MR. FOX'S MISREPRESENTATIONS.— THE GOVERNMENT BRIG. [From the " Wellington Spectator," Feb. 4.]

New Zealander, Volume 8, Issue 616, 10 March 1852, Page 2

MR. FOX'S MISREPRESENTATIONS.— THE GOVERNMENT BRIG. [From the " Wellington Spectator," Feb. 4.]

When Mr. Fox, about twelve months since, quitted his " adopted country" in theßentinck for England, few of the settlers any longer troubled themselves about him, and by this time he would have been altogether forgotten by them had he not again obtruded himself on their notice by the publication of a book on New Zealand, professing to give the results of his experience, but being for the most part little more than a reproduction of the mis -statements and falsehoods he had anonymously put forth as the editor of the Independent. His professed object (as he informs his readers in his preface) is a desire to enlighten, on the subject of .New Zealand, the ignorance of the many who know nothing about it, and to remove the misapprehensions of the few who know a little; his real motive appears to be to gratify his personal hostility to the Governor by putting forth a tissue of unfounded statements that will not bear the slightest examination. Now, though some allowance may be made for the highly coloured statements of a party writer in the heat of a newspaper controversy, who writes on the spur of the moment, no such indulgence can be granted to Mr. Fox, when with such ostentation he advances his claims to the confidence of his readers, and deliberately publishes a book for the avowed purpose of giving information about the colony, but which'is full of wilful mis-statements. Mr. Fox is careful to tell us he left England nine years ago, a barrister and a graduate of Oxford ; having, like Mr. Briefless, travelled many & weary and profitless circuit in the Mother Country, he came to New Zealand to better his condition ; it is well known that having lailed to obtain employment in his profession he was on the point of leaving New Zealand for another colony, when he obtained a good berth from the Company in whose employment he continued until their dissolution. Pic also talks of his having been appointed, immediately before leaving the colony, honorary political Agent in England for the settlement of Wellington, and in this capacity ventured to present a petition to the House of Lords. But though he affects to claim this distinction on the strength of a resolution passed at a meeting held shortly before his departure, at which about 250 persons were present, when his friends of the Association obtained possession of the platform befove the doors were opened, and when a number of shingle splitters and sawyers were brought to hold up their hands in his favour; his pretensions were absolutely repndiated in a protest signed within six-and-thirty hours by upwards of two hundred and thirty Wellington settlers, on the ground of his being precluded, as having been for a time the Principal Agent of the Company, from advocating their interests, while the Hutt settlers in an equally numerously signed protest refused to have any thing whatever to do with him; at Nelson, where, as he himself informs us, he resided as Company's Agent for five years, the settlers marked their appreciation of his claims to their confidence by pas&ing him over in silence, despite the active efforts of some few of his friends who found all their attempts to procure a demonstration in his favour utterly unavailing. So much for Mr. Fox's pretensions, we shall shortly take an opportunity of examining and exposing some of the numerous mis-statements and perversions of facts with which his book abounds; we may meanwhile direct the attention of our readers to the refutation contained in Captain Deck's letter of Mr. Fox's episode about the Government Brig, which we exposed at the time when it originally appeared in the Indcj)endent.

To llie Editor of the New Zealand Spectator.. Wellington, January 30tb, 1852. Sir, — As Mr. Fox lias published a series of untruths about the different settlements in New Zealand and the means of communication between them, in which he includes the vessel now under my command, I- beg to be allowed to ollor a few remarks on his unjust and, incorrect account of the passage of the Government 13iisj Victoiia, from Nelson to Wellington, when he was on board of her. If Mr. Fox had confined himself to the truth and stated the whole of the facts connected with that pnssage, or if he had even contented himself with publishing his statements in the local papers, the matter might have rested, as it has hitherto done, unheeded bv me ; — but when he sends them forth to the world in the shape of a book, it is time that the facts of the case should be made known. ■ 'lhc Victoria, after having been detained by a foul wind in Nelson Haven 48 hours, was, owing to the skill of Mr. Cross, the pilot, worked out of the harbour by 8 a.m. on the 24th of May, 1850 ; nothing after that prevented the vessel from sailing direct for Wellington, but the non-arrival of the paities who had been ordered a passage in her, including Mr. and Mrs. Fox, their servant and hoise; so the Brig was obliged to anchor again off the mouth of the harbour although a fair wind was blowing until 2 p.m. The horse (although, as I said before, we had been detained 48 hoise by contiary winds) was not brought alongside until 9 3 a.m,,, when Mr. Fox came off with it, and on his leavutg the vessel to return on shore, I heard Cape. Pulham, who was then Commander of the vessel, request him to uso all despatch possible, as he was anxious to take advantage of the favourable wind. As it was uncei tain the previous night whether the Brig would be able to get out of the harbour by reason of the stiong S. W. wind which was then blowing, the provisions which Captain Pulham had ordered were requested not to be sent down until that point was

decided, nnd as the vessel left the haibowr so eaily in li".m orning they had not coino down fiom the town in ti'ue to come on boaul previous to liei moving. But I hoaid the Captain ask Mr. Fox to be kind enough, as he passpcl tho doors of the baker and butcher on ins H'lurn to town, to lequest tliem to send down the various supplies in time to come off with the boat which brought himself and the other passengers on board, and Mr. Vox. promised to do so. Whether he kept his pionuse or not I do not know, but the piov sioiit, nevet came on boaul: on my return, however, to Nelson six months aftei, by direction of Captain J'tilham 1 paid for the whole, and I should imagine, from the sum charged, tint move than a sufficient quantity was ordeied for the passage. At 1-30 p.m. Mr. Fox and his party with two or three other pasbengeis, one of whom had been waiting- ou the beach since 10 a.m., came on board, and when it was discovered that tho provisions had not came off, the captain was anxious to send a boat on shore for them but was requested by nearly all the passengers not to do so, as the wind then blowing, if it continued, would take the vessel to her destination in a few hours. With (i fresh breeze, then, fiom S. W. the Victoria got under weigh about 2 o'clock-, and at 10 p m. rounded Stevens' Island, at tho entrance of the Stunts, having run a distance of fifty miles with a strong tide ngainst her in 8 hours. The vessel after that was close hauled, the wind being S.S.W., the course S.E. by E. iE.; had their been studding siiila on board ihey could not have been set. At 8 a.m. the next morning the Brig was off the Brotheis, where it fell calm, and about 10 a,m. a light wind sprung up from S.E. ; the sails were trimmed and the vessel worked through the fcstiait until about 5-3 p-m., when sho was off the Seal Rock. The wind, which to this time had been blowing a- moderate breeze, freshened very suddenly to a srnnit gale; the light sails were taken in, the topsails doublo ieeted, and the vessel tacked to the westward, beading well up /or Wellington Head ; at 7 p.m. it blew such a violent gale, with heavy squalls, thunder and lightning, that the vessel was obliged to bo hove-to under a close reefed maintopsail and (oie-and aft canvass. Mr. Fox states the helm was lashed and she dufted through the •Straits stern foremost. This is a gios9 falsehood; dining the tune I have been in the Brig, now four jears and a-lialf, the helm has never yet been lashed at sea, and as for drifting stern foremost — any one who has been on hoaid the Victoria, when she is hove-to m a gale of wind, knows how she forges a-head, and the little lee-way she makes in comparison with other vessels of her size. On this occasion she was wore round thiee times dining the night and the next moming she was oft Steven's Island, and continued in Blind Bay two days, when the wind shifted to N. W. ; sail was made on the vessel and she again reached the Brothers when the wind again shifted to S. E., and again we were hove-to for 36 hours. We did not iGach Wellington until the 30th, having been six da} s and a half on the passage — dining the last four days, owing as I have before stated to the provisions not having orne on board, all the fresh meat, consisting of one cheep and 1 dozen live pi«eons, was eaten, so we had £igo on the salt provisions. They certainly were bad ; >X\ 1 they were the best on boaid, and there was always 0 i the table a plumb pudding (not a duff, as Mr. Fox styles it,) or a fruit tait, with vnne, cheese, &c. j But now comes the best part ot the story : — Theie I weie put on board a* Nelson eighteen tuikeys for the Lieutonant-Govemor — ordered, I believe, for tho supper on the occasion of a ball given at Government House i-i honour of the Queen's birth-day; these tuikeys were p it into the hold, and when the hrst galj of wind came on, nearly one-half of them were killed in consequence 01 home casks fetching away in tho hold and crushing liiom to death. Fox also had some turkeys on bosud, but they weie put into coops and .stowed in 'two 'ii decks, so they were all nghl; but when it was <ltfcid"d by the gentlemen in the cabin to have t» turkey hn dinner, Mr. Fox (although he knew that the Govoinoib's tin keys h.id b»en reduced to ne.uly one-half ilieir original numbei) never ottered one ot his own buds foi the good of all paities — who, to use Ins own uoicN, were starving, but oidered the stewaid to be v>jiy particular in killing one of the tuikeys in the hold. Now, putting all these facts together, especially as the vessel had been detained si\ hours sololy on account ol Air. Fox and his horse ; which six hours, if they had j b -on taken advantage of, could not have tailed to have earned her to hpr destined port within the twenty-four hours : taking all these circumstances into considera tion, I think you and your readeis will agree with mo ii\ saying ttmt Mr. Fox's attack is at once unjust and ungtMitl 'manly. And yet, a.'ter all this, Mi. Fox reluicd to pay Ins piiSdge money, amoiiiitinij to between ton and eleven guineas, without i/ eluding his horse, ttlmli m iiu.y other veasel would havo cost him at least _£ > muie. Altoji'lliei, the trip m the Government bn^ u.taa good LL J yo m i\jr. Fox s pocket ; he said ho would gne u to bomu cliantable institution, but as I never ij.'.iid of his doing to, and as» no notice of its having been t>o given appealed in any ot the public papers, ] lUturuily suppose i\it. i'ox vt'iy coolly pockettod it. — \\ nh logardto the damage his horse*- sustained, that vms entirely ins own fault, in not having him in a proper box, instead ot one big enough tor a small t'K'p'i.uit. Vv i'h legaid to the genet at equipment of th^ Victoria, a l efereticu to her log books duung the time she has fie. a on the coast, will shew what q indition she has 11 ill illy been in by Ihe passages she Ims made ; and, wiih jb_; nd to hei heivice^ 1 aui prepared to shew that o.n rfi iho nine yoaiy she has belonged lo the New Zeai md Government neatly seven yedts have been spent rft sea. Ay this piesent time 1 feel convinced that there is not a vej.se!, not even excepting the men-of-war, visiting tins poit, that is bettei found in every requisite (ii.in the Victoria; and t-lie lias lately made some of tlie quickest pi-snges known between tins and the neighijonwug settlements. One asaeilion inoie of Mr. Fox's I must take notice of bi'ioto 1 conclude, lie says, no paity who has once ta\ei> a passage in the hi ij_«, would do so again it he could help it ! Why, tben, did Air. Fox take a passage dot In nself anil Mrs. Fox in iier down to Poit Cooper, Hi Dfcemli i, 1 !>.)(), wliHi many other vessels weie t,oi»g down tUeie' Tlie biig waa to sail on ih<? '2 ( )th of December, the olJicu of Hie New Zealand Company W( i(j to bo di^niHjOjl on the >tst, and Mr. Fox knew — Ini ho gi'/u u ma as Ins only leison for doing so — that if he did not go previous lo that date, hojvouhl have U> ppy his on u pas^ne j wheuMi \i he went but'oie thu .'lit he could cliiige bis |ia->-. l >ge to tb'j Company «s i^omg on then buiiti-ss, iii-l a-hl t J.t'lo m >u- L> iho <iiionu nh stun he had dia^a tioui th 'in. I bus, 'oi the fiuiiill sum of f, J O, Mi. Foy, in d gveut in^isdic, t'ulunt*/ily cfinculs all he bail befoio staled wi.h legudto the inifitni'M,of tho Goveinment bii» foi tdirynig passeuguiK, and her unsoaworlhincts m general. I am, tir, your obedient scivant, P. A. Dick.