MR HALCOMBE'S RESIGNATION

New Zealand Mail, Issue 26, 22 July 1871, Page 6

MR HALCOMBE'S RESIGNATION

The following correspondence has been handed to us for publication;— Wellington, July 19,1871. Sir, —Having deemed it my duty to resign the office of Provincial Treasurer, at a time when I believe my services would have been of great use to the province, I am desirous of placing the public in possession of the reasons for such a course, and should be obliged by your publishing the following correspondence in reference thereto. —I am, &c.,

A. EOLLETT HALCOMBE. (To the Editor of the New Zealand Mail )

Wellington, July 11, 1871. Sir,—After a careful revision of the facts disclosed in my interview with your Honor yesterday, having reference to the appointment of Mr Henry Anderson (late a member of the Provincial Council) to a clerkship in the Land Office, I have the honor now to inform you that I feel it my duty to tender ray resignation of the office of Provincial Treasurer and member of the Executive.

I do so because the appointment of Mr Anderson was recommended to your Honor in direct opposition to my expressed wishes, and because the appointment was made for reasons which I cannot justify, either to the Council, my constituents, or to myself. This being the case, I cannot but consider the appointment as a direct violation of that good faith which should exist between the members of your Executive, and without which it is impossible to secure that harmony and mutual confidence necessary to carry on successfully the government of the province. It is with very deep regret that I have come to this conclusion, as I believe that my views and those of your Honor are in perfect accord with regard to those large measures which have been so successfully initiated, and from which, I believe, great good will result to the province, but as I understand that your Honor cannot rescind Mr Anderson's appointment, I have no alternative but to request you to accept my resignation.—l am, &c, A. EOLLETT HALCOMBE. His Honor the Superintendent. Willis street, Wellington, 14th July, 1871. Sie, —I have the honor to request an acknowledgment of the receipt of my letter of the 11th inst, transmitted to you on the following day, containing the tender of my resignation of the office of Provincial Treasurer, and of my seat as a member of your Honor's Executive Council. —I have, &c, A. EOLLETT HALCOMBE. To His Honor the Superintendent. Superintendent's Office, Wellington, 18th July, 1871. Sir, —I accept, with much regret, your resignation of the offices you held aa Provincial Treasurer and member of the Executive. This regret is greatly increased by the consideration that you retire from the Provincial Government because an appointment has been made of which you do not approve, and with respect to which you failed to say one word of disapproval to me beforehand, although you had held more than one conversation with the Provincial Secretary on the subject before any appointment wao made. It is painful to me to have to record my opinion that you have thereby evaded an obvious duty.—l have, &c, William Eitzhehbert, Superintendent. A. P. Halcombe, Esq., M.P.O.

Wellington, 18th July, 1871. Sib,—l beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of to-day's date, in reply to mine of the 11th instant, accepting my resignation of the Provincial Treasurership. In reference to your remark that I failed to express to you any disapproval of Mr Anderson's appointment before it was made, I have to observe that, on Mr Bunny's hinting at the employment of Mr Anderson in the provincial service sojre time before, I expressed, in the strongest terms, my disapproval of such a step. From that time till I heard you had made the appointment, without consulting either Mr Hunter or myself, I knew nothing more. After my strong expression of disapprobation, followed by Mr Hunter's warning to Mr Bunny not to commit the Executive in any way to Mr Anderson, I never imagined for a moment that Mr Bunny would have made such a recommendation in defiance of both his colleagues, and it would have been an insult to him for me to have suggested to you that he was likely to do it. In reference to your remark that by n»y silence I evaded an obvious duty, allow me to say that the evasion of duty appears to me to be on your Honor's part. When Mr Bunny recommended the appointment of a man whose character was notorious all over the province, it was, I submit, your duty to have ascertained that the other members of your Executive approved of the recommendation ; instead of this, you entirely neglected your duty, not to say common courtesy towards us, and behind our backs appointed a disreputable man to an office in the provincial service for reasons which cannot be justified. When you found that the majority of your Executive were opposed to it, and that the recommendation was that of Mr Bunny alone, your duty was to have rescinded the appointment, and left the consequences to Mr Bunny, who had led you into so false a position.-r-I am, &c, A. Foliett Halcombe.

P.S.—ln justice to myself, I deem it necessary to place the public in possession of the reasons for my resignation, and beg to inform you therefore of my intention to publish this correspondence. To His Honor the Superintendent, Wellington.