PECULIAR STATEMENT.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 961, 31 October 1910, Page 7

PECULIAR STATEMENT.

AN OLD BANKINC INCIDENT RECALLED. • * PREMIER SAYSIETHAS LIST Oft WftITINGS-OFF. BANK PRESIDENT'S EXPLANATION; During a discussion in the House oa September ,30 a somewhat remarkable statement was made by the Prime Minister to t\ie effect that ho had in his; possession the lists of accounts of in- •- sdividual creditors written off by the : ;i ■ Bank of New Zealand at the time of the : absorption of tilb. Colonial Bank's business.. The statement was-provoked by a Temark by Mr. T. E. Taylor regarding inquiries by secret committees and' when uttered was followed by this clia-' loguo as reported in The Dominion:

Mr, T. E.-Taylor interjected J How did you get it? Prime Minister: Officially! Mr, Taylor: You had no right to get it. :

In the Hansard report of the iucidonfc the word "officially" is given a3 "legitimately,'' but the important fact that the Prime Minister, stated that ho had obtained the list is given. The Hansard version of the whole incident it as follows: v

"Mr. Taylor said; lie would bo willing that the Public Accounts

Committee' should deal' ' with: tho

matter, but ho would agree to its being' referred to a special secret committee in order that the right of the people to know through ■their representatives what was going on might be maintained. 'A secret committed of twelve members would bo bound to act as honourably in this matter, as would fho seven members of the ' Executive who were already in the possession of the details. He was not. aware that any matter inquired into by the ' Banking Committee was ever disclosed. • ■•••> .

: "The Right Hon. Sir J. G. Ward said that Committee never, got what : ' -.i; , it wanted in respect to accounts written off the individual creditors• . S of tho Bank of New' Zealand. Ho had, howevor, got the information. "Air. T. E. Taylor said the order ' of'reference' in that case was so ~'--v'S vaguo that: what the committee wanted oould not possibly be dug ! out. "As to the information tho honourable gentleman said ho had ... respecting the amounts of bad debts written off by the Bank, of New Zealand, he did not know by what' - right ho had it in his possession. "The Right Hon. Sir J. G. Ward . ,V said he had obtained it in a per- - ; fectly legitimate way as far as ho x was concerned." 1 It must bo borne in mind that what 1 i-; tho Prime Minister stated that ho had' , * got in his possession was. what Mi. Watson,: president of the. Bank of New ; ■ f : ; Zealand, refused to disclose, oven when threatened with a charge of breach of i the privileges of the House. Ho was' subsequently- brought to the' Bar of tho' House and'finfed £500, for refusing to disclose particulars of : the. individual: 1 acoount-s Tfrittcn off. Before. this fino ■ was imposed, Mr. Watson's counsel, -. Mr. (now Judge) Cooper, addressed tho : House, pointing out that special provision made in tho regulations under the' Banking Act to'prevent- the'- ..../ possibility-ofiithe position'of any-iiidi-; ; vidual account in the bank being made. known to-tWI , Colonial Treasurer or anyone else ; outsido tho bank. Mr.Cooper also said:— . ; ■ i .. -. . . And if ono inquiry ia . r > allowed into the account of a parti- . J Cular individual-7-whether that in-. ; dividual is !'a; director, a merchant, ■ or a storekeeper in this •• colony— from that time public confidence in 1 ; 'th<j: institution., is sapped and. dc- ■ stroyed,; beeausej sir, -if it is... once ■; * . -recognised .that, the president of tho hank, or arly i . officer of the 1 bank flan," at the will—to which ho, , of course, must submit to appear- . • '. ing bo!ore this House—of a com-' i mittoe of tliis House, or of the ~ House, itself, bo compelled to dis- .- '

close • items ' of ' arty' 'particular account which is not the subject of ' a. particular inquiry, •' from: that'moment no'customer of. Vthb Bank, of New Zealand will con-

sider-his account-is safe from public

: -.inquiry.-, i As Btated tho House refused to accept this plea-and, fined Mr. Watson, who:;,:, resolutely declined to' disclose the busi- ' • noss of past or present customers of : the bank. ;Ih view of tho Prime j Minister's' statement that' ho now had, N- < iii his possession -tho information then ; sought, ~ a' representative!./ of j The . Dominion interviewed, the present pre,si- '■ I dent of the bank, Mr. Harold : Beau- -A ~ j champ,! to !■ ascertain if he cared to; say ' ; anything oil the subject from the bank's " point of view. ■ - -' ' ;.;

• "I. can oflly conclndej" said Mr.. Ikauchamp, "that Sir Joseph must ,' have been misunderstood cr misrepor.t-: dd-whon ho was reported 'to, have 'iai'd that lie had in'his possession tho aocounts that had been written off by tho Bank of New Zealand at that timo (1896), and.that.it Was 1 a list which had not come bafore .tho Select Committee. You will romember that this . was the committee beforo which Mr. Watson appeared,, and by whom ha was, as. chairman of. the bank,. fined for ■not divulging tho information." "The bank's records go to show." continued '.Mr, r ßea\ichamp, ''that the amount of the total s writings off had been placed at the disposal of the Select Committee to which the Prime Minister refers; and probably that is : the list, or a copy of it, which ho stillhas in his possession. ' After making most careful inquiry, : I caiinot lina that a list giving, full- particulars of names of debtors and the amount - of their-'indebtedness; lias : over : been supplied to anyone outside'tho bank." . It wiU bo seen that ' the-.Hansard report, published above (and it has to be borne in mind that Hdnsard reports axe revised by Ministers, and members beforo being printed), makes the Primo Minister say. that ho has the individual accounts written off. Every« ono could get tho total, amounts -writ-, ten off—they wero published—it was." for refusing to' supply the' individual , accounts that Mr;i Watson was iked, .• and Sir Joseph Ward's statement was that he had got what the committo# had failed to get. .