To the Editor of the Grey River Argus.

Grey River Argus, Volume IV, Issue 274, 15 October 1867, Page 2

To the Editor of the Grey River Argus.

Sir — My attention has been directed to an aiticle jn your issue of the Bth inst, and to a paragraph in your shipping columns of the same date, reflecting "b.u the conduct of the business of the P..N.Z. and A.R:M. Go's agency at Hokitika. - With becoming deference I submit that your position at Greymoufch scarcely entitles you to set yourself up as a judge to decide upon and condemn the management of the Company's business in Hokitika ; and it further occurs to. me that you have riot judi, - cionsly used the liberties allowed to the press . |v the article and paragraph to which I have referred. From your standpoint it is barely possible to be in possession of facts to enable you to judge correctly of the conduct of this agency, and it is pretty clear that you have not much exerted yourself to acquire such facts. You have committed an indiscretion by publishing, upon insufficient premises, an attack upon my reputation as the Company's agent ; and I feel sure that when I have demonstrated that your article from beginning to end misrepresents things, you will readily make the amend^honorable. To follow your "article proposition by proposition ; to refute untrue allegations ; and to expose sophisms and explain the circumstances from which they have arisen would lequire more time than I can devote to, the subject, and more space than you would probably allow. The most puny understanding can realise the fact that a baseless charge contained in one line may require a column or more to refute. For this reason 1 must beg of you that if at any future time you should select me as a fit and proper subject for a "leaderj"you will be good enough not to base yci.ur arguments upon ex parte statement^ and mere opjnious unsupported by facts. I will now proceed to touch upon the more galient points of your article. You state tl; ftt the desire of the Company to cultivate the West Coast trade is being constantly thwarted by my actions. I might reply to this by f our simple monosyllabic words, but I prefer to treat the editorial chair with courtesy, I ask you on what grounds ypu base this sweeping assertion ? I challenge you to bring forward one instance in which the Company's interests have suffered at Greymouth or elsewhere through my neglect, mism ajiagement, or want of judgment? The Airedale affajr I will presently deal with in extenso . Your readers ■wall then know what weight to attach to the other .portions of your article, You further state that through my actions tlie interests of the company are allowed to suffer to an extent winch you '•fancy' 1 is hardly appreciated at headquarters. The reference to head-quarters falls upon me as & brutuip, fulmen, for there my superiors are in possession of data from ■which they can deduce sound conclusions ; ' find their estimate of my capacity and fitness Jot the position I hold, is not likely to be seriously disturbed by allegations unsupported by facts', even though they emanate from^the great unknown" we." That porson^: the article referring tp the uncer-

<3intj£ of .the arrival and departure of steamers, and the disappointments i sustained by passengers, I intend to paps by without further notice than to remark that the diffip llty of working the West Coast bar harbors should sufficiently account for the irregularities to which you refer. But it seems to be a foregone conclusion to plape every irregularity, every imeertainty to my debit. I neither second ths" ; Coinpany's desires, nor the Greymouth agent's efforts, to cultvate the West Coast trade. Misrepresentation can go no further than this. It effect, how: ever, is neutralised by its extravagant ab.su.rd jty. I shall now refer to the only specific and come-at-able charge you have preferred against the management of this agenc}', All your other charges are vague and quite iinworthy of notice, only their plansibility might deceive people at adistanpe. You say "the most glaring instance of mismanagement that has occurred is that relating to the Airedale." I shall proceed to give a brief history of that vessel's last visit here, and what was done during her stay. The facts will speak for themselves. The Airedale arrived here on the 30th nit, too late for tide. The following clay Ijer inward passengers were landed. As the weather promised to be unfavorable to working the bar next day — which was the day adverr tised, and set down in the time-tables for leaving — I sent out word to the captain that 1 thought the weather was going to be bad ; that there were 10,00Q ounces of gold for London at Greymouth ; that I expected to secure a good many outward passengers here; and that it would be desirable to wait, should the weather prove unfavorable, until the latest possible moment. The captain's reply was to the effect that he woulcl.not, unless absolutely compelled by want of time, leave without the gold and passei.gers. On the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, what with wind, high seas, and freshets, the Hokitika bar was absolutely impassable. On the sth, the weather had slightly improved, but there was so much, fr<sshin the river, so high a sea running,, and so undefined a channel, that all the tug-mas-ters decliaecl to venture out. I succeeded, liowever, about 3 p.m. that day in inducing Captain Souter, of the Tasmanian Maid, to undertake the risks of crossing the bar ; and ut about 5.30 p.m., the Airedale, having embarked some thirty passengers, of , whom two were for New York, proceeded on her voyage. Now, Sir, the Airedale's detention here on account of bad weather extended from the 2nd to the sth— four days inclusively. You state, "She might have been tendered at Greyinquth on two or three days during the time she was waiting unprofitably outside Hokitika." I.. would be glad to know which were tho two or three day 3. On the 2nd, 3rd, and sth the Company's agent at Greymouth telegraphed to me in the most positive terms that on none of those days could the Airedale be tendered. A gentleman who # "so industriously consults the Comparys int. rjsts," and to whosj "assiduity in furtiering the Company's welfare," you yourself testify, would not, I am sure, deceive me in a matter of such vital importance, lam ft reed, then, to conclude that you have misstated the case iii this important particular. I have yet to deal with another day — the 4th. On that day, the Greymouth agent telegraphed as follows |— " Dispatch will tender Aidedalc if bar j ot worse; and she leaves at once. " Although her being tendered was contingent upon these two circumstances, I promptly decided upon trying the chance ; and within two minutes from the receipt of the telegram I was at the signal-station ready to signal the Airedale,. "Proceed to Greymouth forthwith." From defective arrangements at the signal-station, explained in a letter to. the Wast Coast Times, which you have quoted, T was unable to signal in time to be of any service. This, although strongly deprecated at the time, proved to be a fortunate circumstance for the Hokitika public and the Company ; for had the Airedale been sent to Greymouth that day, not only would she have mifsed the shipment of gold at that port, but also the mails and passengers frpm this port. In fact, she would have ieft the West Coast without earning a cent. And why ? Because the Dispatch was sent out during -a heavy freshet, when the chances were a thousand to one against her getting back that day, y}itj\ov.t the gold on hoard. Nor did she get back until the next afternoon, sth, and then I received a telegram, " Gold cannot be got on board to-night; Dispatch jusfc in ; paddle-wheel damaged." It is thus clear that the Airedale's mission to Greymouth would have bean fruitless, owing to the bar- being unworkable on the 2nd, 3rd, and sth, and to the chance afforded by the' Dispatch on the 4th not being seized upon. My mismanaging proclivities forced upon me the conviction that, under the then existing circumstances, whatever was to go out to the Airedale must go by the first chance that offered of crossing the bar. Nor did I wait until one turned up in the ordinary way. I made one by earnest negotiations with Capt. Souter and his agents, to which both can testify. That is how I mismanaged ; that is how I neglected the interests entrusted to me. Had the Airedale gone to Greymouth ou the 4th, she would have found the Dispatch outside with nothing for her; would have remained until after the Dispatch went in on the sth, in expectation of her coming out with the gold, &c. But Dispatch went in, aud could not come out again. Telegram absolutely states "gold cannot be got on board to-night." This being the case, the Airedale would doubtless have proceeded without returning hei c, and her whole mission to the West Coast -would have been useless to the public, and a serious loss to the Company. . It would be a waste of time to answer aIJ the charges contained in your extraordinary concoction ; but there is one other demands, and shall receive notioe. You charge me with ordering the Airedale to proceed from here to Nelson direct, to the entire neglect of the requirements of Greymouth. Where in the name of fortune did you get this piece of information? I cannot understand such reckless statements being published in a newspaper, especially as they would, if true, clearly show that I am unfit for the position I hold. So far from my ordering her to Nelson, this is wflat I did : When I learned by telegram, "Gold cannot be got on board to-night," [ immediately replied, "Any chance for Airedale morning's tide ? If so, will signal ; she's still in roadstead. Be very quick replying." I received for answer, " Bruce just in ; will not go out again ; will do her best iaorniag. Repjy immediately wheat is to be done." Without leaving the telegraph office (wh.ere J was waiting reply to previous telegram) I promptly replied, "Will sigpal Airedale, Greymouth gold in morning." It was now past four o'clock. I hastened to, signal-station, and signalled as above. I received the answer by signal, "I cannot," and shortly, afterwards the Airedale 'steamed away. By the time the signalling was clone it was past five o'clock, and the telegraph station was consequently closed, You will now readily admit that your charges of neglect and mismanagement entirely disappear before the light of facts, at all events so. far as "the most glaring instance of mismanagement" is 'coace_rned. Your vague charges are equally groundless as I will undertake to prove if specific instances are given. I regret exceedingly that the feeling should haye got abroad in Greymouth that in conducting the business of this agency I am unmindful of the requirements of that port. There is really no just ground what* ever for it. I have seen instances which have led me to suppose that many of the residents of Greymouth entertain tjlie notion that every Hokitikian is hostile to th>

.■••■ .<•■" ■■ ■ ■ : ... - welfare of the Grey district. .Some such feeling as this, in ■ n.y opinion, accounts for the merciless onslaught upon mci Even if the two districts were at open war 1 should do'the best I could;' to favor the Company's vessels getting all the traffic possible from each. It matters not to me where the traffic comes from so long as we get it ; and if you will look closely into njy actions, and not judge of them through the medium of local jealousies, you will find thaj; their end and aim is to faithfully serve the interests of the Company which I represent. It is with the view of setting matters right as it affects the Company^to show that its manager has not erred in the selection of a representative to conduct; this agency— and to allay the suspicion that Greymouth is slighted by the Company's steamers, that I have addressed you at so great a length. Apologising fpr so doing, I am, &c, John W^cite. Agent P..N.Z. ami A.R.M. Co. Hokitika, October 12, 1567,