ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume V, Issue 379, 21 March 1849, Page 3

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

A portion of the following correspondence has previously appeared in print, but we have deemed a republication of that portion advisable, in order to lay the whole subject before the public. No. 1 (Dr. Featherston's letter) was published' in last -Saturday's Independent; No. 2 (Dr. Featherston's letter to Mr. Bannatyne) Dr. Featherston did not think proper to publish ; No. 3 (Mr. Bannatyne's answer) also appeared in the Independent. The remainder of the correspondence has not been previously published :—: —

- No. 1. To the Editor of the Wellington Independent. Sir, — Although Mr. Hickson seems desirous of of beating his retreat from the discussion he has himself provoked, in the same double-quick time in which he sounded it when he found himself so unexpectedly foiled in his recent cowardly assault, I cannot allow him to effect it, without making a few further 'remarks in confirmation of what I have previously stated ; more especially as I am anxious to offer one or two comments upon the answer Mr. Bannatyne has given to the questions I addressed to him and Mr. Hunter. While Mr. Bannatyne's convenient memory fails him on many points, it would appear that he admits, that, a few hours after has interview with his Excellency, he proposed to me that there should be a Meeting of those to whom seats in the Council had been offered ; thus depriving me of the credit attributed to me by Mr. Hickson of having originated the proposal. 2, That at the Meeting in question, I expressed opposition to the Council, although he cannot undertake to say that 1 expressed my determination to refuse (my written reply confirming my previous refusal having been sent in immediately the Meeting broke up,) and 3rd, that " he frequently told me that he would not ticcept unless I did." Now does not this very admission imply that I had as frequently expressed to him my determination to adhere to my original refusal ? for had I not done so, why should Mr. B. so frequently tell me of his intention to decline, unless I accepted — why should he so repeatedly impress upon me that his political career entirely depended upon me — that unless I took a seat, he must also forego the coveted M. L. C. ? But in addition to this p ; rpof, of his being fully aware of my intentionsyisit credible, after my having, on the evening of the day on which the offer was made, not merely informed several members of the Savings' Bank Committee that I had already refused, but having given the same answer to all (and they were not a few) who interrogated me on the subject, that Mr. Bannatyne who, according to his own showing, had so completely attached himself to me — who had so confidingly placed his fate in my hands, should alone have been kept in total ignorance of my fixed,resolution not to have any thing to do with the proposed Council ? Perhaps ,Mr. B. will also deny that he confessed a few days ago', that throughout the nego-tiations-"he rather hoped than expected that I would be prevailed upon to take a seat." But however defective Mr. B.s memory upon the points adverse, to the story he has lent himself to propagate, it is amazingly retentive on others. Thus he says, 4th, that " I told him I could not see (he pretends to. quote my very words) one single reason why he should refuse," that if "there were one person among those who had been offered seats it was he," and adds that "he was somewhat influenced by my opinion!" I ask Mr. B. how he can reconcile such a statement as that he wasinfluenced by the opinion (he has attributed to me) with the fact that he twice declined the Governor's offer — first verbally, and secondly in writing — that he persisted in his refusal until Jones arrived from the South, and forced him at theeleventhhour into the ' Council, the Governor kindftr consenting to burahis letter declining ttie honor,? Influenced by my opinion — to do what? Judging from his conduct, to refuse. For as long as he was under my alleged influence, he adhered to his first answer-^-but when he was removed 1 from it, Mr. Jones prevailed and he fell. Mr. B. has thus so completely convicted himself— has afforded such damning evidence of the utter untruth of the expressions he has' imputed to me, 'that I need' scarcely repeat that, instead of adyisirfg' him to ac- J

cept, I merely expressed my opinion that he would | be less blamable than the others, on account of his having no political principles of any description whatever, and being pledged to nothing and against nothing ; but because I admitted that in the event of his accepting, his delinquency would be less than that of the others, he was surely not justified in inferring that I approved of his becoming accessory to such an act of treachery. sth and 6th.— Mr. Bannatyne admits that " I expressed my opinion that the Council would not be acceptable to the majority of the settlers, but states that while I approved of a public meeting, Mr. Hunter, to the best of his recollection, first proposed it. It is certainly rather surprising — that after the lengthened conversation which took place on this pomt — after my having first offered to call the meeting — after my having (upon Mr. Hunter's declaring that I would express my opinion against their accepting, and thus influence the meeting) pledged myself to offer no opinion, but simply lay before it a statement of his Excellency's views — after Messrs. Hunter, Hickson, and himself having declined to allow me to call it — and after the p ro . posal having subsequently been reported to the Q o . vernor as having emanated from me — 1 say afte r a n these circumstances, it is rather surprising that jy[ r . B. who can, to suit his own purpose, pretend to quote my very words, should remember nothing whatever about the meeting. Why was it no t called ? Simply because they were afraid I might influence the meeting against their acceptance. 7thly. — The manner in which Mr. B. attempts to evade my last question is quite in accordance with the course he has pursued in this and all other matters — admitting everything to every body, and then as suddenly retracting everything — urging others on (as in the case of Mr. Hickson's assault) , and then backing out. He does not deny that Mr. Hickson gave as the reason of his taking a seat in the Council an alleged thi eat on the part of Mr. M'Donald — but he denies that Mr. Hickson stated this reason to him. Let Mr B. reconcile his present denial with his statement to Mr. M'Donald on this point a few days ago. So much for Mr. B. Having received as yet no answer from Mr. Hunter, I forbear at present commenting on his having allowed his name to be used as an authority for Mr. Hickson's garbled and unfounded statements. With respect to the Editor of the Spectator, after having been recently branded by the whole mercantile community, as the author of a charge which they denounced as ''an utter falsehood," and after having refused to insert the repudiation of his infamous accusation, he has no more right to expect any notice to be taken of his attacks, than a branded felon has a right to expect to be regarded in the same light as before the commission of his crime. I have the honor to remain, Sir, Your obedient servant, I. E. Fkatherston. Wellington, March 17, 1849.

No. 2. Wellington, March 15, 1849. Sib, — As Mr. Hickson states that you confirm the statements contained in his letters of the 7th and 14th inst. published in the Wellington Spectator, I have the honour respectfully to request that you will favour me with answers to the following questions :—: — 1. Whether, when a few hours after your interview with his Excellency you called to consult me as to the course you shotild pursue, you did not yourself first propose that there should be a meeting of the parties to whom seats in the Council had been offered ? 2. Whether I did not, at the meeting at Mr. Hickson's office on the 7th of lastTDecember, express my determination not to accept a seat ? 3. Whether you and Mr. Hunter did not repeatedly declare, that unless Mr. M'Donald and myself accepted, you would decline also ? 4. Whether Mr. M'Donald and myself did not protest against the unfairness of throwing the responsibility of your refusal upon us, and did not urge you to act without reference to our views ? 5. Whether, when in consequence of Mr. Hunter having expressed his belief that the proposed Council would be acceptable to the settlers, we urged that if such were your conviction, you were bound to assist his Excellency, we did not at the same time entirely dissent from the opinion that the Council would be acceptable ? 6.-Whether I did not then offer to call a public meeting, and ascertain the opinion ofthe settlers ? 7. Whether Mr. Hickson did not subsequently to the meeting intimate to you that he had decided to accept a seat, in consequence of the threat he alleged Mr. M'Donald had held out ? Begging the favour of your reply to these inquiries j at your very earliest convenience, I have the honour to remain, Your obedient servant, I. E. Featherston. W. M. Bannatyne, Esq. No. 3. Wellington, 16th March, 1849. Sib, — As in Mr. Hickson's letter of the 7th inst. I was only called upon to support his statement of a conversation that took place at his office some day in December last year, and as he has only called upon me since to confirm what I stated to have taken place on that occasion, I cannot recognize the right you have to catechise me in the way you have in your letter of this day's date. However, I will in courtesy reply to your questions, as I can do so with perfect satisfaction to myself, and can still believe my recollection of the conversation to be true. 1. 1 do not know whether I was the first to do so, but I allow that I suggested to you that those who had been offered seats in the Provincial Council should meet and talk the matter over. Did you not approve of it? 2. You did express an opposition to the form of Council, at Mr. Hickson's office, but I cannot undertake to say that " you expressed your determination" to refuse. Mr. M'Donald did. 3. I acknowledge that I (I have nothing to do with Mr. Hunter) frequently told you that I would not accept unless you did; and, 4, I also acknowledge that when you told me that you " could not see one single reason why / should refuse," and said, " that if there were one person among those who had been offered seats, who ought to accept, it was I," I was somewhat influenced by your opinion. 5. In answer to your next question, I must repeat what I told you at my office the day before your answer to Mr. Hickson's first letter was printed, viz. : — that I did not recollect your qualifying your sug-

gestion as yqjirsaid in your letter you did ; and I remarked that, as my memory did not seive me so far, I equally objected to saying that you did not. You did, in Mr. Hickson's office, say that in your opinion the form of Council would not be acceptable to the majority of the settlers. 6. To the best of my recollection Mr. Hunter was the first person, at Mr. Hickson's office, who suggested calling a public meeting in order to ascertain the prevailing feeling on the subject, and you approved of his suggestion. 7. Mr. Hickson did not intimate to me his determination to go into the Council because of Mr. M'Donald's threat. I was present in an adjoining office when Mr. Hickson was conversing on the subject with another person, and I do not therefore consider myself at liberty to repeat the conversation I there heard. Besides, I have never been called upon to support a statement to the contrary, and I am at a loss to know why you have sent me this query at all. Your obedient servant, W. M. Bannatyne. To Dr. Featherston.

To the Editor of the New Zealand Spectator. No. 4. Wellington, 19th March, 1849. Sir, — Thinking that Dr. Featherston has acted most unfairly towards Mr. Bannatyne by publishing his letter without permission, and unaccompanied by the letter he wrote Mr. Bannatyne, in case it should be Dr. Featherston's intention to treat me in the same way, I beg to hand you a copy of a letter which I received from Dr. Featherston and my reply, which pleasepublish in your next paper. As Dr Featherston still attempts to deny the truth of the statement contained in Mr. Hickson's letter relative to the conversation which took place in his office, although that statement has been confirmed by Mr. Bannatyne and myself, — I will relate another portion of the conversation which took place on the same occasion, which will prove two things — first, that Dr. Featherston's word is not always to be depended upon — and, secondly, that he was UDdecided and did waver. On Thursday, the day of our meeting at Mr. Hickson's, it was currently reported that Mr. (I refrain from mentioning the name) had been offered a seat in the Council, and the report was confirmed by Mr. stating publicly in the Bank and other places, that it was true, and that he had declined. Having seen Dr. Featherston in company with Mr. a short time before our meeting, when I went into Mr. Hickson's I expected to see Mr. - , and not doing so, I asked Dr. Featherston if it was true that Mr. had been offered a seat in the Council ? Dr. Featherston replied he believed it was ; I then asked why he was not present, and Dr. Featherston answered, because he had given Captain Grey a decided refusal, and said the matter did not require consideration. Soon after the meeting I was iaformed that Mr. had been stating what was not the case, and a day or two after I had reason to suspect that Dr. Featherston had all the time been aware of it. I taxed him with having been privy to the fraud, he admitted the fact, but excused himself by saying that he had pledged his word to Mr, not to undeceive us at the meeting. I think I have fully proved my first allegation, and with respect to the second, that Dr. Featherston did waver— it is clear that if he had declined or made up his mind to decline, he would have followed the straightforward course he induced us to believe Mr. had done Would he have attended our meeting, or opened its proceedings by stating that it was called for the purpose of considering whether we ought to accept seats in the Council — if he had been in doubt ? Dr. Featherston states in his letter of Saturday, that he had received no reply from ire, in answer to his inquiries. This is rather curious seeing that my answer was sent to him by 2 o'clock on Friday. On Saturday evening I received another letter from Dr. Featherston, containing a second series of questions — which I declined answering for two reasons — first, because I consider his conduct towards myself to have been of such a treacherous and deceitful character as to justly deprive him of all claim to the courteous treatment he has hitherto received at my hands — and secondly, because nothing I can say or he attempt to prove, can alter the fact that he did waver, and recommend myself and others to accept seats in the Council. I have the honor to remain, sir, Your obedient servant, Geo. Hunter.

No. 5. Wellington, March 15, 1849. Sir, — As Mr. Hickson states thatyou confirm the statements contained in his letters of the 7th and 14th inst. published in the Wellington Spectator, I have the honour respectfully to request that you will favour me with answers to the following questions :—: — 1. Whether I did not, at the meeting at Mr. Hickson's office on the 7th of last December express my determination not to accept a seat in the Council ? 2. Whether you and Mr. Bannatyne did not repeatedly declare, that unless Mr. M'Donald and myself accepted, you would decline also ? 8. Whether Mr. M'Donald and myself did not protest against the unfairness of your throwing the responsibility of your refusal upon us, and did not urge you to act without reference to our views ? 4. Whether, when in consequence of your having expressed your opinion that the proposed Council would be acceptable to the settlers, we urged, that if such were your conviction, you were bound to assist his Excellency, we did not at the same time entirely dissent from the opinion that the Council would be acceptable ? 5. Whether I did not then offer to call a public meeting, and ascertain the opinion of the settlers ? 6. Whether Mr. Hickson did not subsequently to the meeting intimate to you that he had decided to accept a seat, in consequence of the threat he alleged Mr. M'Donald had held out ? Begging the favour of your reply to these inquiries at your very earliest convenience, I have the honour to remain, Your obedient servant, I. E. Fbathebston. G. Hunter, Esq. No. 6. Wellington, 16th March, 1849. Sir, — I have the honour to acknowledge tile receipt of your letter of yesterday's date, and in reply

would first call your attention to the fact that it is only stated in Mr. Hickson's letter, that I confirm the account he gives of flic conversation which took place in his office, not as stated in your letter, that I confirm the statements contained in Mr. Hickson's letters of the 7th and 14th inst. puhlished in the Wellington Spectator. I now proceed to answer your different questions. Answer to Question No. 1. Certainly not in decided terms.' previous to the meeting at Mr. Hickson's, at the meeting, and after the meeting, you appeared and expressed yourself as not determined as to the course you ought to adopt; and as you and I walked from Mr. Hickson's office you repeated what you had there stated, that if ft meeting was called, and you requested to accept a seat in the Council, you would do so. Answer to Question No. 2. Mr. Bannatyne and I hoth stated, that if Mr M'Donald, Mr. Hickson, and yourself, declined, it was useless our thinking of accepting, and that we would not do so. You must remember my asking Mr. Hickson what he intended to do, and his replying that he thought we ought all to accept. Answer to Question No. 3. You and Mr. M'Donald stated that each person should judge for himself, and not to he guided or influenced by the acts or opinions of others. As to throwing the responsibility upon either Mr. M'Donald or yourself, no person seemed to think of such a thing, although you most strongly advised Mr. Bannatyne, Mr. Hickson, and myself, to accept; and it was your doiug so which drew from Mr. M'Donald the declaration, that if we did so he would oppose us in every way. Answer to Question No. 4. I never expressed an opinion as to whether the proposed Council would he acceptable to the settlers or not, hut gave it as my impression, that if you were to go before a public meeting, and state fully and fairly the Governor's views, plans, and intentions, that you would be requested to accept a seat in the Council by your fellow settlers. Answer to Question No. 5. I first suggested the propriety of calling a public meeting, but our meeting at Mr. Hickson's terminating somewhat abruptly, and Mr. M'Donald having apparently made up his mind not to accept on any account, nothing was decided upon with respect to calling a meeting. Answer to Question No. 6. From what Mr. Hickson stated at the meeting in his office, it was my opinion he would accept a seat in the Council, and the following morning he informed me he intended doing so. He alluded to the expressions made use of by Mr. M'Donald, and said, that if any doubt had remained on his mind, the threat held over him by Mr. M'Donald would have decided him. In conclusion, I beg to recall to your remembrance a conversation which took place between us us in Willis-street on the Saturday after the meeting at Mr. Hickson's. I had been calling upon the Governor just before I met you, and had informed him of my intention to accept a seat in the Council if he wished me to do so. I stated to you very fully my reasons for adopting this course, and in reply you used these words, " / think you have done perfectly right." I have the honour to remain, Sir, Your obedient servant, Gbo. Hunter. To Dr. Featherston.