CORRESPONDENCE.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume IX, Issue 927, 19 March 1881, Page 4

CORRESPONDENCE.

[We do not hold ourselves responsible for opinions expressed by our correspondents]. TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —In your issue of Wednesday the I'Gtli inst., appears a statement “ From a correspondent,” headed “ Tologa Bay,” “ That mystery about Tauwhareparae,” which is nothing more or less than an attempt to cast aspersion on the characters of two gentlemen who, for many years, have filled with hdnor and credit very important positions in the Government service. • Your correspondent, no doubt to suit his own purpose, has given a most untruthful account of the matter to which he refers. The facts are simply these, in May 1880, Captain Porter, as Government Land Purchase Agent, paid away to about 60 Natives at Tologa Bay, a sum of £3114, and obtained their signatures, to a deed, conveying certain lands to the Government. After this the Natives appointed three men, One of whom was Mr. Jury, to have the control of this money—to receive and distribute it as arranged among themselves in accordance with their tribal rights. After the distribution a sum of about £lOOO was left in the hands of the controllers, which they gave to Mr. Jury to lodge in the Bank at Gisborne. In June 1880, Mr Gill who was attending the Native Land Court at Gisborne, and was buying lands on behalf of the Government, ran short of imprest moneys, and was forced to put a stop to the purchases, until such time as a further supply should arrive from Weir lington, of which he had been advised by telegram. At this period Jury who was a sort of agent fpr the Maories, urged that the purchases should go on, and offered to lend Mr. Gill £5OO until the imprest arrived from Wellington. The money was then lodged to Mr. Gill’s official account at the Bank of New Zealand. Neither Capt. Porter nor Mr. Gill knew at the time how Jury became possessed of the money. On the third of July 1880, the Paymaster General upon Mr. Gill’s requisition remitted by telegram to the credit of Mr. Jury’s private account at the Bank of New Zealand Gisborne, the sum of £5OO, and there the matter ended, so far as the Government was concerned. But it appears now that the Natives desire to know what has become of the money which they entrusted to the care of the three controllers. That is a question which they must explain for themselves, —I am &c., W. K. McLean.