BANK OF NEW ZEALAND.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XV, Issue 4743, 11 August 1890, Page 4

BANK OF NEW ZEALAND.

ALLEGED ATTEMPT TO INFLUENCE A MEMBER. THE CHARGE MADE BY MR SAUNDERS. A PRIMA FACIE CASE. (daily hues' correspoxdest). Wellixgtox, August 8. The following fa a vercatim report of a passage In Mr i-'aund'ra' speech on Saturday morning containing his charges against the Bank o? v ow Zialand, which ha~o excited si ranch interest and talk in the lobbie-. I hei- th=t a complete reply will be forthcoming :—"I say tba' no man ought to have any right ti ;it on thnsn benche;, or to administer the government of thh country, and undertake to deal on onr bebatf with the Bank of Now Zealand, unless ho was entirely free from all restraint and all obligation to thtt bank. I know it tup been said to-night, and I retret to h>ar it paid, that the Bank of r-cw Zealand would use its inflneno improperly with any member of tho Government. I think that.when once a man is placed in such a position a? some of the members of this Government are admitted to be placed in with regard to the bank, and become nnder a deep obligation in thiir transactions with that bank, we can rc-ol'y hardly know how far they are Irfluenced r.y frclinga of dependence or cra'itudc, Nor can tbey even be sure- themselves that tuch fee!ines have no i-flaence on thei- Ministerial doties. However, it is a very pair.fal position, and I may illustrate what I mean by a circumstance that, 1 tbiok, beare very strongly upon this ca-e. and which, I think. will show you, sir, and this Honae that I havothe bcit reasons for saying that the Bank cf 2>"cw Zealand ii not above uaisg its influence when it is in a position to do so. It ' is at-ont 11 years a£o that I thought myself a wealthy. affluent man one day, and the next day I had not a farthing left in ths world. Fortunately I was in no one's debt, a-d I owed nothing to tho bank. Bat unfortunately one of my sobs was in some, degree connected with the bank, and in degree nnder its thumb. I think it was on some occasion in this Honae when a question camebefore it la connection with the purchase of some of our district railways. Mr Driver was in the House at the time, and was supposed to represent the Bank of "ew Zealand. He c»me to me, Snowing my ci-camatanceS —how deep n-y sympathies wc:o for my ton, and how mcch that son was just then at the me'cy of the bank—and told mo that the bank wished mo to vote in a certain direction. I said to him that if I had to vote in tho direction tho baok wished I would resign my seat to-morrow, as I wuld never betray my constituency by my pretending to represent it when really 1 only represented the Bank of ew Zealand. The next day 1 saw about 20 notes come into this chamber. One was handed to me, rxd the banded round the House. I opcne-1 mine and fannd it was a messago to the same effect—that the bank wished me to vote in n certain direction, and I never felt so much humiliated. I sat down to consider whether I ought to resign my seat or not; bat T never considered for a moment whether I oaght to obey that nolo or not. This shows iu the most practical manner that the bant is not above using its influence. If it was worth thtir while to stoop so low for my insignificant rote, is it likely that they would bring no influence to bear on Ministers which should pnt hundreds of thousands of our money into their hands ? Bow unlikely then is is that the Government, tho rrajority of whom seem to be undo.- some obligation to the bank, were tho members to act on the part of tho country In the same independent manner as they should have done. I want to know nobhirg more. I beiievo that three members of the Government either are or have been in the bands cf the bank, and if they are not In Its bands now, they are out of its hands simply through obligation to the bank, and they j are not in a position to sit on those benches."