OTAGO.

Press, Volume XI, Issue 1411, 17 May 1867, Page 2

OTAGO.

GOLDFIELDS DELEGATION. The following message was sent by the Superintendent to the Provincial Council of Otago on the Bth iuat.:— Understanding that it is the desire of 80me members of the Provincial Council to peruse certain correspondence of a pereonal naturo between himself and the hon. tho Colonial Secretary, the Superintendent transmits herewith with tho correspondence and questions. These documents would have been laid on the table along with the other correspondence, but being (unlike the other) addressed to himself individually, and relating to matters which have in reality no bearing upon the public question at issue, the Superintendent did not feel called upon to trouble the Council with them. The documents by which the message was accompanied were as follows :— 1. A letter from the Hon. E. Stafford, dated April 15, to the Superintendent, I enclosing tho reports dated 14th and

18th ult., and explaining thnt t hc Ministers wire unable to advi ßo t] Jelegaliou of powers under the oJ'i° fields Act to him. ° lIU 2. A lottor tnun tl.o Superintculent in roply, dated April 20, admittin that the "informality" did occur but railing the assumption of the Auditor General as to the nature of the trim" action gratuitous and unfounded '. Ul "| boasting that tho confidence reposed urn by the inhabitants of Otn.ro w e ! far to console him t'ov the bad op inio , ot his Excellency s advisers. 3. A letter from from Dr. Kni«U f Mr SiMlord dated March U, that bo bad «cen the Superintendent" who said that nothing new had been discovered, and at once gave him permission to inspect the necessary docu ments, explaining the difficult/ho had had with Mr Vogel and saying that ho had examined no oiheer of the Govern raent, but confined his investigation, to tho inspection of the accounts and to copying entries from public documents in tho Audit-olhce. 4 and 5. A letter from Mr Wei to Dr. Knight, complaining that he* had obtained access to the Treasury in an unsatisfactory way, and had not communicated with the head of tho department, thus ignoring official etiquette' and a letter in reply, stating that Dr' knight's communications had been with the Provincial Auditor, and not with the Treasury, and explaining tho circumstances under which he comnm nieated with the Provincial Bankers" 6. The report of Dr. Knight to the Colonial Secretary, which we publish entire: — Dunedin, March 18,1867 Sir—l reported on the 14th instant that in accordance with tho instructions given to mc ac Auditor of Public Accounts with reference to the inquiry made under the Comtnia ß JQ U issued in tho year 1861, I had commenced tho examination of the accounts of the province with regard to the item " Defalcations of James ilacandrew, Eaq." On the 6th instant I received tho letter of his Honor tho Superintendent, dated instant, in reply to my application as Commissioner for freo access to vouchors and accounts of the Provincial Treasurer necessary for tho purposes of tho present enquiry. His Honor states that the enquiry in question waa instituted at tho instigation of the Protineisl Council of Otugo, and unless that body deeirei its resumption, the Provincial Government must decline any interference on tho part of cho General Government with the accounts of the province. 1 stated in reply that, in accordance with the views of the Provincial Government, I had at once closed my enquiries into the publio accounts of the province. I have now the honor to report that I hare examined the provincial accounts with regard to the item " Defalcations by James Mocandrew, Esq , £1012 14s 5d," which appears in the Appropriation Ordinance of the Province of Otago for the year 1861, and find from tho account current of Messrs James Crawford and Auld, agents in Scotland for tho Provincial Government of Otngo, that on the Bth of Juno, 1860, they paid Messrs P. Henderson and Co. the half passage money for 158.} adult emigrants by the chip Henrietta, amounting to JEIIBB 15s. That on tho 2Sth Soptember, 1860, as appears in the cash book of the Provincial Treasurer, the remaining moiety of the passage money wae paid at the Provincial Treasury to Andrew Cuniining, master of the ship Henrietta, for the half passage of 151 adults, amounting to £1132 10s. The account current of tho Oriental Bank Corporation shows that the sum of £1132 10s waa paid on the 28th Septem jer, 1860, by cheque "U17." The voucher on which the claim was paid, and which would have tho Superintendent's warrant on it, wae not found in its place among the records of tho provincial accounts, but aa the accounts had been duly audited, there is no reason to suppose that anything irregular occurred in the payment of the claim. The Oriental Bank, where the cheque was paid, lias some time since removed its branch from Dunedin, and I am unable to obtain an inspection of the cheque. The discrepancy between the number of adult emigrants paid for in Scotland and the number paid for in Otago is accounted for by deaths on board during the passage. These payments entirely discharged the claims of the Henrietta on account of immigration. I find, however, on inspection of the account current of Messrs Crawford and A.uld, far the period included between tho 31st December, 1860, and the 31st March, 1861, that on the 18th of February, 1861, the agents retired the Superintendent's Bill for £1012 14s 5d dated 24th of October, 1860, at thirty days' eight, in favor of Messrs E. P. and C. B. Itaynor, Sunderland, and purporting to be tho second moiety for the passage-money of immigrants by the ship Henrietta. The retired bill waa not found among tho documents belonging to Messrs Crawford and Auld's accounts, nor among the vouchers of the provincial accounts. It thus appears that twenty-six daye after the final payment in tho colony of the clainu of the Henrietta, the Superintendent drawl bills purporting to bo on account of the Hen* rietta, in favor of parties who had no claime on the Provincial Treasury. There is then no question that the revenues of the province have been twice charged with the second moiety of the pussege-money of the Henrietta, and it is equally clear that tome party has eecured a pecuniary advantage of £1012 14s 5d at the expense of the Provincial Treasury. The question arises how did it happen. If the bills were bona-fide drawn on account of the Henrietta, they were not made payable to the owners of that vessel. There *eem» only ono answer. The money was not due to them. Tlw pretence that they were drawn on account of tho Henrietta was the expedient under which possession of publio money wan wrong' fully obtained. ~ Tho next points for investigation wouia have been to trace the retired bille epa vouuhere, to determine whether the Provincial Treasury was informed of the making of these bills, or whether they were drawn secretly, or whether the agents were adneea of their issue by any letter recorded in tlia Superintendent's office, all important points when judging of the intent of the party w«o made the bills.—l have, &c. Chables Knight, Commissioner. THE GOLDFIELDS* RESOLUTIONS, We extract the following from ß long string of resolutions proposed of Mr Vogel:— That the Council, therefore, charge tho Superintendent and Executive to assert tuo integrity of tho Provincial institutions lrom end to end of the province, in the ternw of the Constitution granted by the Imperil Legislature, subject to the laws properljr m force/and to resist any illegal and unconeUtutional encroachments. . That tho Goldfielde of Otago Iww h «» proclaimed of large dimensions, because euui» eourso was convenient as long as the aup<- r " tendent niri Provincial Council retained con trol; but that the General Government W™ unwarrantably stretched the power » nte ? a . c " or pretended to be giroa by the GoldfioWs Act when they seized, on pretence ot mw o goldfielda, 4,80"s,000 acres of tho uronncc. That in removing tho waste lan*> »" eluded within the Goldfielda districts from .J control of the province, and in * em % oV . Goldfields territorial revenue, the GeD s r *';j f ernment have been guilty of n grow « efICU the compact entered into in 1803. . After a debate of tivo dap the resolutions were carried without a a *• sentient voice. In the course ot re debate Mr Vogel brought lorwaril ho following letter, now published lor iw

* T9 t time- The letter was addressed to U&jor Richardson, at that time Superintendent :^ lon . al gecretary , fl Officej Auckland, June 19, 1862. fljr— I have the honor to acknowledge the ;«f of your letter of the number and date Sdinthemargin-[N0.69; 26th May, ?c62l— relative to Mr Macandrew s caso. The Government consider it undesirable to proZ, d anT further in this matter, which is full «f difficulty, and tho result of any proceeding would be extremely doubtful.—l have, &c., William Fox. To hie Honor the Superintendent of Otago, Dunedin. He did not believe that Mr Stafford, w ho never repudiated any arrangements of the Government, whether made by himself or a predecessor, was aware of the existence of the letter, but he commented very severely on Major Eichardson, who he implied had suppressed the letter. . j 2?on the following evening Mr Mclndoe said something of the same nature, which produced a letter to the "Daily Times " from Mr Dick, -who indignantly denied that any concealment had been practised by Major BichardsoD, and said that the letter had been in the same place as others o n the same subject, and that the whole correspondence had been from the first in the custody of the Under Secretary. A recrimiaation appeared from Mr Mclndoe, who, however, could not upset the facts of Mr Dick. 3fr Vogel subsequently said, in reply to a question in the House, that the letter had been in its proper place, hut owing to Mr Fox having quoted May 26, instead of May 2-i, as the date of the letter to which he replied, he (the Treasurer) had not found it on his first hurried search. MB. MACASSEY's BETAINEB. A curious triangular correspondence has been recently published in Otago, the subject being the retainer accepted by Mr Macassey for the Provincial Government in their forthcoming struggle with the Governor and his Ministers, and subsequently returned by him. The three writers are, Mr Macassey himself, Mr Haggitt, the Provincial Solicitor, and Mr Vogel, the Provincial Treasurer. Some of the letters are addressed directly from one to the other, and others to the " Daily Times." The Solicitor replied to the letter from Mr Macassey returning the retainer on the ground that Mr Macassey " would be no party to any treasonable or unconstitutional movement," by saying that unless Mr Macassey had" advised an illegal course, he (the Solicitor) could not conceive how he could have been considered a party to it, and adding that the fact of the Government having endeavored to procure legal advice would lead to the inference that the proceedings were not illegal. These letters, dated respectively April 27 and April 29, were published in the "Times" of May 1. The rest of the correspondence remained private for some time, but on the 6th instant Mr Macassey directed a letter to the "Times," saying that many people had asked him why he had taken no notice of the publication of the first lettera. He then accused the " Times " of suppressing a paragraph sent by him announcing that he had thrown up his retainer, and Baying that he therefore felt it useless to send correspondence to the " Times" for publication. [The " Times " published the information supplied previously by Mr Macassey at the foot of the present letter, with an excuse for the suppression.] Mr Macassey then proceeded to state that further correspondence had taken place, and that he had requested the Solicitor, as he had influence enough, to procure the publication of euch letters as he himself wished, to procure the same for his (Mr Macassey's) reply. The Solicitor had declined to procure the publication of what he called a ,; libellous attack on a member (Mr Vogel) of the Provincial Council. That letter Mr Macassey had returned, with a request that the words " libellous attack " should be erased. He stated that he had no personal feeling against Mr Haggitt, but was, on the contrary, a warm friend of his. He concluded this letter by stating that his opinion of the Provincial Treasurer's unconstitutional conduct was still the same, and had been acquiesced in by " two of the ablest legal minds in New Zealand," and by begging the Provincial Treasurer not to resist this further appeal to make the correspondence public. The " Times," of May 8, contains a letter from Mr Vogel, who appears personally on the scene for the first time, declining to defend himself from the attacks of Mr Macassey, but stating that he ought to be told who the two able legal minds alluded to by Mr Macassey were, and implying that they were the judges. He then explained that Mr Haggitt'e reason for withholding the letter from publication was, that the letter of Mr Macassey had been shown to him as Provincial Treasurer, and he asked Mr Haggitt whether the letter did not exceed the bounds of legitimate comment. Mr Haggitt replied that it was libellous in his opinion, and he (Mr Vogel) then replied, in a moment of irritation, that if he had legal redress he should take advantage of it. Of course, therefore, Mr Haggitt would not subject himself, or Mr Macassey to the consequences; but on reflection he (Mr Vogel) had decided to take no further notice of the matter. Mr Haggitt also writes to the same Qjy's paper, stating that he had obtained a written guarantee from Mr Vogel that he would take no proceedings either against Mr Macassey or mraself, and that he therefore published the letters. Then follow two letters, both dated May 1; the first from Mr Macassey to the Solicitor, the second from the Solicitor to Mr Macassey, appended to which, is the memo, with which the iatter returned the letter. Mr Maeassey'a letter to the Solicitor contamed the following reference to Mr v ogel :— In returning your retainer, I acted neither xipon presumption nor surmise. It is not auueult to assign many valid reasons for the conclusion at which I arrived, but one of inoae reasons perhaps will suffice. When °ne of the chief Executive officers of the province, acting in the name and on behalf of

the local Government, takes part in, and deliberately sanctions anarchical and lawless schemes, and when the natural consequence? of those eehemea arc the subversion of law and order, and the inauguration of a reign of violence, I have no hesitation in saying that that conduct ie unconstitutional (if not treasonable) to the last degree. You, yourself, will know from the publia prints whether 1 need allude more particularly to the events winch, and the official whom, I have endeavored to describe Mr Macassey then wrote to the " Times " of the 9th, stating that he had made no attack on Mr Yogel, but simply expressed nn opinion. He theu declined to gratify Mr Yogel's curiosity by giving up the names of the two legal men referred to. A curt note from Mr Vogel in the " 'J'iines " of the lOth, saying that Mr Miu-asaey's reply was not entitled to notice, closed the proceedings. MINIXU KEPOKTS. Mr Warden Low*her Broad reports for the mouth ending April 30: —"The population at the Cnrdrona is increasing steadily. The claims on the deep lead continue to yield haudsomo returns, and as the several new claims on the lead get into full working order, we may look for a considerable increase in the Escort returns. The miners iv this locality are erecting neat iron residences, and a billiard-room and a substantial new store have been added to the number of business places. There is nothing new of any importance in other parts of the district." Mr Warden Beetham's report from. Queenstown, for the month ending April 30, states that—" Great inconvenience iv experienced from the want of water, as we have had little or no rain during the month. The Great Extended Scandinavian and Otago Companies are at work, and producing very satisfactory returns. It is proposed to crush a quantity of stone from the Prince of Wales Reef immediately, at Perry's battery. Current prices of provisions :—Flour, per ton, £25 to £28 ; oatmeal, 6d per lb ; ham, Is 8d per lb ; bacon, Is 6d per lb ; tea, 2a 6d to 3s 6d per lb ; coffee, Is 8d to 2e per lb ; sugar, G|-d to per lb ; cheese, 2s per lb ; oats, 5s to Gs per bushel ; chaff, 8s to 10s per cwt. Price of labor : —'Miners, £4 to £4 10s per week ; farm servants, 30s to £2 per week ; day labor, 12s per day, female servants, 15s to £1 per week." PLEUROPNEUMONIA. It appears that this disease is making considerable headway in Otago. A debate on the subject took place in the Council on the 14th; a resolution was moved to pray the Superintendent to take upon himself the powers under the Diseased Cattle Act enjoyed by his predecessors, and promising an indemnity against all consequences. Mr Julius said that he had waited on Mr Eichmond that afternoon, and that that gentleman had said that his opinion was that inspectors had still their full powers, notwithstanding the new election of Superin-, tendent. He (Mr Eichmond) promised to telegraph to the Attorney-General to know if his opinion were correct, and said that if not he would recommend that the present inspectors should be temporarily re-gazetted. , Most of the speakers protested against Mr Eichmond being in any way recognised ; but the Bweepiug indemnity first proposed was not agreed to, one speaker sensibly remarking that " if, without delegation under the Act, cattle were to be slaughtered, the province Would be responsible for the whole value of those cattle. With such an arrangement there would be more pleuropneumonia in the province than had ever before been heard of." And a more cautiously-worded amendment took its place, instructing the Cattle Inspectors to take all necessary steps to prevent the spread of the disease, in accordance with existing proclamations; and stating that the Council would provide the expense, to the same extent as if the powers of the Governor under the Diseased Cattle Act had been delegated to his Honor.