,' to elucidate any public account, it might be advisable to leave the matter to be dealt with by that officer. The Native Minister, on tho 2nd November, referred the matter to the Controller for investigation, requesting him to obtain from Mr Sievwright the particulars of the service rendered, which ho had himself failed in obtaining. On the 3rd November the Controller sent tho following minute to Mr Sievwright:— “The Controller finds that a sum of £3OO was paid by the Treasury to Mr Sievwright on the 2nd August, as part costs for legal advice to the Natives as to their land on the West Coast. Mr Sievwright is requested to send to the Audit Office the account of the expenditure of these moneys.— J. E. FitzGebald, 3rd November, 1879.” Mr Sievwright replied in the following terms “In reply to Mr Fitz Gerald’s memorandum of 3rd November, Mr Sievwright begs to refer to correspondence he has recently had with the Native Office on this subject.— W. Sievwbight. 4th November, 1879.” The Controller then sent Mr Sievwright the following order:—“Tho Controller and Auditor General directs Mr Sievwright to account to tho Audit Office for tho public moneys, in pursuance of the powers vested in him by law, without reference to any correspondence which may have passed with other offices.— J. E. FitzGlkbald, 4th November, 1879.”

To which Mr Sievwright replied on the sth, repeating to the Controller what ho had already stated to the Government, namely, that he was employed by Mr Nahe ; that he was not in any way employed by the Government, either directly or indirectly; that he had been informed that the Ministry, on the application of Mr Hoani Nahe, had consented to give the Natives the £3OO ; that the warrant made the amount payable to himself (Mr Sievwright) ; and that bo had drawn the money as part payment of the legal costs of his clients, but not in any way as a payment to him from the Government, with whom ho had no communication. Mr Sievwright represented that therefore the £3OO could not be “ public money ” within the meaning of the Bevenuea Act; but that, personally, he had no objection to afford the fullest information, and had telegraphed to Mr Nahe for his consent, and that in anticipation of such consent he was preparing his own bill of costs, which would show how the £3OO had been spent. On the 6ih November the Controller re* plied to Mr Sievwright that the £3OO had been paid by the Treasury Cashier out of imprest moneys, from which he could not be relieved, as the voucher conclusively showed that the money had been paid to a solicitor as part payment of legal costs, on the authority of the Native Minister and another member of the Executive Council, but had not been charged to auy vote or other authority of Parliament, and remained a debt to the Crown until the imprestea was discharged by the audit. The Controller, therefore, still required the money to be accounted for. Thereupon, on the 16th November, Mr Sievwright replied, sending in his bill of costs, which ho stated had been ready for soma days, but he had asked Mr Bees to send him a memorandum of work done by him (Mr Bees) to accompany the account which had not been received; and Mr Sievwiight called attention to two receipts by Mr Bees, one for £l5O, paid to him on 2nd August, and the other for the further sum of £l5O, paid to him on 4th August The bill of costa is for £377 16s 2d, and includes, besides the payment of the two sums of £l5O each to Mr Bees, a charge for £52 10s to Mr Sievwright himself. The bill of costs, which is made out to Mr Nahe, shows that the consultations with Mr Bees began on 18th July. On the 2nd and 4;h August the two payments of £l5O are entered as follows :—“ Attendance on Mr Boos, to pay him as desired on account of retainer and fee, 6s 81 ; paid him, per receipt, £l5O ; meeting with you and Mr Garmon and Mr Bees today, when you instructed me to pay the £3OO to Mr Bees, 13s 4d ; attendance on Mr Bees to piy him further, 13s 4d; paid him, per receipt, £150.” The receipts themselves are as follow : “ 2nd August—Beceived retainer and fee from Mr Sievwright, on account of costs for Ngatiawa and Taranaki Natives, £l5O.—W. Id. Bees.” “ 4th August—Received from Mr Sievwright the sum of £l5O, on account fees for Natives, Taranaki.—W. L. Bees.” The last paper in the series is a letter from Dr. Buffer to tho Native Minister, dated the Bth November, in which he states that the matter of the payment of this £3OO having come to his knowledge that day, ho begged to say that he (Dr. Buffer) had been acting as counsel for tho Maori prisoners j that in that capacity he had frequent interviews with the late Native Minister, in the presence of Mr Parata, when he had assured tho Minister of his desire to avoid embarrassing tho Government, that he intended to assist his clients by taking proceedings in the Supremo Court for testing the validity of tho confiscation, and that, considering lime was important, ho would get the consent of his clients to a postponement of the trial. Dr. Buffer went on to represent that on one of theso occasions the late Native Minister had said that Sir George Grey was willing to help tho disaffected Natives with funds for the above purpose; but that he had told Mr Sheehan at once that all such help must bo declined, and that tho Natives would have no confidence whatever in the proceedings unless the whole expense was borne by themselves, and tho conduct thereof entrusted to lawyers entirely independent of tho Government; that a native committee had been appointed, under wheso guidance a certain manifesto had been prepared and circulated, subscription lists opened, and a trust account opened at the Bank of New Zealand; that from tho first this Native Committee had resolved to decline all assistance from the Government; that when a rumor became current of the Government having supplied certain money, the president and secretary (Hon. Mr Taiaroa, M.D.0., and Wi Parata) had oome to him in great consternation to know if it were true ; that Mr Travers had been retained by him (Dr, Buffer) as the

counsel for the Natives; that it was with astonishment ho (Dr. Duller) had heard from Mr Rees (that day) of Mr Hoani Nahe, as professing to represent the Natives, having employed Mr Sievwright as solicitor, and Mr Rees as counsel, as well as of the payment of £3OO to Mr Rees. Dr. Buller concluded by saying, on behalf of the committee of chiefs, that Mr Nahe had been wholly unauthorised to act in the matter ; that they declined to be connected in any way with the payment of Q-overnment money; and that it would bo his duty to advise them to publish a repudiation of the transaction in the widest manner.