A DEFENCE OF MR MACKENZIE.

Evening Star, Issue 10243, 19 February 1897, Page 1

A DEFENCE OF MR MACKENZIE.

TO THE BDITOB. Sin,—As an old shareholder of the Colonial Bank I have watched with Interest the various phases of its. liquidation and the treatment which has been accorded to the men In prominence in the matter, and I am dismayed to think that the sense of justice in this country is so dulled that the continued abuse and persecution of a v man whose lips were closed in his own defence should have been allowed to pass without Remark. After being bound by his oath of secrecy to remain silent and allow false charges to go unrefuted, Mr Mackenzie, by his resignation of his post in the Bank of New Zealand, is enabled at length to challenge and reply to the accusations brought, and demand the justice of a fair hearing. There i& oile rJoinb which Mr Mackenzie omitted to bring out in bis letter. The liquidators of the Colonial stated that the interests of the shareholders may Buffer because the " JJ" account is under the control of the purchasing Bank. However, the correspondence in the Ryley- matter shows that exactly the opposite is the case; in fact, many proposals of advantage to the interest of the shareholders, which have been made by the Bank of New Zealand, have been ignored and thwarted by the liquidators. Again, in regard to the famous oats trans-* action. If the inspector had taken as much trouble in ascertaining whether the security in the shape of oats eJtisted as he did about the Interpretation of the cablegram the shareholders would probably have been better off, and better pleased to leave their interests in his hands. Mr Mackenzie's letter is a manly, straightforward account of how a weak bank has been guided through bad times when numerous other institutions of a similar kind were coming to grief. For my own part, I think under the circumstances there is much merit in the Bank being able to pay its creditors in full and relieve the shareholders of liability, and, further) by the payment of good regular dividends, put money into the pockets of shareholders, where it is safe from the maladministration of the liquidators. In respect to the future of the affair, serious questions are found in : How Dhreo liquidators cam their large salaries, and why this expense should be continued ?—I am, etc., An Old Shareholder of the Colonial Bank. Dunedio, February 18.