THE POLYNESIAN SCHEME.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 4887, 20 November 1876, Page 2

THE POLYNESIAN SCHEME.

TO THE EDITOR OP THE HEW ZEALAND TIMES. Sib, —In your issue of October 31 last, there appears a letter headed as above, and signed by Mr. J. Hunt, late public accountant at Auckland, in which Mr. Hunt places certain questions to me, and charges me with having “ borrowed the original idea of the Polynesian scheme from himself.” Now, sir, as you have admitted Mr, Hunt’s letter, I trust that you will insert this reply. I exceedingly regret having to make a reply, or to notice that letter, as I have always'considered Mr. Hunt's remarks quite unworthy of public denial. In justice to myself it is, however, necessary to take notice of them, as other journals are beginning to connect our names together, much to my disadvantage. I had, perhaps, better state my entire connection with Mr. Hunt. To the best of my belief, I first became acquainted with him about the latter end of the year 1873, after my return from the islands, and after having proposed the Island Steam Service, Fiji Bank, and Polynesian Scheme. I remember a conversation which took place on the wharf at Auckland, where I happened quite accidentally to meet with Mr. Hunt, in which he alluded to an idea he had entertained about a bank at Fiji. I paid little attention to his remarks, as my acquaintance with him was very slight ; and I imagined that he had heard some casual reference to the proposals I had made to the directors of the Bank of New Zealand. The conversation lasted perhaps ten minutes ; and I may here state that I do not believe that all my conversations put together with Mr. Hunt would occupy two hours of time. I never for one moment desired his conversation or acquaintanceship. My next remembrance of Mr. Hunt, was seeing his name associated with Mr. Stemdale’s and my own, in a pamphlet written by Mr. W. L. Rees, M.H.R., entitled “The Coming Crisis.” Mr. Rees made some reference to the Polynesian scheme, and stated “ that Sir Julius Vogel had borrowed his ideas from Mr. W, J. Hunt, Mr. Stemdale, and myself.” I called upon Mr. Rees, pointed out that Mr. Stemdale had had nothing whatever to do with the matter, and asked him how he came to include Mr. Hunt’s name ? I believe Mr. Hunt was in some way connected with Mr. Rees’ office, and he must have induced Mr. Rees to insert his name in the pamphlet. Mr. Rees made inquiry, discovered his mistake, and was so annoyed at having been deceived by Mr. Hunt, that he went over to the publishers and ordered 3000 slips to be struck off, correcting the error. A question of expense arose, the pamphlet having been bound, and so little importance did I attach to. the matter that I never inquired further into the matter. Mr. Rees, however, spoke to Mr. Hunt about it, and Mr. Hunt came over to my office, I believe, with Mr. Stemdale, and offered me some letter of explanation. I declined to receive any letter whatever from him, as I considered that he had been guilty of a great piece of deception in wrongly informing Mr. Rees. Soon afterwards I left for England, and immediately after my departure a correspondence took place in the JVeio Zealand Herald, under dates October 26 and 29, 1874, in which Mr. Hunt again associated his name with mine. How this correspondence arose X have never been able to discover, but I am inclined to believe that Mr. Hunt was the sole author, for the purpose of giving some color to his representaItions to Mr. Rees. So little importance did I attach to this correspondence that I took no notice of it.

I now come to my late correspondence with Sir Julius Vogel, who, in his letter of Septemter 25 last, alluded to Mr. Hunt as claiming to having “coached” me in the Polynesian scheme. Sir Julius Vogel knew well, enough that there was no foundation whatever for such a claim, but he referred to it, I suppose, in order to endeavor to lessen whatever credit there may have been in my originating the scheme. I thought the allusion so little worthy of attention that in my reply of September 26, I purposely overlooked it. Mr. Hunt may have seen or heard of this correspondence, and doubtless thought it an excellent opportunity to again connect his name with a subject with which he has had no more to do than our great ancestor Adam. Such are.the facts of the case. Those persons who are acquainted with Mr. Hunt and myself will know whom to believe. I positively deny ever having any conversation whatever with Mr. Hunt in the year 1871, or previous to my visit to the islands in 1872, and I also positively deny ever having heard Mr. Hunt mention that “he had a project for the establishment of a large trading company, based on the principles of the East India and Dutch Companies for the South Sea Islands.” As well as I can remember, Mr. Hunt made some allusion to an idea he had for a Bank for Fiji. I took no notice of it, having already proposed its establishment, and immediately afterwards forgot the conversation, and also forgot Mr. Hunt. I cannot conceive Mr. Hunt’s reasons for this constant annoyance, and so indignant am I at his conduct that, as soon as Mr. Sterndale returns to New Zealand, I shall seriously consider whether he is not legally responsible for the false accusations which he has made. I deem them slanderous, they being utterly false and causing me damage. I have always treated Mr. Hunt's pretensions as absurd, but as I am beginning to suffer from his remarks, I must endeavor to have them thoroughly inquired into. I attach a copy of Mr. Sterndale’s letter of October 29, 1874, which will not only show what that gentlemen thought of Mr. Hunt and Mr. Rees’ pamphlet, but also prove how totally incorrect are those persons who charge me with having obtained the idea even from Mr. Sterndale. I can only repeat that I am indebted to no one for my ideas ; if I were, I should most certainly say so,, and to whom indebted. If I did not do so, I should esteem myself as unscrupulous a man as I consider Mr. W. J. Hunt to be. One thing you, sir, must have remarked, which is this, that Mr. Hunt, although accusing me of having borrowed something from him, whether the Bank or' Polynesian scheme, appears uncertain, for he apparently claims both, yet is ignorant even “of the nature of the proposals made by me to Sir Julius Vogel.” I quite believe it, and when he sees them, so little does he know about the matter, that I feel certain he will not be able to understand them. He has never been to the Islands, and lam informed that any information he does possess was taken from McCulloch’s Commercial Dictionary. I must decline to notice any further communication from Mr. Hunt, his statements being utterly false and unworthy of denial. I also enclose a letter from M. de L’eau.— I am, &c.,

Coleman Phillips.

Auckland, November 9. P.S,—I am authoriaed by Mr. Rees to state that his use of Mr. Hunt's name on the pamphlet arose solely from a conversation which he had with Mr. Hunt himself, and from no other source. I may also mention that I am informed Mr. Hunt’s “friends in London” consist of one, Mr. Miller, of Milk-lane. Mr. Miller was not many, years since in Auckland, and may be well remembered.

To the Editor of the Herald, —Sir, —Me Mr. Coleman Phillips’s Polynesian scheme, in a letter published in your issue of this day, and signed “ Justice,” I am charged with having been “ desirous of participating with him in the, credit which is due to hun as the originator of such scheme.” The writer proceeds to say that “ it is unjust that Mr. Phillips should be deprived of the originality of this great scheme

through the desire of people to have their names imported into it.” In reply, I trust that you will allow me the opportunity to assure your readers—first, that I regard it as a mistaken course on the part of anyone to publish personal remarks of this nature anonymously ; secondly, that so far from having exhibited any desire to identify myself with the Polynesian scheme, 1 have from my first acquaintance with it disapproved of and condemned it, both in public and in private, for several reasons; thirdly, that I am not. responsible for what Mr. Rees or Mr. Hunt may have evolved out of their inner consciousness with respect to its authorship. Had the letter been published previous to Mr. Phillips’s departure from Auckland, it would have been, as far as concerns the reflections made upon me, contradicted by himself, for the reason that he has for several months past held in his possession a memorandum from me disclaiming; all Imowledge of or connection with either the origin or construction of the scheme. I am, &c., H. B. Sterndalb.— Auckland, October 29.

To the Editor of the N. Z. Times. —Sir, I have been requested by Mr. Coleman Phillips to state as to the time when Mr, Phillips first became acquainted with Mr. W. T. Hunt. As far as I can remember, I introduced him to Mr. Phillips about the month of November, 1873, when Mr. Phillips met Mr. Hunt in my rooms, and I believe Mr. Phillips did not know him previous to that date.—Yours &c., C. DE L’eau. —Auckland, November 10.