The Marine Inquiry.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume II, Issue 20, 13 July 1899, Page 3

The Marine Inquiry.

The C:>>nnussion into the l.iaune scandal opened m Wellington on Monday nioiuin", botoie Ju Ige Waul and Di Giles All Hanlon, who appea'ed for the Government, said it was, defied to nuke the niqnny oi the nio-3 oeAiohing mituie. He eqilamed that altui consultation with the G^n eminent it had been decided that Captain Altaian would be Eurntohed with counsel if nece^ai v. ?L Ho'ilon said that the Government did not intend to toinuilate any ch.uges. It anyone ,vppeaied to aUeeted ptoju hciaih, notice would hive to be given then as< to the contiurt of the mq iu>. Cei tarn wit nr^^e? would be summoned, and if it ap.ioaied that they weie Jikely to be piojifdici.Ulv aAeetect they could employ couiiePl. The wmic^ei he intended to call weie Mi buduon, Ml Hall Jones, Mi Glasgow, A.llpoit, Captains Alhnan, Jonu-,, and Yon Schoen, loi whom he would issue subpuuias at once Tho couit adjourned till Tuesday morning. t u 'uue n, numhei of counsel weie in n,tteiutanee besides Mi Hanlon, who is ao peaunif tox the Goveinnicu. Dr Fiiiillaj 1 ifcpic^cntei l Captun Allm.an, Mi Gie t v Captain Jones, Mi liavis Captain Edwin and Mi Allpoit. Mi Hislop said he intended to appear foi Mi Pnam, wljo h-id foimulated charge-, against Mi Seddon. Mr Tiavis asked the Ciown to give the assmance that witnesses should be piotected a.^ainst inCiiininatoLV evidence they might give, otheiwise, as lai as his clients weie concerned, he would not toe! justified in allowing i,hem to answer questions tnat might altect ti i eu oflicial position. Mi Hanlon said he had no powei to do thi^.. lie then went on to sketch the case he had to lay bdoie the Commission. He gave a histoiy of the ch.^ges and lead a speech made in the House by Mi J Hmche&on, on which the chaiges aie ba->ed Captain Allman mtenuptp-T. counsel in his statement that the Muustei of Maune handed him (Alburn) the memo., authonsing Captain Jones to be examined bv the exclamation "It's a he!" and was orcleied out of Comt. Captain Allman, on tendeung an apologr, wad le-adnntted. Tne nist witness was the Pievmev, who explained on a fouoer occasion he had declined to give evidence befoio a Commission on constitutional giounds, but the encumstances ot this case were different, and he intended to nssi&t the Comt all in his power in coming to a coi.ecl conclusion on the subject, and he wished the whole tiuth to appear. He then pioI reeded to give eu'lonee on the linos of his statement, befoie the Supieme Couit, the mam points of which we;e that ho uevei j knew anything about Captain Jones' ap plication for a master's ceitin'cate until nlkov Mi Hul,eh<?son's speech m the House but he did thmk Jones was entitled to a service ceitiiicate about which leorescntations were made to him. The Minister of Maiine was quite ii?ht in showing Captain Allman the telegram witness sent fioni Auckland, asking that Jones' application foi a seivice ceitificate be favomablY conpideied. Ha knew nothing about his ap phcatun to be exauasnea. TheTiemier said that when he loft for England the position was that he consideied the mattei of gi anting a service ceitincaie open, and if «atis f actory pioof was foitliconnu'r, Jones would get a ceiiiifi^ate. Dm mg the voyage to Auckland he spoke with Captain Fan child, and it was in consequence of what he said that witness «a.d to* the Minister of Marine— "l should be glad if you would have the question of issuing a ceitiiicate to Captain Jones of the Duco settled. From the papeia pi evented to me I am of opinion he is entitled to what he wants, and much better qualified than (certain peisons named). 'Captain Allman thinks he is well qualified." Witness sUid that he left Wellington after the House prorogued in November, IS9B, an 1 ifc was towards the end of the month before he learnt from Mr IlallJones or Mr Glasgow that theie was conic

foundation for Mi Hutcheson's chtuges lr the House. Witness had up to this turn disbelieved the allegations as he had faith in the Depaitment, and had not muoii bphet in Yon Schoen who he knew had been an applicant for Captain Allman'b position. When witness leiurned to Wellington tow aids the end of Novembei, tincl aftei co'iveisation with Mi Glasgow, it was decided that chaiges should be foimuhitelwith 1 expect to M> Hutcheson's al'egations. Captain Alhnan was asked by letter to tuinish a repoit upon the chaises, and this he did veiy tully to the Mmibtei of Mai me. Betoie Captain Allnian's wiuten statement was leceived someone (witness was not sine whether it was ill Ohasgow) told him (witness) verbally that Captain \llman had admitted the tiuth ot Mi Hutcheson's chaigeb. Mr fieddon l,h-n lead the confidential iepcrt w.ym Mi Hutcheson's chafes which Capfa'U Aliman had sent in. In this levntt Cap 1 nn Uhiun mentioned that on one ocasuMi Yon i~>choeu had mged him to let his (Yon Sc'.ioen s) candidates pass the in.ume examinations, in pieieience to a uv dl's pupils, and made allusion to mak.iiLC u woiLh his while to piss his (Yon •schoe'i'fr.) men, but Captain Allraan would not hstea to the suggestion if Yon Sehoen gave him the whole of New Zealand. Capta.ii Alhnan pioeeeded: '■ Until Yon S'.hoen tned to bubf me 1 had no idea of hi-> leal motives. Had I not been so softheaited peiliaps the Jones affair woald not h,ne ocean ed." liepiymj; to tlie communication fiom the M.inne Dspaitment asking him to say wheihei he admitted 01 denied the foimal c iai<zcs made against him of having negligently, uie^alailv. or nupiopeily conducted the e\amination of Captain Jours, Ciptain Allman had wntten at eoiwdeiabie length detaihns cncunisl.inctis in extenuiition ot his conduct. In that lettei Allm.in said " (1) 1 was opinion tliiit. Jones was an excellent seaman and was an e\peuenced shipmaslei, so that no danger would anse tiom his possessin» a ceitihcate which made him a coastal nia^Ui. (2) I was plainly led to undeistand that it was. the de»ae of tha Piennei a, id A{i Hall-Jone-, that CapttUM Joueb should get the ceitihcite he applied toi. {6) Each and all of the o'Viceis ot the Manny Depaitment I ha^e mentioned we.c nioie or less awaie of the same fact. (4) I do not desue to inculpate any of my j fellow-oiliceib, but I must point out that each and all my tellow-olJiceis veie awaie ot r'ie fundamental irregulauty wlucli the { Ministei hmiselt had peimitted indisnens ing wifh the loqnisite mate's certificate, and as I found each o£ these gentlemen willing to oveilook this meguiauty for the appaient puipose of carrying tne Ministci'b wishes into effect, I was weald) pei I haps, induced to fall in wifh these wishes and facilitate as I did, Captain Jones obtaining the ceitihcate of a coastal master " I Mi Meddon said he desned to lepeat the statement he had aheady made tnat he waa not awaie of Jones having been asked to undeigo an examination. Nothing had tianspued between witness and Captain Alhnan In legaid to Jones going up loi ' examination. In suppoit ot this witness produced the Depaitiaent's minutes to show that all he had to do in the mattei was in regard to a seivice eeitificate of Captain Jones, in which the latter said he undei -stood f lorn the con veisation he had with him (Mi Seddon) on board the sfeamer Duchess " that it would be all light in leg.ud to his ceitjficate." Mi Seddon said this statement was absolutely devoid of touch, and he h.id only made a commonplace lemailc to Jones dming the com scote ot a con veisation in which se\eial othei gentlemen weie taking part. The Commission adjourned till 11 a.m. on Thuibday.