WESTPORT LAND PURCHASE.

Westport Times, Volume VI, Issue 982, 25 June 1872, Page 2

WESTPORT LAND PURCHASE.

MR O'CONOR'S MEETING-. A meeting called by Mr O'Conor was hold at the Court House, West port, on Priday evening. Tlio room was crowded, and great interest was evinced throughout t'le proceedings. Mr O'Conor moved that Mr Humphrey should take the chair. Mr Humphrey, as chairman, read the notice calling the meeting, which, as he said, did not state the object, but he assumed that every one present understood that Mr O'Conor had called the meeting to explain his recent action in the Provincial Council, relative to the purchase of certain sections in Westport, and, if possible, to clear himself from grave and serious charges. He (the chairman,) knew that every one present was anxious to hear Mr O'Conor's explanation, and he therefore hoped they would give him an attentive hearing, as also any other gentleman who might wish to address them.

Mr O'Conor said the present occasion was the third on which he had addressed his Westport he spoke now under peculiar and distressing circumstances. He had made haste on the first day after his arrival here, to gratify the publicly expressed wish, to hear his explanation. It was his own wish also to promptly give that explanation. If in the course of his remarks, the language he might use should seem too strong, they must remember that he stood there under no ordinary circumstances. It would be necessary for a complete understanding of the entire circumstances of the case, to review his actions in the Provincial Council, since it had been his misfortune to be a member of that Council. At the first meeting of the Provincial Council, those present would remember perhaps his action in the struggle between the Council and the Superintendent, how far he went and where he stopped. He had then allied himself with a party whom he thought inclined to act fairly to the province; but when he found it was but a change of usurpers, from bad to worse, he separated from them, and from that day till now, he had opposed their selfishness. Alone he had done this, braving their dire enmity, but he had never thought that their hatred for him would be manifested in the cowardly way it had been during the past session. Those present would remember also his election to the General Assembly, the scenes then enacted, the vile slanders circulated too, against him, and hence would be enabled to understand the present attack, now made against him under more base, more cowardly, circumstances. An effort to defame his character, a desecration of every tie sacred to human nature. After stating that between himself and Mr D. M. Luckie an eternal enmity existed, Mr O'Conor entered into particulars as to the laud purchase. He said on the 30th of last month he had applied to the Native Land Commissioner for the purchase of two sections on reserve (the position he indicated on a large plan displayed in the room). He had then his own views as to the probable results the shifting of the town would have on the value of property, and as he would be the first to suffer he sought by purchase of eligible sections to replace his losses. A difficulty intervened, expected funds were not forthcoming, and no purchase was made, but he had publicly stated his intention to buy, had told Mr Stavert of his intent, and had based his decision to buy not alone on his own knowledge of the proper site for the town, but on Dr Hector's, Mr Dobson's, and Captain Leech's reports. Others beside himself were then alive to the fact of the value of the land. Mr Gilmer bad applied thtdayafter him for sections. Mr Dobson's report had been published on the 4th, in the ' Westport Times,? and five or six days previously had been made public in Nelson. Heheldthat he was justified as much as any other man in attempting to purchase land he needed. On the Monday he sent a telegram to remove the monetary difficulty which had prevented earlier purchase of sections; lie got the answer on Friday in the Committee room wljere he happened to be, having been summoned to attend a Committee at 11 o'clock, (Mr Eeid: No.) Can prove it and will do so. He then met Mr M'Mahon who lent him an ' Age' newspaper containing a full report of Duffy's debate. As an old Yictorian he was interested therein. He sat down to read it, and was so absorbed that he knew nothing of what was going on around him. He sat there until the telegram was brought to him, and would prove it. He here handed to the Chairman, who read to the meeting, copy of evidence

given by the Council messenger, who delivered telegram, also copy of telegram receipt, and a statutory declaration, made by the lad from telegraph office,that, after delivering the message, he met Mr O'Conor on his way to the Bank. He had also, he paid, the evidence of the Bank clerk, to prove the time he came there. He then went to the Land Office, with the number of sections written on hack of the telegram, the clerk then ticked off tho sections, as marked on tfiat memoranda, and while the clerk was counting tho money, Mr Kynnersley came in. He (Mr O'Conor), asked him something about the time of meeting of the Bnumer Committee, and then told tho clerk to count the money and that ho would call again, but tho clerk demurred. He and Mr Kynnersley afterwards sat on tho Brunner Committee. Afterwards he, Mr O'Conor, saw MrSymonds, and in conversation, told him that he had purchased the sections as a good speculation He had previously tried to purchase in Nelson, from private individuals, any sections he could get at less than upset price, but had not succeeded. When leaving Mr Symonds, he got another telegram from Westport, refering to the memorial from Westport. H,e read telegrams from Messrs Hughes and Humphrey, and his reply thereto. Mr O'Conor here explained at some length the conclu sions he had arrived at from perusal of Mr Dobsons report as influencing him to make purchase of sections, and then entered into details as to the charge made against him, and read extracts from papers reporting the subsequent scenes in the Council—details which we have already published—on learning the charge against him, he said he at once relinquished the sections at the cost price, rather than oppose the public interest.— (Applause) He admitted that Mr Kynnersley was justified in acting aa he had, upon first impressions, but had not afterwards done him the justice to notice his (Mr O'Conor's), refusal to be on the committee, and his unwillingness to take any action in a matter in which he was so much personally interested. He regretted now that he had been been so over scrupulous, believing that if he had bee i on the committee a gross blunder in the adoption of the suggestions contrary to Mr Dobson's, would have been prevented. After giving his evidence on the Select Committee he had said " if you have done with me, I'll go," and he then left. This the meeting would remember as an expression tantamount to " I do not want to stay with you or interfere in the matter." Next morning he sat in the committee room at some distance from the table. As a member of the Provincial Council he was free to go in and out as he liked. When going in at the door he shewed a letter to Mr M'Mahon, referring to the matter, and asked him to come to Mrs O'Conor to hear what she had to say, because she, as a woman of business, generally took an interost in her husband's transactions. Mr M'Mahon refused. Seeing a dead set against him, he (Mr O'Conor) asked some one else, who also refused, but Mrs O'Conor had since made a statutory declaration which might be taken as good evidence in his favor. [Statutory declaration of Elizabeth O'Conor, and also Ellen Stallard, that on Saturday the Ist day of June, Mr O'Conor had decided to purchase as early as possible sections Nos 468-68-G9-70-7.1 and 72.] On getting notice of the enquiry was suspicious as to its intent, seeing the names of Messrs Luckie, Kelling, and Guinness —no friends of his—affixed to the document. In the Committee room he saw to his astonishment Mr. Luckie in thejch.air. He objected to his holding that position as he, Mr Luckie, had been his personal enemy for three years standing. The objection was of no avail and proceedings commenced. A Mr Smallbone was there, whom he, (Mr o'Conor)thought would act as reporter, but no, not only did Messrs Luckie and Guinness act as cross-examiners, even now and then cross-examining one another to bring out the evidence they wished; but Mr Luckie put aside the reporter and took the evidence himself. He (Mr O'Conor) objected to this as he saw Mr Luckie was writing two pages to the reporter's one. He asked for an explanation, but he was brow beaten and bullied and could obtain no remedy. Mr Luckie took the evidence, without the witnesses signing their names except in a very few cases, the evidence was not read over to them, and he then took the documents away to his own home. He asked them what did Luckie do this for ? except to take an ungenerous advantage of an enemy. Day after day he, (Mr O'Conor) had asked for a copy of the evidence, bnt it was kept away from him until the last day of the session. He denounced this action through the press. The people of Nelson cried shame on the treatment he suffered. He at last in the Council Chamber saw detached sheets of the evidence, and in a certain portion, that of Mr Reid's, he saw a falsification of evidence, (Mr JReid: Do you mean to charge me Sir-?) He (Mr O'Conor) then asked the clerk to initial every page; to this Mr Luckie objected; he then appealed to Mr Barnicoat, but the evidence was not brought into the Council Chamber till nearly 5 o'clock. He called attention to this, but was ruled out of order. The Council, with a meanness beyond expression, got him out of the room and tried him in secret. It was Eugene Joseph O'Conor against the whole Council, and as a climax to their actions they

prepared for the appointment of a Sergeant at Arms to take him in custody if he made any show of opposition. It was not until three o'clock the next day that he got a complete printed copy of the evidence. He had then to see fie Superintendent about certain suggestions for the improvement of Westport, and could not find time to peruse the evidence until ni<»ht. After doing so, he, on the following morning, brought forward a formal motion to get the resolution condemning him rescinded. He did no really want it rescinded, but only wanted a hearing so as to challenge them to their boards with their false accusations, but he was with constant interruptions, as before, ruled out of order, and his motion rejected. In reply to some remarks that Mr Eeid took a prominont action in the alleged interruptions, Mr Reid denied being there until after Mr O.Conor had done speaking, (Mr O'Conor : Well, if not, I beg your pardon. If not by you it was by some of your friends.) Resuming, Mr O'Conor said some of the Nelson papers were against him, when he took them in his hand it was as if touching some noxious things, but he would quote from the 'Nelson Mail' to show the method of interruption adopted* He read extracts, as also from the ' Examiner.' Two members Mr Collins and another at last turned round on his side. He did not move the motion but the Speaker said he took the notice as moved, and it was put to the Council and rejected. Mr Collins alone protested, compelled by conscientious motives, and he in (Mr O'Conor's) opinion, thus stood as much above the rest as the stars above the earth. Next day he, (Mr O'Conor, received a requisition calling on him to state his case at a public meeting. He went there, armed with one little weapon, truth, and caring little whether he met eight hundred or eight thousand. He talked in plain language, called a spade a spade, and although the correspondent of the ' Westport Times ' telegraphed that his language was two infamous to report ; the next day the ' Examiner ' published three columns. He asked the Nelson people to assist him in calling for a judicial enquiry. Reid and Luckie got on the platform to subvert him, but finding the public voice too strong they turned round and pretended also to be in favor of the enquiry, which in reality they waited to upset. (No No) Mr Luckie attempted to interrupt, but the people of Nelson would not allow him to speak. Mr Reid —Mr Luckie did not seek to interrupt you, he only protested against you comparing yourself to Jesus Christ, (reviled and persecuted). Mr O'Conor in continuation. I have now eight hundred friends in Nelson, and whether lam short of one pound or one hundred pounds they will make it up to me and see me through this trial. (Derisive cheers) A voice: Can you lay me on. Mr O'Conor here read voluminous extracts from papers and again recapituated his arguments and opinions on the relative merits of Dobson's versus Kynnersley's reports, and also his conversation with Mr Symons. He had, he said, heard it remarked that he had no right to purchase property for himself, on information as to its value obtained in the Provincial Council, but he asserted that, inasmuch as prior to the purchase, the papers referring to the sections, were laid on the Council table, and part thereof also printed in the ' Westport Times,' he was justified, and, moreover,he was in any case, unless the people of Westport were prepared to insist that on entering the Council as their servant, he had no right to do anything for himself. He had worked well for them there, even when his own property was in jeopardy, and he asked was there any man present who had lost property as he had, would pay a large sum of money, when he stood a chance of getting a share of the land, to be apportioned among the losers by sea encroachment, among whom he was the chief. He next read from the standing orders of the House, to show that the rules had not been observed during the enquiry, and also from the minutes of evidence, wherein he said his evidence had been stultified, and he had been cut out from two distinct lines of defence. He had, he said, although first caught in the meshes of his enemies, accused them in the press and openly, of a predetermination to ignominiously condemn, him, and alone and unaided, he had dared them to refute him. He had shamed them in their own city, carried the sway with the people of Nelson, and won over 800 men to the side of truth and justice. Mr O'Conor then condemned the local press as being powerful for evil, and said he had, by the advice of his lawyer, retracted the criminal action against his enemies, as he was waiting enquiry at the Assembly; and said that he had come to the conclusion that when the members of the Committee saw him get the telegram in the Committee room, they at once concocted a scheme to lay a trap for him. He then read extracts from Mr Dobson's and Mr Kynnersley's reports, letters of Mr Symons and Mr Stavert published in the Nelson 'Mail,' gave a general resume of his action in the Council on general matters, advised an instant and united action by the people of Westport to shift en masse to the new site for the township, and concluded with an urgent appeal that they should support him by signing a requisition to the General Assembly for an enquiry as to the charge under which he suffered.

Mb Reid said that if he were permitted to address the meeting he would accept that permission, not as any privilege granted to him by Mr O'Conor, but as a permission from those who were present and from the Eesident Magistrate, to whom he had applied for the use of the building in which they were then met. He did not even ask for that permission at that particular time. He wished to be heard. He wished to describe fully the circumstances which were the cause of their meeting, but the patience of those present had been bo completely exhausted that, if he were to speak then, he must inevitably speak at great disadvantage. He would prefer to meet the electors on the following evening, or on any other evening they chose to appoint, The question between Mr O'Conor and his constituency was a grave and serious one, and was not to be disposed of all of a sudden, towards the small hours, and on a cold comfortless night when few were inclined to assemble, or to patiently consider subjects of political import. He believed that if they would give him their attention for only half an hour he could demonstrate the utter falsity of Mr Conor's statements, and the wrongfulness of Mr O'Oonor's conduct; but he fearod that neither he nor they were then in the humour to consider the matter so fully and perfectly as it was desirable to do. He would leave it to the meeting to decide whether he should go on with his statement then or at another time. Mb O'Conob said he meant to be in Charleston on Saturday, and if Mr Reid had anything to say he wished him to say it now.

Mb Keid was anxious to accommodate himself to Mr O'Conor* s convenience in the minutest particular. He was ready to meet Mr O'Conor then, or at any other time he chose to appoint, but it must be obvious to the meeting that if he spoke at that late hour he would speak at a disadvantage. There were cries of "Goon j" "Let us have it now j" " No, on Monday j" and general uproar. Mb John Munb© said that, to test the wishes of the meeting, he would propose that Mr Reid should be requested to speak. The motion was put by the Chairman and was carried on the voices. Mb Reid said that, as it seemed to be the wish of the meeting, he would proceed to speak, but he did so" under protest, and, as he had said, at a disadvantage. Two apologies were due to the constituency—one by him knd the other byjiis colleague. He (Mr Reid) owed them an apology for not having addressed them, except through the medium of newspaper columns, during the three years for which he had been one of their representatives in the Nelson Provincial Council. He had pursued that course for two reasons. One was that, although he might feel competent to take part in the proceedings of a small deliberative body, he was not so ready in speech as to desire to make any more appearances before a public assemblage than were absolutely necessary. Another was that he had been associated with a colleague whose imaginativeness, inventiveness, and volubility had, in his opinion, exceeded his discretion, and that he did not care to be present at scenes of personal abuse, conducing to no purpose except that of contributing to Mr O'Conor's peculiar taste, and to his (Mr Reid's) discomfort. He regretted if, by following this course, he appeared to have made the consideration of his own feelings superior to the consultation of their interests, but he felt confident that, if he had done so, they would admit that it had only been in appearance. On the part of Mr O'Conor there was an apology due to them for the fact of his having rendered it necessary for him (Mr Reid) to come before them under such peculiar and painful circumstances. However reluctant or sensitive he might be, he was on this occasion bound to come before them, and he did so, fearlessly and face to face, partly in his own defence, and partly for the purpose of asserting that in doing anything which tended to condemn hi 3 colleague, he had done that which was just, right, and inevitable. He trusted that, in his saying what he had to say, and in their listening to what he said, both he and they would subdue any strong feelings which had been aroused by recent circumstances, either one way or the other. He asked them, on the one hand, to subdue for the time their sympathy with Mr O'Conor hs a loser of property, and to consider his conduct as their representative with a desire to do him simple justice. He asked them, on the other hand, to disabuse their minds of any fear or feeling that he (Mr Reid) was, as, he had been described, an' unlawful, wicked, and malicious conspirator. Let them treat each with equal justice, and, if they did so, he felt assured that he could claim, and would obtain, a favorable verdict. In his statement to them that evening, as in all his previous statements elsewhere, Mr O'Conor had been successful only in simply raising a smoke. He endeavored to conceal the facts by creating a cloud. He was elaborate in his comparisons of the probable value of pieces of land according to one recommendation made by Mr Dobson, and according to another recommendation made by Mr Kynnersley. But any comparison of the kind was entirely beside the question. The question at issue was simply this—Had Mr O'Conor, as the representative of a constituency, and as a member of Council, been guilty of a breach of trust ? That was the question, and to that questhere was, he feared, only one unavoidable answer. It was very far from his desire either to question or to condemn the conduct of a fellow councillor and local colleague, but he was compelled by the facts to come to the conclusion that Mr O'Conor had been guilty of a double breach of trust —a breach of trust to. his constituents, and a breach of trust towards the Council of which he wa3 a member. What were the facts? Concerning the constituency they were these—that Mr O'Conor had, on behalf of his constituents, presented a memorial to the Superintendent, praying that certain land should be converted to a certain public purpose; that he heard that memorial referred by the Superintendent to the Council; that he heard the Council refer it to a Select Committee; that he was present when it was considered by the Committee; and that, knowing well the nature of the memorial, he did, in defiance of the desire of his constituents, and to their detriment, purchase for his own private use the land regarding which they had publicly memorialised the Government. Here was the memorial, and there was no possible chance of Mr O'Conor evading the fact that he well knew its purport and its purpose :

" That many of the inhabitants, some of whom have already suffered very severe losses, are and will be precluded from rebuilding their premises in consequence of the exorbitant prices required by the holders of the only available freehold and business sites. That your memorialists believe, unless suitable sites are provided at a reasonable cost, the result must be a very considerable reduction in the population. Your memorialists therefore respectfully request your Honor to take such steps aa may be necessary for carrying into effect the recommendation of A. D. Dobson, Esq., the Provincial Engineer. That a portion of the reserve on the west side of Palmerston

street be laid out in sections, and that thei together with the unsold allotmd bounded on the north by Wakefield-stra on the east by Queen-street, on the boo by Eoebuck-street, and the west by Pj merston-street, be declared open for selj tion at a fair price (upset) and, furthil that such regulations bo made in connect! therewith as will insure bona fide occupatii with priority of selection to those perao compelled or willing to remove from th< former sites." " Priority of selection " was one of t things for which the public prayed, and 1 O'Conor had apparently anticipated t public wish by securing that priority ( himself —by "picking the plums" by purchasing from among the "unsc allotments," the few sections that w« most fit to be allotted among perso: ' compelled or willing to remove." acting thus Mr O'Comor had, he conceiyi acted unfaithfully towards his constitueo He not only failed to fulfil the trust repos in him, but he deliberately broke tru Ho did more. He abused his trust. That least, was the conviction which he (1 Reid) was forced to form, and it was explanation of his action taken on tl conviction that he was now before t constituency, willing to accept the com quences, whatever they might be. T second and still more serious breach trust which he was forced to conclude I O'Conor had committed was a breach trust towards the Council, and necessari through them, towards the community, accordance with this memorial, certf action had been taken by the Select Co mittee. They agreed that the la referred to should be withheld from sa They did so in the presence of Mr O'Con and whatever Mr O'Conor might now e to the contrary, there was unquestional evidence—the evidence of seven men—tl

he had equal opportunity with these sevejH of hearing that decision. He Trias williJS to give Mr O'Conor the benefit of the dooS that he had only formed a " vague ideaS of the character of Mr Kynnersley's drafl report.as compared with Mr Dobson's recoSj mendationß. It was quite possible that jB the rapid reading of a draft report whicß had been approved of at a previofl meeting Mr Kynnersley did nof convey to Mr O'Conor's mkS the possible, but by no means demonstrates difference, between the value of certafl sections in the event of his recommends tions or those of Mr Dobson being earns! out. Mr O'Conor was welcome to tin benefit of the extremest doubt on th#| subject. He might have caught, yet m might not have caught, the precise purpoJ| of a half sentence included in a rapidly reJB report. His hearing either way wJH no consequence. It was a purely specniaH tive point whether land would be made IB greater or less value by the fact of othjH contiguous land being populated and apprdjll priated to the purpose of business sitesjß The majority of people would probabwi consider that the presence of populations would enhance the value of land in tbflS proximity. Mr Syrconds, of Nelson, on tbatH contrary, considered that land which haM no value now, because of. its from settlement, would be " deterioratedjßj in v.alue by people surrounding it or settlinS near it. Mr Symonds meant, of conrsaH though he did not say it, that there mighflH be a " deterioration", on the high estimate™ which he formed as to the value of certaS| land of which he waa honorably and fairiW the monopolist, and Mr O'Conor, as fl monopolist under opposite probably sympathised with that view oJB the case. The question was a fair onefoß business men to debate, but the question for the constituency to decide was whethJß a representative Of theirs was justified ifl buying land which, for the very purposMH of preventing monopoly, was reserwlH from sale; the said representative knomngfl at the time that such withholding had beedfl agreed to. Mr O'Conor dared to say tbaH he knew not of the resolution of the Cbma| mittee. Yet seven men—all " honorableM men"—said he had equal opportunities with them of hearing that resolution, anflM they all heard it. He, the eighth, con4J tended he did not hear it, and, if it werea possible, he (Mr Keid), was disposed tofl give Mr O'Conor the benefit of the doubtj But his own personal senses were againsfl the presumption that Mr O'Conor did notfl hear it. Mr O'Conor was sitting so near tfl him that, had they cared to do so, theflK might have shaken hands, or, at any rate, have passed between them the paper which was of such absorbing interest, in conneo tion with Melbourne politics, that Mi O'Conor forgot—himself and Westport, The distinct evidence of seven men was against the presumption. The fact that Mr Shephard, in proposing the withholding from sale, did. so in marked and pointed manner' was against the presumption. Th» evidence of these seven men, and the accuracy of the record of their evidence, had been impugned, because, forsooth, the technicality of signing their names to then- words had not been observed, and it was a pity that even such technicality should, through ignorance of elaborate " standing orders," have been omitted. But every man who had given evidence--every man who heard that evidence—had declared that it was accurately recorded, and was prepared to affirm its accuracy on oath. The atrocious charges of falsification and mutilation of evidence were of a piece with the whole conduct of Mr O'Conor,: whose primary offence was nothing as compared with his subsequent succession of contradictions, equivocations, prevaricfr! t'O is, and—the rest. The evidence against;

Mr O'Conor, he considered, was complete, in-B dubitable. So thought seven men who knevfl the circumstances ; so thought seven men M who constituted a courtof enquiry into thajM circumstances; and, say what Mr O'Conor liked, did it consist with their reason and common-sense that seven such men m Henry Adama, Joseph Shephard, Darid Luckie, and Alfred Kynnersley would sacrifice, for any petty purpose, against snch» man as Eugene Joseph O'Conor—for any malicious purpose against any man— wM honor and their reputation for honor which they had gained among honorable men, by their honorable lives. He did not wish, however, to put the matter to them poetically. There might be a mistake. Seven M* men might be misled. The evidence might bo convincing, yet not conclusive. He *M willing, anxious, to accept that view of * But he was in possession of what was so strongly confirmatory that he was compelled to hold that the proof was positive—perfect. He had, B * they were aware, been charged along fW four others, with an unlawful, wicked, and malicious conspiracy. When so charged, however untenable the charge, it was necessary that he should be prepared to defend himself, and, as a means towards that end, he subpoenaed a witness whose word, * oath or otherwise, deserved to be implicit? believed. That witness was most averse V doing anything which might have m semblance of a breach of confidence. Jf was most averse to mixing himself op, * the slightest degree, with a matter wb* concerned him nothing. But, knowing that he would be called to give evidence, ana knowing that the nature of the evidence MB was able to give] was in no 3ense a secrej'H he made a statutory declaration of a etna!u M part of what in a few days ho would to ■

bound to give on oath. Mr O'Conor had, throughout this remarkable cose, been " great" in statutory declarations, but he (Mr Reid), estimated that this declaration would be considered greater than any that Mr O'Conor had produced. It wa3 a true copy of what they had a right to believe was a true statement, and it read as follows. :

I, John Maunder Langdon, of Grey Valley, in the Province of Nelson, in the Colony of New Zealand, settler, do soleumty and sincerely declare that I know Eugene Joseph O'Conor, of Westport, in the said province, a member of the Nelson Provincial Council, and that at or about seven o'clock in the evening of Thursday, the sixth day of June instant, I met the said Eugene Joseph O'Conor coming out of the gateway at the Government Buildings, when he appeared very excited, and stated that he was ruined or words to that effect. I walked up and down the street with him for some little time, when he said that he had purchased some sections of land in Palmerston street, Westport, and that the Committee had accused him of ÜBing certain information obtained in the committee room. I then asked him if he had premeditated purchasing the land before the Committee sat. He said he had, and could bring documents and telegrams to prove it. He said that he was in the committee room the whole of the time reading a newspaper. I then said to him that if he did not hear the determination of the Committee, and he could bring evidence to prove that ke intended taking up the land, he should stick to it, but if on the other hand he did hear the determination of the Committee to withdraw the land I would adviso him as an honorable man to give up the land and give an apology stating that he had acted on the spur of the moment, as we all knew he was an impulsive man, and they were not gentlemen if they did not accept it. He then said. "By God I did hear it; I would rather have thrown myself into the rivertlian itshould have happened." And I make this solemn declaration conscientiously believing the same to be true, and by virtue of an Act of the General Assembly of New Zealand intituled "The Justices of the Peace Act, 1866." (Signed) John Maundeb Langdon. Declared at the City of Nelson, in tho Province of Nelson, on this nineteenth day of June, 1872, before me Eobt. Pollock, Justice of the Peace for the Colony of New Zealand.

I, "Robert Pollock, Esquire, one of ' her Majesty's Justices of the Peace 1 for the Colony of New Zealand, do -\ hereby certify that the writings con- 1 tained on the two preceding pages i hereof is a true and correct copy of a i statutory declaration made and sub- < scribed before me* this day by the ] the therein named and described John < Maunder Langdon. Dated at Nelson this 19th day of i June, 1872. Eobt. Pollock, J.P. i MrO'CoNOB: The price of that is the Inaagahua Ferry. j Mb Reid believed Mr Langdon's oath to be as unpurchaseable as the oath of the \ best man in the world. Mr Langdon was ' as likely to be guilty of perjury as he (Mr ' Reid) was likely to purchase perjury. He 1 had as much to do with Mr Langdon and < the Inangabua Ferry as he had to do with ( Mr O'Conor and his recent purchase of , land. He had nothing whatever to do with either, nor had any of the other four fear- ' ful conspirators. At the crossing of the last ferry of all ferries it would be found who was the witness of the truth. He (Mr Reid) had been particularly desirous to confine himself to bare facts —to make no i accusations, no recriminations—and he regretted if he had been mislead into doing so. He desired to confine himself to the simplest statement of facts, as he had endeavored to do throughout this exceedingly painful business. He had refrained, as all other members of the Council had refrained, from making a single remark condemnatory of Mr O'Conor. The cold vote passed on two occasions indicated the conscientious conclusion of the Council, and their desire not to aggravate the agony. But. while he wished to act in no way as an accuser, it was necessary, as one accused, to exhibit to the utmost the injustice of an accusation, and it was by that feeling only that he was prompted to say a single word regarding the conduct of Mr O'Conor. Most of them were, no doubt, aware that, with four other persons variously described, he had been summoned for unlawfully, falsely, and maliciously conspiring to injure Mr O'Conor. As the summons read— Eugene Joseph O'Conor, of Westport, "Gentleman," sued Joseph Shephard, David Mitchell Luckie, Alexander Reid, "Reporter;" George Bonne, "Mining Advocate;" and Frank Guinness, "Auctioneer," for certain fearful things done or said. The prologue, they would observe, was of a comic character, but the epilogue smacked of tragedy. Thus:— "The plaintiff sues the defendants for that they on or about the fourth day of June, 1872, and thereafter, unlawfully, falsely, and maliciously, did conspire, confeder, and agree together to cause the plaintiff to be brought into public hatred and contempt, and did in pursuance of their said conspiracy unlawfully, falsely, and maliciously procure the Provincial Council of the Province of Nelson, to pass a certain resolution, declaring (inter alia) that the conduct of the plaintiff in reference to certain matters therein mentioned, had been unparallelled and unprecedented in the annals of the Council, highly derogatory to its character, and demanding its severest reprobation. And also, a certain other resolution—that His Excellency the Governor should be humbly prayed to refuse the issue of certain Crown Grants to the plaintiff for lands purchased by him under the circumstances so set out in the first mentioned resolution, whereby the plaintiff has been brought into public hatred and contempt, and has Buffered great pain of mind, and has been put to great expense in clearing himself of the charges made against him. And the plaintiff claims one hundred pounds." Tins summons, it was said, had been withdrawn, but he (Mr Reid) had had no notification of the fact, and he had instructed legal I gentlemen not only to defend him, but to sue for consequent costs. Mr O'Conor excused the withdrawal by the assertion that ho was

to bring the case' into " a higher court." Let him do so. Let him bring tho case into any court—into every court —and he (Mr Reid) was confident as to the result.

Mr O'Conor: The higher Court is tho General Assembly. Mr Reid said the General Assombly was no court, but if the General Assembly chose to inquiro into this case, ho had no objections, except upon the principlo that it would bo an interference with tho suffrages of these by whom he had been elected. He was respoasib'e to the electors. They were the h'ghes 1 ., the la<t, the only court of appeal, and, alongside of Mr O'Conor, ho was ready to stand before them till all inquiry was exhausted. If personal wrong had been done to Mr O'Conor, the courts of justice were accessible to him, as to every subject of the Crown, and before them Mr O'Conor could procure all that he pretended to desiderate—the formalities —and he (Mr Reid) would be able to produce all that he desired—the facts. Mr O'Conor might travel, if he chose, to the end of the earth with his panorama. He might procure and produce, if he chose, the opinions of the most distinguished land-jobbers in tho country. But he had to rebut two facts—the fact that he presented a memorial to the Council from his constituents, praying that certain land should be used for the common good, and defied and defeated their object by purchasing the land for himself, and the other fact that he bought the land in the face of a resolution by his fellow Councillors that such land should be withheld from sale. It was true that to Mr O'Conor was due the credit of renouncing his purchase, but an act of renunciation on the part of a person appropriating property was not usually recognised as a condonation of his offence. "He (Mr Reid) again felt that he was running into comment when he meant merely to confine himself to a plain statement of particulars. He felt himself, in fact, to be'in a peculiarly embarrassed position. With the fullest desire not to say an offensive word, and with an earnest wish to let his votes be the sole record of his opinions, he had been so roused|by the viciousness and vileness of charges made against himself, and against men who were a long way better men than he was, that he found his sentiments suffocating his discretion. For correctness of sentiments on this miserable matter, combined with discretion, he had a pattern in one whom they had all much reason to respect—Mr Kynnorsloy—who had manfully discharged a disagreeable duty. Physically prostrated as he was, partly through the occurrences in the Counci!, Mr Kynnersley had had enough strongth of hand, head, and heart, to write to him on this subject before he left Nelson, and in the following letter, which he (Mr Reid) had received just as he was going on board tho steamer, there was tersely expressed all that ho could say on the subject even if he were to detain them till midnight:—

My dear Mr Reid, —I have just heard that you are going to the Coast this evening, and I wish, before you go, to trouble you with a few hurried lines, on the subject of the conduct of O'Conor in the Council. I learn by to-day's paper that he has withdrawn the action which he commenced against you and others. lam sorry for this, for I looked forward to the appearance of Mr O'Conor in the witness-box, feeling confident that a little wholesome cross-examination would at once prove the utter worthlessness of the unsupported statements which he has on several occasions made in his defence, and would show conclusively that the Council was perfectly justified in censuring his conduct.

Mr O'Conor, however, wisely < shrinks from the light of a Court of ' Justice, and he will not dare to com- : mence proceedings in a higher court. \ He prefers to trust to the power of his ( fluent tongue at public meetings. < He has tried this already at Nelson, 1 and endeavored by a display of elo- i quence to throw dust in the eyes of ] the public, but has only succeeded in < entangling himself in a mesh of < equivocations and contradictions, from ( which he cannot well escape. If he did not succeed in Nelson, he will , have still less chance on the West < Coast, for the people there have seen i too much of the world to be easily : gulled and hoodwinked by fluent : clap-trap. If I were you I should , just lay before them the actual facts, ; and. leave them, as reasonable men, to ; form their own conclusions. If you think it will have any weight with any single man you aie welcome to quote my deliberate assertion that the Committee which was appointed to enquire into O'Conor's conduct was selected with most scrupulous justice and fairness to him, that the evidence was fairly and faithfully taken, that Mr O'Conor was allowed the greatest latitude in cross-examination, that the report of the Committee contains a full and impartial report of the facts elicited, and,that, in my opinion, upon such report the Couucil acted with justice and propriety in passing unanimously a temperate and dignified resolution expressing their disapprobation of Mr O'Conor's conduct. There is one point in which I agree with Mr O'Conor, and that is, that the case has been a one-sided one throughout, but we look from opposite points of view—from my point of view the case has been all for the defence, with no one appearing for the prosecution. After I first reported to the Council the facts containing the charges against O'Conor, he has been allowed to have everythinghis own way, to callwhatwitnesse3 he liked and to examine and cross-examine as he pleased, while it has not been anybody's business to enquire into the truth or falsehood of the numerous conflicting and unsupported statements put forward from time to time by him. Nothing, however, can ever alter or affect the plain facts that O'Conor was present in the Committee-room during the whole of the deliberations, that he was present when we agreed to withhold the land from sale, and that he did thereupon proceed to the Land Office and buy I the land himself. As to the story that , he did not hear what was going on in the Committee-room, it may do very well for the Marines, but I think that it may be safely left to those on the ; "West Coast who know Mr O'Conor I to decide whether he is the kind of i man who would buy land blindly with-

out having first ascertained the exact intentions of the Council or Committee with regard to it. The moral of it all is, that if he wishes to get the reputation of a man with clean hands, the member for "Weßtport should in future avoid speculating in "Westport sections just at the exact time that the Council of which he is a member is deciding upon operations considerably affecting thpir vi lue. Remember me to old friends on the Coast.

And believe m", Tours sincorely, 'I 1 . A. Snetb Kynnebsley. June 19th, 1872. Mr Reid continued by describing at some length the proceedings of tho Westport Committee, and by referring to what he characterised as the unsubstantiated and uuproved representations of Mr O'Conor, with regard to telegrams, witnesses, mutilation of evidence, and so forth. He alluded to the recommendations of the committee, regretting their defectiveness in meeting the exigencies of the circumstances, and expressing the hope that, defective though they might be, neither the people of Westport nor the Government would rest until they had carried out these or other better plans, for the security of property for the promotion of the prosperity of a community which had hitherto so seriously suffered. He concluded by stating that if ho had spoken with anything like undue warmth, he sincerely regretted having done so. It was greatly against his wish that he appeared there under such circumstances, but he had a simple duty to perform, and he had obeyed the call of duty. Mb O'Conob, in reply, disclaimed ever having made a confidant of Langdon, or any other person, and said it merely showed the depth and enormity of the conspiracyjagainst him. He said the statutory declaration utterly astonished him, and was one of the most infamous things ever produced on the face of the earth, that Mr Reid had joined a pack to hunt him down, and had come to Westport to stop tho enquiry, but he (O'Conor), would go to the Assembly. Millions would not stop him, nothing bu death. He appealed for help, he said " don't for God's sake stop me in this," the meeting might, he said, hold him as the meanest wretch on earth, but he would call for the enquiry, and prove by incontestable evidence that ho spoke the truth. His enemies had scattered slander against him, broadcast. His name was being ignominiously mentioned throughout the Colony, and, for aught ho knew, papers containing evidences of his disgrace ha,d been sent even to his parents at home. He would present a petition to the public for signature to-morrow, and if no one else would take it round he would go himself. Mr Guinness here roso and said that as Mr O'Conor had, duriisg the meeting, had the audacity to call him " a liar," he rose to protest against such conduct from a person with whom he had no acquaintance, whom ho had scarcely ever met, and whose antecedents were unknown to him. He (Mr Guinness) hoped that the enquiry would be given, and he should himself take care that the enquiry should be made on oath.—(Applause.) On the motion of Mr MratEO, a vote of thanks was accorded ti the chairman, and the meeting, which had been orderly throughout, with the exception of slight interruption from individuals who had taken their places early; then dispersed, first giving three cheers for Mr Reid, and three groans for Mr Eugene Joseph O'Conor.

The session of the Otago Provincial Council has terminated. The writer of " Casual Notes" in the ' Otago Daily Times,' says:—The escape of gas in the Provincial Council Chamber has happily ceased, and the atmosphere is beginning to clear once more. The somewhat, abrupt close of the session has been received with general thankfulness, as an unexpected blessing, and certainly it was time to prorogue when MrG. P. C. Browne began to make " goaks." Members seem to have fairly talked themselves out on the Educational Bill, and, content with that supreme and successful effort to maintain their reputation as windbags, to have yielded to the endeavours of the Government to bring the session to a close. And now that the session is over, what is there to show for the labor of the month during which it lasted? Literally nothing beyond the passing of the Estimates, and a few measures that no one cares about, and that -will most likely be amended next session. The time has been spent in wrangling and empty spouting, and in voting expenditure that will never take place, inasmuch as the money for it cannot be obtained. The natural result is that every one is very glad that this subsidised exhibition of folly has ceased, and that the Councillors have left for their homes, taking with them the well-earned testimonials given them by some of the speakers, and duly endorsedby the audience, at the late police meeting, The advance of nearly 40 per cent in the price of iron in the Home market has considerably affected the estimates for New Zealand railways. The contract for the Picton and Blenheim railway has been signed, the price being .£IO,OOO over the estimate. The tender of Mr Brogden for the Invercargill and Mataura railway has been i received, but it being considerably over the estimate, it has been referred for further consideration between the Chief Engineer and the tenderers. The difference is now inconsiderable, and the contract will probably be signed in a day or two. The Clutha line will be submitted to Mr Brogden in a few days. Mr Brogden will be invited in a few days to tender for the construction of a portion of the Wellington and Wairarapa line as far as Petoni. The data thence to the Upper Hutt will be placed in Brogdens hands at the same time. The General Government have engaged Mr Higginson to examine the direct route over Rimutaka assisted by Mr Eochfort. ( For remainder of news see Mh page.)