MR HUGH GLASS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 20, 10 June 1871, Page 4

MR HUGH GLASS.

[Aegtts.] On the 15th May, Mr Hugh Glass, at one time reputed to be the most wealthy man iri tlie colony, expired at his residence at Flemington. Mr Glass came to the colony in 1840, and his career for a long time was one of uninterrupted prosperity. He accumulated large quantities of land in various parts of the country. In 1852, the “Government Gazette” in its list of holders of pastoral licenses, showed him to be the lessee of over half a million acres, and beyond all this, his trusteeships, numerous partnerships, and other arrangements, gave him command of*a large additional territory. He was also the owner of 20,000 acres freehold estate, which cost him in some instances over £lO per acre, and held large station property in New South Wales, including 20 runs in the Lachlan district alone. When the Land Act of 1862 was passed Mr Glass was accused of using his means to assist in evasions of the law, and when the Land Act of 1865 was under discussion the scandal was renewed. It was revived with great force in 1869 when a Parliamentary committee inquired into the truth of this and other charges affecting the integrity of members of Parliament. The result of the investigation was the adoption of a reprt, which accused Mr Glass of aiding in the administration of a fund for promoting the interest of landholders by the bribing and undue influencing of members of the Legislature. Upon, this the Legislative Assemblysummoned Mr Glass to the bar of tlie House, and, after refusing to allow him the means of defending himself, found him guilty of a contempt and breach of the privileges of the House. For this lie was forthwith committed by the House to the common gaol. The severity of this proceeding, the practical refusal of the House to allow Mr Glass the opportunity of defending himself in the only way in which defence was possible, and the fact that he was consigned, not to the strong rooms of the House, but to the common gaol, caused public feeling to react strongly in his favor. Fortunately for him, his imprisonment did not last long. The virtue of the Speaker’s warrant, under which he was held in custody, was disputed ; he was brought before the Supreme Court by habeas corpus, and the warrant being held to be bad (its form has since been declared by the Privy Council to be good) be was released. Before even this occurred it was whispered abroad that Mr Glass’s wealth was not so great as reported, and soon after came a crash. It was then found that the sudden fall in the price of wool, the consequent depreciation in the value of the securities given by him to the Colonial Bank of Austral asi a (which actually lent him about a quarter of a million of money), and the depreciation in the value of his house property, taken together, proved too much for his solvency, for he was one who kept every penny of his money engaged in floating speculations and enterprises. He was, in fact, stripped of all his vast possessions, save his house and grounds at Flemington and other property, all of. which was settled on his wife and family. These losses and sufferings affected his health, and a disease of the liver from which he was suffering was greatly aggravated. •Of late the malady became more formidable, and he continued to sink, until finally his sufferings were cut short by an oveidose of chloral, which he had taken for the purpose of procuring sleep.