NELSON.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume V, Issue 208, 2 January 1865, Page 3

NELSON.

Mli, JENKINS’ VISIT TO TNOLAN u. A meeting was held in tlm Provineiai IT .11. <•■:; Tuesday evening last, called by Mr -i t > enable him to give an account <T ni.- *t 1 ‘.u V.-.i , land with the Maori chiefs. The meeting was kept v.-uhh.g e-m-Mm-. able time for the chairman, w.;>>. uowcvcr, did not arrive, and Mr. Jenkins’ appeal to 11 any one who was willing to preside,’’ being Unsuccessful, tho business was conducted without a chairman. Mr. Jenkins premised his “ rambling round-about statements” (to quote bis own words), by saying that his Excellency Sir George Grey has expressed deep interest in his trip to England, had invited several ladies to meet him (Mr. Jenkins) at dinner, had expressed his full concurrence in all lie had done, and had advised him to hold a public meeting and lay before it a detailed result of his visit. “ Many,” said Mr. Jenkins, “ thought I was going to England on a wild goose chase, they ridiculed my idea, but I had calculated to a fraction what the result ougUt to be.” Disappointment, however, followed him, and throughout the visit. Mr. Jenkins seerrs, to use as mild a phrase as possible to have been a kinsman of “The unfortunate man.” His Grace the Duke of Newcastle did not behave well. Lord Shaftesbury behaved worse, though Mr. Jenkins thought it was because he had been deceived ; Mr. Ridgway, who welcomed hint wit!) a slap on the hack, turned out a veritable vampire in the way of the Maori troupe. He did all (so said Mr. Jenkins) that spite, malevolence, and an nndeviating course of misrepresentation could achieve. Some quakers defended Mr. Jenkins, others issued letters defaming him ; newspapers misreported him ; one gentleman offered to place £2OOO at his disposal if he would proceed at law against Mr. Ridgway, but he did not accept it, because his quaker riends said, “Thou must not go to law, we will see tbee through it.” A lady offered to send the Maoris back to New Zealand, but, if we are to believe Mr. Jenkins, she behaved very ill. and induced Lord Shaftesbury to put his name to the untruth, and to issue circulars and an advertisement calling for subscriptions to send the natives back to New Zealand because they were destitute. This, said Mr. Jenkins, was a “vile calumny” of the Earl of Shaftesbury. At length a letter arrived in England from Sir George Grey, which was a panacea for every suffering, as it at length obtained for him a testimonial of his worth from the Defence Committee” who had sat in Birmingham, and who presented him with an address and a writing desk, having some words engraved on a tablet, made, we think, of suitable metal—brass. In concluding, Mr: Jenkins said ho hoped, if he had erred, that charity would prevail, that the people of Nelson would look charitably on his efforts. This they did, for no observation was made, and the meeting concluded without any vote being proposed by any one. —Nelson Examiner, Dec. 8.