CANTERBURY MUSEUM.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 8187, 1 June 1892, Page 6

CANTERBURY MUSEUM.

The following correspondence has been forwarded to us for publication :—

Sir, —Aβ you thought fib to publish a report of the Chairman's etatemeat at the Board meeting yesterday, we hope that yea will give early publicity to the eacleeed correspondence, recording a complete vindication of Mr Forbes from the whole ef the absurd charges trumped up against him. Permit us further to take this opportunity of correcting some material errors contained in Mr Malet's ex part* statement) before the Board, as published in the Paws and in the newspaper controlled by Mr Malefc himself. He is reported to have said that he refused to have »personal Interview with Mr Wilding. Surely, when we recall the circumstance, Mr Maiefe must acknowledge that he expreuly suggested this interview to our accountant, Mr Laureace, when he demanded the cheques. Mr Laurence returned to ua with the message from Mr MaJet that if some third person or if Mr Wilding himself would conje to the College and see him the matter could be arranged. When we received this message on Friday morning, Mr Wilding telephoned at once to know at what hour he should attend at the College to settle the business. The reply was 1.30, when Mr Wilding attended at the College purposely to see Mr Malet, who failed to keep the appointment which we understood had been definitely arranged. Again on the Saturday morning Mr Malet accosted Mr Wilding, who was in conversation with Mr Arthur Rhodes, and himself solicited the interview, which took place in our office. At that interview the whole of Mr Wilding's letter was read to Mr Malet, who requested us not to forward it, as the matter could so easily be settled verbally, and he (Mr Malet} did not wish to write a reply. We should have acceded to Malet's suggestion to defer proceedings for a day or. two, if he had not intimated that his answer would depend upon the decision of his Committee. He invited Mr Wilding to attend the meeting, which was of course declined, as our contention all along has been that neither the Chairman nor the Executive of the College, nor the Museum Committee, were justified in withholding money acknowledged to be due to our client-. Not a word was said about the approaching Board meeting, and we were ignorant that any such meeting was shortly to take place, ftor was there a word mentioned about the bones or the photographs, erroneously supposed to be missing from the Museum. Yours, &c, Wilding ax© Lewis. Canterbury College, Chriatchurch, New Zealand, May 3let, 1892, Sir, —I have the honour, by direction of the Chairman, to forward to you below copies of three resolutions that were passed at a meeting of the Board of Governor* of Canterbury College, held on the 30th iasfc. 1. " That the action of tue Chairman in keeping back the cheques due to Mr Forbes, pending the further enquiry us to the property reported by the Acting Curator to be missing from the Museum, and peudiag also the iuLeuded reference of the question by the Chairman to the Board, be approved of."

2."That a schedule of the property reported to be missing be made oat aiid forwarded to Mr Forbes, with a request that he will be good enough to send the same to the Museum, or give to the Board an explanation of the absence of sacb property.^ 3. '-That in order to expedite a settlement with Mr Forbes, the Museum Com- | mittee be empowered to adjust all matter* | with him." , I have, further, the honour, by direction of the Chairman, to enclose a copy of a letter of even date "herewith from tile Acting-Cueator addressed to the- Chairman, also oi a list headed " List of book* inissipg from the Canterbury Museum," copy of iiac headed "Photographs missing trom the .-CanterburyMuseum," and a copy of & list headed "Bones missing from theCantecbury Museum." The originals el these three documents were enclosed with the Acting-Curator's letter quoted above. X d*repted oy the Chairman to draw your attention to the latter portion of the second resolution, audtoaak you to be so good as to give effect to the request of the iioard as contained therew.

I have the honour to be, sir, Your obedient servant, GeoRQB H. Masoh, Acting Registrar. To Henry 0. Forbes, Esq., Chmtchurvo. •.'■■/■• Canterbury Museum, : Sl»t May, .1892, Sir,—ln accordance with the instructions contained in your letter of to-day, No. 254, I have the honour to forward you a schedule of the property of the Museum waieh ha* been reported to mc as missing. It is as co-nplete as I can make it from available information, , I have the honour to be, Your obedient servant, (Signed) F. W. Hbtioh, . Acting Curator.

The Chairman, Board of Governors, • Canterbury College. The following are the lists referred to by Professor Hattpn of tlie books and bones said to be missing,, and Mr Forbes' replies :— List of books missing from the Canterbury Museum:— ■ 1, New Tertiary and Po3t Tertiary Birds, cost la 9d ; fcund in the Museum. : 2, Bones of Birds, cost Is 9d; returned. 3, Extract dv Bulletin de Museum Royale, part L, coat "2s 6d; found in the Museum. • 4, Extract dv Bulletin de Museum Royale, part IX., cost 2a 6d; found in the Museum. 5, Cunningham's Anatomy of the Anaerea, cost 6a 6d: found in the Museum. . 6, Harting's Limnicolse, cost 3s 9d; found in the Museum. ~?» Harting'a . Limnicolse; found in the Museum. ,

8. Harting'a Limnicoke ; found in the Museum. " 9. Harting's Limnicole ; found in the Museum. 10. Harting's Limnicolse; found in the Museum. 11. New Wild Swan, cost 2s 6d; returned^ 12. Birds of Bourne, cost 3s; found ie the Museum. ■ 13. Distribution of the Accipitres, cost 4s; found m the Museum. 14. Marsh's Odontoaithea and postage, coat £1 18a 3d; found in the Museum. 15. Britiah.Mueeum Catalogue of Fossil Birds and postage, cost 10s 3d; Mr Forbes , property, paid for. 16. British Museum Catalogue of Birds, voL iv., coat 16s 8d ; paid for, 17. British Museum Catalogue of Birds, vol. xxx., cost £1 0s 10d; paid for. 18. British Museum Catalogue of Birds, vol. xiiL, cost £1 6s 4d; know nothing of. 19. Parker's Ostrich Tribe, coat 15s; returned. , . 20. Newton's Notes on Avea, two parts, cost 2a 7d; know nothing of. 21. Newton's Notes on Pisces, two parts, cost 3s Id; know nothing of. 22. Mivart's Strutbionidse, cost lOa 6d ; returned.

23. Milne Edwards, a Paper by, cost 8s 6d ; returned, ' 24. Evolutiou and Disease, cost 4s 6d; know nothing of. 25. Bastian's Ethnological Pl&uta, parts Ito ss, cost £1 7a 6d; know nothing oL 26. Finsch's Samoafahsten, cost 16s; know nothing of. ■ 27. Bastian's Indien, cost 9s 6d; know nothing of. Total, £1117s 9d.

BONES IGESSIXa FKOM THB CAKTEBBUKT KCSKDM. 1. Left fibia of Megalapteryx intermadius from Glenmark.—Know nothing of. 2. A number of Harpagornis bones from Eafield.—Mr Forbes' private property. 3. Aphanapteryx bones from the Chatham Islaads, seat to Mr A. Hamilton, of the Otago University.—Entered in exchange book. In this case Mr Forbes might be asked to return the sterna anid scapulo-coracoids of moas belonging to Mr Hamilton, instead of the Aphanapteryx boses. 1 cannot value these bones. They are all

very rare. • May 31st, 1892' The Registrar Canterbury College, Christchurch. Sir,- —Mr H. O. Forbes has placed in our hands your letter of this morning's date with the enclosures. With regard to the books missing from the Museum we en-

close copy of your list with eich pamphlet Tunnbered.- - ' ■ '"-« ' Those numbered 1,3, 9, 10, 1 12, IS, 14 -were pointed out by MrFbrbes in i ! the writer's presence in the Museum Library this morning. They had TSdt been removed at »H, Mid for weeks past have been in their proper places, where Mr Hutton could ! hare seen them at a glance if he had made the mosfc superficial eesrch. The painphlete numbered 2,11 19,22 and 25 were im Mr Forbes' possession. As you are aware Mr Forbes , departure from the Meseum was somewhat hurried. He had afe the Museum many .hundreds of similar publications which were his private property. By mistake the men whom he employed to remove hie private library carried •ut to the car* the fire small pamphlets mentioned. These were returned to you j this morning in accordance with Air Forces I promise and our personal undertaking which we tendered to yon and Mr Malet some daye ago. The works numbered 15,16, and 17 have been paid for by Mr Forbes himself. They were ordered for the purpose of "making a monographical catalogue of birds in conjunction with his own private copy, which he has devoted to the purposes of the Museum. As to those numbered 18, 20, 21, 24, 25, 26, and 27, we can at present give youno information. They may be in the library, or they may have been removed therefrom without Mr Forbes' knowledge. He is unable to discover . any of them among his private book's, but if he does find any of them they will at once be handed over to you. Now, with regard to the photographs which we have heard of for the first time to-day, Mr Forbes has been accustomed to employ Mr Easter to photograph bones and other specimens in the Museum for the purposes of scientific investigation. The negatives, of coarse, remain with the photographer, whose property they are we believe. Mr Forbes has from time to time had prints and enlargements from these negatives as he required them for the purpose of his duties. The bulk of these have been sent away in the ordinary rourse of correspondence with various scientific persons and institutions. Others have been used by Mr Forbes himself, and are attached to scientific notes, whicn are in the course of preparation for publication. We presume the Museum Committee will hardly question Mr Forbes , right to retain these. This accounts for all the prints. With regard to the bones " missing" from tUe Canterbury Museum nothing was said by you, as Registrar, or by Mr Malet, the Chairman, on this head when you withheld payment of the. cheques passed by the Board. The information on which you now appear to be acting is as ill-baeed in fact as your information with regard to the books and the photography. . We enclose copy or your list as to No. 1, therein mentioned, ; Mr Forbes knows nothing about this specimen. He certainly has none such in his possession. He knows of no description of any such species given by the late Sir Julius yon Haast. No. 2.—These specimens are Mr Forbes' private property. They were given to him by Dr. DeLatour in Oamaru, or subsequently stht to him by that geutleman. ' As to No. 3, these bones were bent to Mr Hamilton and Professor Parker in the usual course of exchange, and duly entered in the exchange book;. as : pointed out to you by Mr Forbe3 in the presence of the writer this morning. - The statement iv Mr Hutton's letter of I 25th there is no record of any of them having been sent away is therefore false. Aβ to the moa bones belonging to Mr Hamilton, they were lent to Mr.Forbes personally for description, with permission to take to England for the purpose of full investigation. We may take this opportunity of requesting that any books belonging to Mr Forbee which, may be in the Museum may ba returned to us. Among them a copy of Weismann's Heredity, which by mistake; was handed to the Museum. .We have also to request that the scapula-coracoid, referred to in Dr. Dβ Latour's letter-, be handed back to U3 for'Mr Forbes, in accordance with the owner's request to the Board. V*fo have now" mode it clear that Mr Forbes has not detained any property belonging to the Board., , He has practically been charged with theft, for whatever the Board may have meant that is bow the pnblic view the matter; but now that all the charges have so utterly collapsed we venture to hope that the Board will see their way to make Mr Forbes proper reparation in the way of an apology. We admit that the Board has some cause to complain that it has been forced into a false, position by the grossly careless misstatenienta of those in temporary charge of the Museum siuee Mr Forbes 1 retirement; but this in no way mitigates the suffering inflicted by it upon the sensitive and highminded man who has been so cruelly maligned. ;

Youra truly, Wildino and Lewis.