Poverty Bay Standard. PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY, THURSDAY AND SATURDAY MORNINGS. Tuesday, March 14, 1882.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume X, Issue 1048, 14 March 1882, Page 2

Poverty Bay Standard. PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY, THURSDAY AND SATURDAY MORNINGS. Tuesday, March 14, 1882.

Our Dunedin telegrams of Friday imply a somewhat curious state of affairs among the directors and shareho'ders of the Southern Cross Petroleum Company. Our telegram states that “ the Melbourne shareholders, represented by Sir Chas. McMahon, and Messrs. Jack and Beniesare disgusted to fiud that the Native title has never been extinguishedaud goes on to say that " the conduct of Gisborne directors is strongly animadverted on, and there will probably be grounds tor legal proceeding. Sir Charles McMahon and Mr Jack return to Melbourne by the Kotomahana to consult Melbourne shareholders as to further proceedings.” This, if true, would reveal iu a startling manner the —putting it iu the very mildest form — utter business incapacity of the Board of Directors. The Dunedin papers containing accounts of the meeting are not yet to hand, aud we have no data to go upon save the bare telegram ; but meagre as is the information conveyed by that it appears certain that some disagreement has taken place, and that the representatives of the Melbourne shareholders have taken their departure in a huff. The telegram would seem to indicate that incapacity is not the most serious accusation laid to the charge of the Gisborne Directors by Sir Charles MacMahon and his colleagues, Messrs. Jack and Benies ; it would seem that there is a covert implication of direct and downright fraud, in so far that they have endeavored to palm off on the Melbourne buyers, as their own individual leasehold property, certain oil-producing lands situate at Kotokautuku, over which lands they had, in reality, no valid title. This is a most grave charge, and in a mercantile point of view should materially affect the credit not only of the Company aud its Directors, but of Gisborne as a district. That fraud is implied, if notdirectly alleged, no sensible person can fail to see. Howfar it is true, or how far, true or untrue, it may affect us here financially, remains yet to be seen. We are by no means inclined hastily to judge the Directors by the measure of Sir Chas. McMahon and his colleagues; w e hold fast to the principle of “ audi alteram partem," and the Directors have as yet had no chance of replying to the grave allegations so preferred against them. The leasehold which is the subject matter of complaint consists of some 2,000 acres of land, richly prolific in mineral oils, the original lease of which was held by Mr William Clarke, who early in 1881 transferred for certain considerations his interest therein to a Company, which has since been duly registered as a Limited Liability Company under the local Directorship of Messrs. W. Clarke, A. Graham, W. Maude, G. J. Winter, W. 11. Tucker, aud J. H. Stubbs. These are none of them unknown names in Gisborne, and we hope and believe are sufficient guarantee that no fraud such as implied, or incapacity such as alleged has been manifested under their Directorship. Many gentlemen of the calibre of Sir Chas. McMahon and Messrs. Benies and Jack are very apt, when things do not run exactly in the groove in which they would have them, and they find they cannot have exactly their own way in everything, to retire in a huff and vent their indignation in wholesale accusation and bitter-edged insinuation scattered broadcast, without respect to persons. It may be so in this instance. We do not share for one moment with these gentlemen the belief that the Gisborne directory are capable of the conduct imputed to them, and we gladly afford the opportunity to those thus compromised of a contradiction. We cannot, as we have previously said, go into the matter further until we know not only the precise nature of the allegations made, but the precise words in which they were made, by Sir Charles McMahon and his colleagues. The credit of Gisborne should not be allowed to suffer at the hands of a fewirritable old gentlemen who find that they can’t get everything for nothing, and are proportionately displeased; nor should the Direction of a Gisborne Company be unmindful of the fact that their individual action will influence, to a certain extent, for good or for evil, the credit of the whole of Gisborne as a mercantile community.

Apropos of the foregoing we quote the following paragraph from the Seal Zealand Times: — On the 2nd instant we published, in good faith, the following telegram:— “ From a correspondent, Gisborne, March 1. —A small flow of petroleum haf risen to the surface in the Southern Cross Company’s shaft. A sample arrived in’town to-day. Some of the members of Sir Charles McMahon’s party who have visited the works have returned perfectly satisfied.” Yesterday we received the following letter : —“ Steamer Rotomahana, March 6, 1882. —Sir,— If the telegram contained in your issue of the 2nd is intended to convey the impressinn that any of the Melbourne gentlemen who accompanied me from Melbourne to the socalled oil springs are perfectly satisfied, I think it my duty to contradict that statement.—Yours obediently, C. McMahon—The Editor Sew Zealand Times.

The usual monthly inspection parade of J ' Battery Country Detachment Volunteer' Artillery Corps is announced to take place in the Ormond Hall, at 7.30 p.m. on Saturday, 18th March. Parade will fall in at 7 p.m. sharp. Messrs Pitt and Bennett call attention to their advertisement in another column of their usual fortnightly sale of cattle, which takes place tomorrow, the 15th inst., when they will offer for public competition, cows, ealres, and mixed stock, a tew head of good beef, and twenty store pigs. Mr George Burnand announces that he has taken over that well-known hostelry at Waerenga-a-liika, the Sir George G rey. The travelling public will view this announcement with much satisfaction, having m view Mr Burr.and’s well known reputation. Tne wines and spirits are excellent, the host civil and obliging. Verb. sap. Mr S. C. Caulton shipped the well-known hurdle racer Wild Payroll for Auckland on Monday morning last by the s.s. Bingarooma, in charge of Mr F. Chapman. M e believe Wild Dayrell is to be prepared by W. Day, the English trainer, for the next Auckland Steeplechase. We wish Mr Caulton. who is a plucky sportsman, better luck in Auckland than he has experienced in Gisborne. It appears almost a certainty that a £5,000,009 loan will shortly be raised. As the distribution of the proceeds of these loans hitherto has been rather a one-sided affair, while the taxations for payment of interest thereon are distributed with an impartiality which marks the acutely just discrimination of the legislature, we should like to ask, at the risk of being instrusive, to what extent, and in what manner Gisborne is to benefit by this money iu particular for which it will become a debtor in common with other and more favored districts ? Will somebodv tell us ?

We notice with, pleasure, from a paragraph in the Herald, that there is a prospect of a visit from Mr. W. Errington, C.E, of Auckland, with a view to a report from him on the subject of water supply. Mr. Errington'a abilities as an Engineer hare been thoroughly tested both in Auckland and at the Thames, as also in other parte of the Colonies, aud his work, wherever undertaken, lias always given satisfaction, We shall be glad to hear that the date is fixed on which Mr. Errington will do Gisborne the honor of paying a professional visit.

The alleged action of the Directors of the Southern Cross Petroleum Company as referred to in our telegrams of last Friday night, would not seem to have depreciated faith in the Company, or value in its shares, if we may judge by the prices realized at Messrs. Carlaw Smith and Co.’s sale of forfeited shares, 400 out of 1000 shares advertised having realized 3s Id, and the remaining 600 withdrawn. The general impression seems to be that Sir C. McMahon and the representatives of the Melbourne shareholders, are leaving no stone unturned to depreciate the value of the Company. In other words are endeavoring, heart and soul, to “ rig the market.” We fancy that the quoted “ legal proceedings,” if any, will emanate from the Gisborne Directory, and that the stand of Sir Charles McMahon and Messrs. Jack and Benies will be in inverse ratio t-o that implied iu the telegram referred to.

It- is with extreme regret we have to record the serious illness of Dr. Burton, of this town. Up to Thursday last he had been in the enjoyment of good health. On the afternoon of that, day he manifested symptoms of approaching illness which intensified as time went on, and ut last developed into unmistakable scarlet fever. Dr. Pollen took charge of the case, and on Saturday the sufferer was removed to the Hospital. On Sunday the disease shewed its malignant virulence in the worst form, the larynx being swollen and glotted, aud the patient in high fever. Dr. Pollen was, however, happily successful in introducing a probang with satisfactory results, and to-day we have better accounts of the unfortunate gentleman, who has, we need hardly say, the general sympathy of the community at large. We sincerely hope to be able shortly to chronicle his convalescence. A speedy recovery we most heartily wish him, but illness such as this generally takes the patient much and weary time beyond the ordinarily slow process of complete recovery, and we must be thankful for the prospect of even that. It is to be hoped that beneficent nature, usually prodigal in her aid to mortals of temperate and regular habits, will favor Dr. Burton in liis restoration to complete health, and that we shall not long be deprived of his valuable services. We can ill afford to spare such men from our circle.