RE FOOLHARDY EXPEDITION TO WAIROA.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume XIV, Issue 2005, 29 June 1886, Page 2

RE FOOLHARDY EXPEDITION TO WAIROA.

TO THE EDITOE. Sic,— l beg to draw your attention to eer*;' ' tain inaccuracies which appeared in ■- the ' account given in the issue of the Henrid of the 22nd instant, of my expedition party to Te Wairoa. (1) With reference to the expedition being dubbed a foolhardy on*, I must enter a warm protest. The object was to rescue a portion of my property, surely a sufficient reason for such a venture; more* river, it was entirely owing to the dilatory and vacillating policy of the authorities here that such an expedition was not taken sooner, when the roads were safe and the rescue of property would have been compli»t#. „ (2) With regard to the sanity or otherwue.of my wife joining the party, I consider it a personal matter and that comment thereon is an impertinent obtrusion. (3) That the track taken was one only known to Mr Warbrick, is a- sheer misatatemeat as I have know and used the track frequently for many years. (4) The hour of our departure was 10 not 8 ; thus 4, not 6, hours being taken over the journey. (5) That owing, to the rain and north . easterly gale nothing oould be done to resoue property fromTeMuon Sunday is inaocurate as we never intended* to Btar't working till the morrow. (6) That Mrs Way was left alone with Mr Foley is a very gross andJJ misleading misstatement, implying desertion by the other members of the party ; the true facts being that Mrs Way was going to cross to Kaiterira with myself and Mr Fisher in a canoe, but the natives had not room for either of us, so we made the attempt to reach the settlement by the margin of Rotokakahi Lake, without success, Mrs Way being only alone a very short time when she was joined by Mr Clarke and some natives. (7) Whilst ao« knowledging Mr Warbrick's services, the statement is a sheer absurdity that he wont at the risk of his life to procure assistance for us, implying that we were a helpless lot of new ohums, as it was he did so entirely at his own responsibility without any authority from me, his ebject being- to get forage for the horses and not succour for ourselves. (8) As for the absurdities which appear in that issue, and in that of the 23rd, of the thoughtless waste of water, the desertion of our baggage, the utter exhaustion of the party arc too contemptible to desorve contradiction. (9) I must protest against your contemporary sending reporters who receive garbled versions and are only too gullible and ready to be taken in by any sensational tale monger, damasrit.g the reputation of the press as a faithful reporter of current history. — I am, &c, H. F. Wat. Rotorua, June 25th, 1885.