THE Inangahua Times PUBLISHED TRT-WEEKLY. FRIDAY, FEB. 22, 1878.

Inangahua Times, Volume V, Issue 37, 22 February 1878, Page 2

THE Inangahua Times PUBLISHED TRT-WEEKLY. FRIDAY, FEB. 22, 1878.

hf a lateis^uo wo made a abort rer fcrenco to tno Wardon-6 Court cnao of Clifford v. R^ifchby, expressing an intention of taking m early opportunity of reforming a,t greater length, to tho matfcpr. r l hat intention has, nowever, been dplnyed ,epwov;hat longer, than was at first contemplated, owing Bittingij, of the' District' Court; having intervened. Tho cose being, l\ovvevov, now closed, ntvl . auffiiciont timp haying ' olapsed foe all tmrponcH, wo cannot now, in tho remarks wo aro ab.out to n\akp bo accused of nny dfln eiref to in^uon'ce tho pending award. Th,e case was, however, one of su,eh an extraordinary character, and evolved details of a, nature ho uniquo and exceptional, tl\atwo feel weshoujd fail in oi^r d(^ty to tho public and tho district wore wo to, p.asa them Ovor in ailpnce, With the, merita of tho casp wo ripod not hero doal al; any great length, for the oYide.n,c,o having bcer\ fully reported, in our columiiH, ot^r rpatloVfl will have lyul no difficulty in for.ining their, opinions ; but for present pi^rposef} it will bo necessary for us to, at least, mark ao outlinp of tho qaso. The faqtfl may theu bo summarised aomowhat as follows:.--' Tt\iTnly last the rp.cf -was otruck in the '"Dofynco mine. Up. to tho 4atc of tlin,t ansp.icious ovent iho operations carried ou had n.ec.e.s^tnto.(( tho HtriJ^ing of several calls, in tho pay* m.en't of vyhich a member of t\\e shnvoholders ha,fl run largely into arrears. Shortly boforp" th,o discovery of tho roof was t'nado public, tlio dir^ofcor^.of the company mot and the interests of certoitt, of tl\o defaulting shateholdprs wor,o declared, o,r held, to bo, forfeited a,!^; aftor a V stringy-bar.lt-.law »•' procosh"the (Jirectors njet nn,d procoedod t;n divide ttyw. fovfeite^sha^s am,ongst the.maelve^, and 1 all that w,ns -left of them— loft of the company. 'Phis was no doubt thought at the timp to boa masterly Btr,oko of ilnosso, as, had it fluccood'ed, tbo participators w,ould hnvo onriclred themselves considerably, but nR tho Ko^uol willehow, tho course of the plot did not run as smoothily as was exp.ecled Upon thif} being donp, ho\yever, the wnyi(oem,s to havo been considered clear fw what vyda to. fo.l« lovy. To une the wordft of ono. of tho dircotors when in tbo f witness box. tb.prp, w«» a " kind of fropinasonry " beiwoen tho holdoi'H of shores, by which it was arj^ged, thai; i^o interests should, hp placed in tho market, in order tl,\ere.by to screw up thp, naarl^et to t.ho dcrtirod pitch In tho n^onn timo tho proapnetq of tho mino wero sedulously vyor,kod u,p. and, as was admitted in evidG,i\ce, s vyiMi the aaaistane.e of tho Inangnlrua Herald, tho prn« prietprs of which vfcro "largo' slinrc hoVler.n " in the company, and held a

scat on, tho directory, an, artificial inflation, of tho market waa brouuhl; about, ai,vl by a KoriefJ. of flcf-itious qu.ntation^in, that pppor, n,n,d with, tho aid of on,(j or two admittedly bogus snips, Blyirjou were forced up tp 7s, Tho p; Imyin c; prospects of the mine, as paintediii, tho'papnr named, howp.vcr, naturally atiraclcd tho ationtion of thoHo, «h,areh.oldorH who had b.tip.u, fjo Hiiinmarily pu«hed out into tho cold, and ao they contended that at the timo of .the alleged forfeiture thoy worn uo

further in arrenr thai) Jrjany, if not tho majority, of tljqgo fayoroc} opea allowed to. rotaiii tljoir intprests in (J)e concern, thpyat onco plaj«)p4 to. bo admitted to a participation of tljo good things then, thought tQ bo in gtoro for t|»o co|npany. To this rqasqnablp applipatioq, however, thpso model (li« loctqr? turned a doaf par, and, ir» duo coupso tho aic| of tho District Court was invoiced by th,e applipantq, but tho direct 01^ taking adyantago qf a dpfeot' iv tho inachinery of the Court, tlio day of yeckoniqg waa atoned, of?, and tho applicants fop t(>o time beipg t}ofoatod. The n,ction alluded to, however, had tho pffect of domqnatra.tinp; tl]p directors of tho company tbqt. in theip grepd to get ppaapssion of thepo forfoitocVaharoo they had inado ft drqad«' iul bunglp and theiy ac^on, altpgothor iSloga'l, had oxposod thorn tp vory sorioua consoquenccQ--rondored tbeto, \\\ fact, liab^o to'd>gorgo. It flooms thot^ that in order to oxtricnto them--flolypa from thi« dijliculty and ftfc tl\o sa.tni'o tiipo to rptain thoiy grip of these illogally acquirod shaves, and n\ order father to ' effectually chut out the claimants from any remedy either in law 'or equity, tho company was rushed, info volanfcary w>n^i n ff U .P pyoc'ocdingf?, thp n^fno was sold privntely for tho price of an agricultural loaso, and this qucp " flourisliing " and belauded yon*^ 0 went through all tho outward yisiblo fori^ of dissolution, and into thp figurative shops of the late lamented undertaking 9" J^vv" corporation stepped, styled— perhaps rather prematurely—the Victory Pom* pany. Somp little time later Clifford and party' lodged, an application for tho;cai^coUatip,n of thp lease, on tbo ground that tho conditions! had not been cotnplipd with. Upon the hoar, ing of tbiq applibation it was practically admitted by' tho 4dfen.ee that the covei^ants of tbo lo'asp ]]i\<\ not boon j observed, but as a ground, why ( li monoy flue should bo imposed in Jioi^ of forfeiture tho circtimatancosjust related, wore set up. At that hearing it' wag soletnnly sworn by tho manager of ithe I)eu>nco Company, a,nd by Bovoral of tho directors that tho sale of | tho mino was 0110 and 6u,b'(uul bonn lido, without any ftcerot trust or unclorstanding, eitljer direct or implied, that the old Poiknoo shareholders should retain, any interest \n the ground, or have a preforonco iq any eoiflpariy tn bo subsoquonly formed by tliojpurehnsor. Upon these facts the application proved abortive. / Subsequently the |samp party applied for f\ rp-hpariim of the puso upon tb,o groi^nd of newovid* oncQ, such d^idenco boing to proyp that the winding up prooppdinßS, thosa^o of the mine, imd tl\p d,i,W>!ul>on wp.i;p parts of ft mere sham, aqd a blind, entorod intoj witli the bbjoct' already stated, Finally, a upw t'H^ wn« grantbd, and tho; oaso'oamo on in the. form lttto|y , by vis, when the lipjht was lot pretty fullvj into tho wholoi traoßoolipn,...^n4. some %f^m intorostinc: oiroumltanpoß wore brought \JM the Rurfaco. Tho wliolo of tho direatorß| of tho Into company woro fnost omphatio' upon this point us to tho j>onuin.pss- of tho salo to ltailhby.aud tho utter absence ofany arrahgbmont or understanding whore* by they should havo their interests in the ground secured, The price obrainod for the mino was .CSOO, wliioli tho directors, one and all, swore wan quito up to it.i valuo at the time. Tho evidence, and tho facts, as a wholo, however, did not dovetail into thoso statements. In tho first plaeo,n number of tho witnossos ■holders in' tho Defiance Company) aworo difltinotly that prior to the sale they worn led td.bpjioyo by dirootors of the Doda.ioo Company that tboir intero«ts in t,bo ground would, in. tho pvent of tho sale, be sconrod. Kvidenop, wa« tondored to h!»ow that immediately prip.r to thp salo of tho mine shakos in tho Dofymoo Company woro sold i,n, tho open tnakot at 4s, thus placing tbo selling valu,o of tho mine at ;)S<t,6oo, Next oam,e tho f'aot that a now company was formed upon fchp, aahos of tho old one, wh^eh oompriHod thp na.tn.o sharoholderfl, v?ho hold interests prooisoly proportionate to that hp'd by them in tho Dofianco rioijipnny. In short, tho whole facts wont to proyo that tho contention of tho npplip.ants was a ronsou # a,blo p.no. Wo ncvor hoard ft case, which oarriod groator sqs« pioion with it, nor a oaso which proijontod such a strong conflict of ovidonco. That tho most vvio.lcod and flagitious perjury was committod no ono who has hoard it doubts for a second, For our own part wo never listened to a caso whoro tho obligation of au oath vyaa so, sinfully and impiously violated. In tho interests of publio justice, public morality, and public 1 example, tho oaso o.rios alou,d for von#oanop. Upon whom rosts tho guilfc wo arc woablo. tp, say, but it matters i^ot u^non whom, tho nooossity of shooting it homo, remains thp same, and w° any it is the, : duty of thp Grov,ornm,onfc to tttko immediuto eognizanao of it. What possiblo. 1 socurity either, for, property, reputation, or oven life, onn thcro bo whilo crimes of this class aro. allov^od to go unpmmhod P It cannot bo for a moment dpubto.d that tho crimp of perjury is fast on, tho incroauo in our. Oou f rts. W, 0 havo of lato had f(omo drondfi.it oxamplos of it in ou,r own community, and the vory audaoity with, which it is committed malcos it, but too itpparo.nt that tho bid oxamplo is taking cf^oct, and that wo are steadily drifting into a condition of things when, all public, safety and security will bo at an oikl. In c.onplui Hi'on then we repeat, that i,t is a serious obligation on tho part of tho Govornmont to inVorpoHo nnd by making an example of one pr more of tho offondcrs. so rosloro

public roapoct nnd public oonfidonoo in tho maplpnpry of oi;r law Cqurts.