THE TREASURER'S RESIGNATION.

Hastings Standard, Issue 44, 17 June 1896, Page 3

THE TREASURER'S RESIGNATION.

SIR WAR i« f*! ILI " !* S A 1i 1T TK 1 I SiV.i j ii. LEADING OF OPPOSITION ATTACKED. (P.Y TKLEI.P.aiui.) ' /•"<•"«» "tir S/K-riul < 't>rri'ff»tn>h-nt. > Wkli.ixoton, this day. Irt order to give tlit? Treasurer an opportunity of doing justice to himself in an explanation whicli it was understood he wished to make, the time-limit of half an hour was waived, bat had the members ef the Opposition known the lilies on who!) the defence was intend-'d to he and its exceedingly pi r or. ti aspect it is open to verv grave que.-fion win ther a nythinjr like an unanimous suspension of the Standing Order-; would have b-ea

assented to. At the outset. Mr Yvard explained that li'-= resignation was virtually in ;h 'muds of the Premier a week ago, an 1 th.it it was to be made public what"*, er tie' judgment of the Supreme Court might he. He complained that a conspiracy had been afoot for some time to drive him from public life, and mentioned particularly Mr John Duthie. Or Newman. Sir !\. Stout, Mr Tolhursi (Resident Inspector of the Rank of Au-traiasial, Hon John MacGreg<r, Mr G. G. Stead (of < hri-t----chnreh). and Mr llall (of Invercargill relative of Sir -John ifeili. Ibe business relations of most of the g« nt!e ; men in connection wuh tb" limited liability companies v,;i- traversed, the Treasurer saying that many of tbeir transactions would not Ihuu* the light of day. He would challenge Sir Robert Stout to deny that he had written a blackguardly communication reflecting on the character of one who was loved and respected in this country (Sir (I eorge G rev f. and with having asked another person to copy it. Sir Robert had also tinned him to !»• disloyal to Mr Seddon. promising that in event of his (Sir R. Stout <} getting office a< Premier to make way for the speaker in two wars, Healing with recent legal proceedings in Dunedin. Mr Ward pointed out that he was not represented at Court at all. It was the liquidators of th* l Colonial Rank ■who had applied for the coniinnation of the proposed agreement. It had been said that the balance-sheet was cooked, but, as a matter of fact, he (Mr Ward) was not in the colony when the 50,000 transaction took place, and as a result he was not in :v position to give evidence before the Court. Respecting that transaction, he bad been placed in a m>>-r unfair position over it. He read a letter sent him unsolicited by his manager (Mr Fisher), who took the responsibility for the preparation of the balance-sheet, which was in no way cooked, and he expressed the opinion that in all Mr Ward's actions he had acted honorably. He was not examined on this matter fully before the Court, and Judge \\ illiams was not aware that 10.(XX) had never come back to the \\ ard Association, nor had they to provide for it. He contended that other respectable companies adopted the same plan as had been adopted in the preparation of the balance-sheet in question. Having made strong allusions as to the private affairs of the leading members of the Opposition, Mr Ward said that the New Zealand Pine Company, of which Sir Robert Stout vas chairman, had had its accounts largely written down by the Rank of New Zealand, and that the same institution had practically made a present of £loo,ooo to the late Sir Harrv Atkinson, the late Sir Frederick Whittaker. and the Hon. Mr Mitchelson when members of the Government. lie desired that publicity should lie given to the affairs of those who were trying to hound him down, as had been given his own affairs. In conclusion, Mr Ward said he might have made mistakes in his political career, but the whole time he had been in office men had been undermining his character and attempting to injure him by writing down his private affairs, and these men were associated with what was called the cream of societv. He was proud to say that on retiring from the Treasury there wasa surplus of £'2l->.OOO (cheers), and the stocks of New Zealand had never stood higher than to-day on the London market. He had been unfortunate in his business, but had not also Disraeli, Gladstone, and Pitt, the former of whom had been repeatedly helped by friends to keep him from going under. If it had not heen for the banking legislation passed by the House his (Mr Ward's) private position that day would have been a solvent one. In saying farewell to his colleagues for a time he was bidding goodbye to loyal and true men who had stood manfully by him, and he also thanked the Party for the way they had supported him through all his troubles. Mr Ward's speech occupied exactly two hours, and in place of being a defence, as his friends in the early part of the day asserted it would be. it consisted for the major part of a violent and bitter attack on the leading members of the Opposition, Sir Robert Stout, Mr Duthie, and I)r Newman specially coming under the lash. The House and galleries were full, but the only instance in which the Ministerial following indulged in cheering was when Mr Ward said he indignantly rejected a proposal to stop the persecution to which he was being subjected provided he would leave public life, and his announcement of a surplus of £215,000. Perhaps the only other instance in which he scored was when he informed the House that the £BO.OOO draft for the oats transaction had never been returned to the J. G. Ward Farmers' Association. Mr Ward leaves for Dunedin by the T&bapun& to-dav, but his future intentions are undecided. His yesterday's speech is to be circulated throughout ike colony.