Reply to Sir James Hector.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 311, 27 October 1888, Page 5

Reply to Sir James Hector.

A J..AUUIS and enthusiastic moetuig was held ill Covomandel en Saturday. C. 11. Bennett, Esq., County Chairman, presided. The Chairman read fcho advertisement comening the meeting, the business being tumonnced "To tako into consideration the damaging imputations of Sir James Hector regarding tho auriterous quart/ sont from Coromandel to Melbourne, and other matters affecting goldfields communities." Tho Chairman, further explained that a general desire was manifested to learn the facts about Sir James's interference with Coromandel propetbics, and this led to the meeting being convoned. lie &aid thai some months ago Mr Witheford was down there, and important mining properties were placed in his hands, and specimens! of auriterous qnmlz were provided tor him to use, and when he thought proper to place them in the Melbourne Exhibition. Sir Jamos Hector, the Executive Commissioner, instead of giving assistance had cast imputations ohiberious nature, which he (the Chairman) had first regarded as a private matter, bub lie now folt that tho reflections were calculated to damage the district, and, theietore, aiiocted tho interests oi everyone. Ml Witheford had certainly done his best for the goldlields while in Australia, and ha would ask him to give particulats ot what had occurred, as up to this time no explanation had been given in rpgaid to Sir James Hector's leoter to the Colonial Secretary. Mr Wibheford met with a very kindly reception, and explained at length the elloits ho had put forth in Melbourne to give prominence to the Auckland goldfields, and attract capital. Ho expressed his personal wish tint no offensive or ungenerous resolutions or reir.arKs would be passed against Sir James Hector. Mr Witheford de&cribod each colony's Mineral Court, which, with the exception of New Zealand, had wonderfully impressed visitors ; tho displays being typical of rich mineral districts ; and tho magnificent trophies and other daz/ling exhibits of quartz and bullion inspired beholders with confidence in the mineral wealth of every colony but that of New Zealand. Among the European visitors particularly delighted with the mineial courts was Monsieur Hugo, of Paris, avlio expressed his opinion that the mineral display was the chief featuro of excellence in the Exhibition, anil in this respect surpassed any of the world's big shows he had attended. Mr Witheford next described his first and only meeting with Sir James Hector, previous to the unwarranted letter being sent to the New Zealand Parliament. They walked together through the New Zealand Mineral Court, but beheld no stately piles cf quartz, such as in the other courts presented so rare a mineral spectacle ; and in leply to the question, " Why had not New Zealand an equal display to otheis?"' Sir -James replied that he had not beeu supplied with the quartz, and that the £3,500 was all bpent. Mr Witheford at once expressed his willingness to assist, and offered to let Sir James have the u&e of several tons of quartz then being shipped to his care for treatment, and the Coromandel specimens, and also 500 tons more quartz, could be got if wanted. Mr Witheford also mentioned having written to tho Premier, offering to contribute £100 towards forwarding three tons of quartz which had recently been broken out of rioh reef, and could be purchased, believing that by allowing such to be first handled, and afterwards publicly treated, it would attract the attention of the press and people more than small specimens, and create more confidence in the reefing system of New Zealand. Sir James said he would await the reply of the Premier to this letter before arranging for further shipment of ore, bub said he was in a hurry to get to the Bank, and requested Mr Witheford to go to his office and enter the exhibits. On following Sir James back again, Mr Witheford was so struck with the dull aspect of the Mineral Court that ho decided ie would not be in the interests ot tho Companies represented to take the specimens irom Collins-streeb and bury them in bo unattractive a place, and that he \\ ould consult some Melbourne iriends before doing so ; he therefore only entered " several tons of quartz," keeping a copy of Mich entry on one of the office sheets supplied by Mr Callis, who promised the entry should appear in the catalogue he was about to issue. Sir James promised to receive the quartz and cart it to the Exhibition, the Secretary (Mr Callis) subsequently promising to call for the bills of lading— which he did not do, and the quartz was never received by Sir James, but was sent into bond, and a ton (Manaia quartz) still lies in tho Queen's Warehouse. As to the specimens, he had no wish to show them in so uninviting a mineral court, and later in the day, on conferring with some Melbourne gentlemen, it was deemed better to let them remain in Collins-streeb as advertised.

VICTORIAN COURTESY. Mr Witheford here spoko of the great kindness he had met with from many influential men in Victoria, who had heartily assisted him in getting together a syndicate to deal with the whole of the Coromandel properties, and who were entitled to thanks for assisting to advance the interests of Coromandel. (Applause.) It was, in fact, one of theso gentlemen who had suggested placing the rich specimens from Coromandel in the shop in Collins-street, and had also suggested the printing of the descriptive cards which accompanied them. It was therefore due to him to get his opinion as to the removal of the stone to an obscure part of the Exhibition at the rear of tho Now Zealand Court. But after the publication of Sir James Hector's statements, the manager of the shop asked that the specimens should be removed. Thus the samples of gold-bearing quartz from Coromandel were removed from public view, until the arrival of tho Inspecting Engineer of New Zealand Goldfields, H. A. Cordon, Esq., whose intimate acquaintance with the goldfields enabled him to recognise them at once as Cororaandel quartz. (Loud cheers. )

OBSTRUCTION TO NEGOTIATIONS. Mr Witheford then referred to swindles which had been perpetrated in Australia by exhibiting specimens purporting to come from mines which had nob done so, and to the particular injury done to New Zealand mining ventures by the Broken Hill Maroboto. With a view to establish confidence and do everything in an open and honourable way, he (Mr Witheford) published lengthy and costly descriptions of the Coromandel properties over the leading articles of every paper in Melbourne— the ". Argus," " Age," " Telegraph," and " Herald," giving his name and New Zealand address, and inviting people desiring information regarding Coromandel properties to call on him. Mr Witheford now took tho first opportunity afforded him of pointing out to 'the Corotnandel mining community the way in which negotiations relating to' these properties had

been interfered with by the Executive Com •■' missioned at the Melbourne Exhibition, but before reading 1 and replying to Sir James Hector*) letter to tho Colonial Secretary, he would state that he liad been repeatedly told by persons connected with the Commissioners thab they would ruin his (Mr Witbeford's) business in Melbourne, for having sontthe cabio dcnouncingthemineral display ; bub when one Commissioner learnt from Mr Witheforcl that nob lie, bub the special correspondent, had sent it, the Commissioner said "he wished he had known chat before, as it would have prevented something being done which would prove his (Mr Withefoid's) ruin j" but it was not until Sir James's letter was published that he understood what means the Commissioner's office was about to | adopt to provenb capital being directed to these goldfields.

SIR JAMES HECTOR'S LETTER. Mr Withetoid then dealt with Sir James Hector's letter, the first sentence of which contains the following : — "That the report emanated from the author of the enclosed advertisement, who is endeavouring to get up a syndicate for the purchase of tome New Zealand mine?." Air Witheforcl said this referred to an advertisoment from the "Argus," signed J. H. Withei\.rd, which described the Coiomandel properties he represented, and the mines from which the principal specimens weie obtained. He showed that the lni&crable appearauco of the mineral court was its own condemnation, and stated that his only communication to Parliament had been to ofler to contribute towards the- purchase of several tons of rich quartz, but lie had not commented on the appearance of the Com fc, nor on Sir James Hector. The next sentence of Sir James's letter reads • — "He is displaying some very rich specimens in the window of a shop in Collinsstreet which purport to come from New Zealand." Ilie reply to this \va& the descriptive cards, which stated the specimens came from Coromandel, New Zealand, and tne character of the quartz, which a New Zealand geologist could not fail to recognise. ( Applause. ) The last 1 oferenco was :— " He wished to &how them in the New Zealand Court, bub the application seemed to me so irregubn- that 1 asked for fuitber information ; and probably this annoyed him and led to his cabling."' Mr Witheford said this waa a mis-statement throughout. He did not wish to show them in the New Zealand Court. He made no application to do bo. Sir James asked for no information, or he could have had plenty. He (Mr Withefoid) was not annoyed, and did not send the cable. The portions quoted and the remainder ot the letter weie intended to hold up the author of the advertisement to contempt, by trying; to show he had sen! an untrue telegram, and had been actuated by improper motives in so doing. The eifect of the action of theCommissioner'^oiiicehad been to stop for a time all these Coromandel negotiations, and seriously interfered with business, as was predicted. He denied that lie ever asked to have the specimens exhibited in the Exhibition (though he was nearly sending them out of pity for the Mineral Court of New Zealand). In advertising the properties he thought it well to do the thing properly, a& the mines he had in hand were all of good repute, and the principal one 3 had never before been offered to the public. When Mr Gordon came over to Melbourne and saw the specimens, he said they ought to go into the Exhibition along with the Kapanga specimens, as they were good and represented various parts of the Coromandel goldfield ; he (Mr Witheforcl) accordingly handed them over. Mr Gordon did not express doubts as to their genuineness, but acted in a gentlemanly manner, and with an evident desire to ab&ist Coromandel. (Great applause. ) As showing the effect of the publication of the ill-considered letter of Sir James Hector, is the fact of gentlemen going to i the Customs, where lay the quartz in bulk fiom the Tokateaand Royal Oak mines, and having the cases opened, and after taking samples, going with them to the shop where the specimens were on view and comparing the quart/. They c\ pressed satisfaction at the result ot their investigations. Had Sir James taken the trouble to ascertain the facts of the case, he would never have interfered as he had done. Mr Witheford's explanation concluded by reading a copy of his letter to the Tic mier (and to Sir James).

COROMANDEL DEFENDS ITS FIGHTS. Tho Chairman said Coromanclel people were satisfied as io the straightforwardness of the negotiations as fai as Mr Wibheiord and the &pecimen& were concerned, and to further sati&fy outsiders, documentary cvi dence, if any, should be produced. Mr Witheford said that certificates had been supplied with the quartz, but Mr Goidon did not require such. The mine manager of the Tokatea, Mr Benney, had certified to the two parcels of specimens being broken out of the mine. The Chairman read these to the meeting. Mr \V. Hovno, legal manager of the Tokatea and .Royal Oak miucb, said that the parcels of specimens represented to have come from the two Companies' mines actually did so. (Cheers. ) Mr Colebrook said he would vouch for tho Manaia specimens, as he was a party to their being handed over to Mr Wibheford. (Cheers. ) In reply to a question by Mr Hornibrook, Mr "Withefoid said that his letter to the Premier contained an offer of one hundred pounds, but no reflections on the Court or on Sir James Hector ; nor had he made any communication to the press or Parliament to justify Sir James's letter. (Applause.) The Chairman said Sir James had evidently jumped to a wrong conclusion without making inquiry. Mr Colebrook said overyone present would feel satisfied the specimen stone was the product of Coromanclel. It appeared as if Sir James had gone out of his way to cast reflections on Coromandel mining matters, and without cause. Ho would therefore move : " After hearing the evidence as to the goldbearing quartz from the Coromandel Goldfiold, supplied for the purpose of being shown to investors in Australia, and noticing that the Inspecting Engineer of New Zealand, H. A. Gordon, Esq., has con firmed the bona fides of the quartz exhibited on behalf of the Coromandel companies, this meeting is of opinion that Sir James Hector was not justified in his imputations contained in his letter to the Colonial Secretary." Mr Becker seconded this resolution, amid cries of " Not strong enough." Mr F. Jeune said it had gone forth to the world that there were doubts a3 to the specimens being genuine, ;is if the mineowners in Coromandel woo a lot of impostors. Sir James Hector had done injury to New Zealand by his letter, and he hoped the imputations would be withdrawn, and allow mining capital to flow into the goldfields. The resolution, on being put to the meeting, was carried unanimously amid loud applause. Mr F. Jeune proposed : V That this mseting considers that Mr B. A. Gordon, In-

specting Engineer of the New Zealand Goldfielcls, is entitled to the thanks of thiscommunity for the very handsome manner in which he has given testimony as to the genuineness of the gold-bearing quartz sent from Coromandel to Melbourne." Mr Hornibrook seconded the resolution, which was carried uuanimously. Mr Andrew King (director of the Royal Oak) said he could add his testimony to what had been said as to the undoubted genuineness oE the specimens from the Boyal Oak, one of the mines suffering under the ban of Sir James Hector ,who could not have a good feeling towards the goldtield. He should like to see him undo the harm he had done, and proposed : "That fcheOhairman be requested Co forward copies of the above resolutions and certificates to the Government, witli a request that Sir James Hector be asked to withdraw his imputations, they having been disproved by the facts submitted to this meeting." Mr Marshall seconded Hie resolution. The Chairman said there wa& no doubt that Mr Witheford was fighting against a strong and powerful antagonist. Sir James Hector's public position secured him the ear pf the Melbourne people, who would naturally think it the slightest imputation was made by him that it was serious, and deserving attention ; and Mr Go don, in going to the rescue, had assisted in getting Air Witheford out of the unpieasant position he was placed in by Sir James JTector's imputations. The resolution was carried unanimously and with enthusiasm. In reply to a question by Mr Becker, Mr Withef oid said that the publication of Sir James Hector's letter together with the action ol his office had stopped business being done. Mr Hornibrook and others thought the other reflections, as well as those on the specimens, should be withdrawn. The Chairman said that the business was with respect to the imputations cast on the &tone sent from Coromandel. It was resolved, " That copies of the resolutions passed to-nighb be forwarded to Mr Seddon (Chairman Goldfields Committee) and the Australian journals." Votes of thanks were passed unanimously to Mr King, for the use of the hall ; to Mr Bennett, for presiding ; and to Mr Witheford for being present at the meeting and explaining matters.