THE TAGUS INCIDENT.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4489, 17 October 1901, Page 4

THE TAGUS INCIDENT.

Most people thought they hud hoard the last of the mare’s nest found by the member for Bruce in the holds of the Tagus. When the affair was first discussed in the House, the honourable member’s performance had one redeem, ing feature, via., his withdrawal of the words he had.used with more point than correctness. Unhappily, as soon as the danger of punishment was past, Mr Allen deprived his performance of its only merit, by practically repeating the charges ho had withdrawn. Hence it is that the question got back into the (Bouse, and wasted’ many hours of valuable time yesterday. Oh this occasion it'matters nothing what Mr Allen may say or unsay, for he has been ss completely overwhelmed as it is possible for any one to be. The Premier was in the happy position of having the whole Tagus contingent at his back—a position they had taken spontaneously. They had seen the absolutely unwarranted attack made by Mr Allen, and they lost lie .time in defending the Premier, with unanimous / clearness, and unvarnished truth; v Their testimony is that the worst of their hardships befell them at Rochester, in South Africa; that the worst of their time on board their ship was between the Cape and Albany; that between Albany and New Zealand they bad suffered no hardships, and had been fairly well and comfortable. This “round, robin” wag backed by heaps of letters and communications, exonerating the Premier, and expressing regret at the unfounded attack made upon him. It was ..thus made perfectly clear that, whatever was the cause of the mortality and sickness among the Tagus men, the voyage of that vessel between Albany and Port Chalmers had nothing what, .ever to do with it. Mr Allen, in his reply, missed this point altogether. He claimed that the. doctor’s advice to send the vessel to New Zealand from Albany by a warmer route having been neglected by the Premier, the Premier is responsible for ’ the consequences. Now, it was from the first a piece of gratuitous assumption on Mr Allen’s part that the mortality and sickness were the consequence, of the deviation from the advice. How he opuld repeat that assumption in the face of the evidence of the whole contingent that the deviation had no evil consequences whatever is incomprehensible. However the plain fact i. that the deviation has been prov. ed not to be in any way connected with the evil things that happened. That U sufficient for the public, as it ought to be for Mr Allen.