The Patea County Press, (With which is incorporated The Patea Mail.) "Be Just and Fear Not." WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, 1895. SANGUINARY PERVERTION OF THE TRUTH.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 85, 17 July 1895, Page 2

The Patea County Press, (With which is incorporated The Patea Mail.) "Be Just and Fear Not." WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, 1895. SANGUINARY PERVERTION OF THE TRUTH.

The Sydney Bulletin some time ago remarked that there were only three lions in Now Zealand—one was Mr Oldham, of the Patea Meat Works, and the Hon Mr Seddon was the other two. We are not quite prepared to say how much or how little of a lion either Mr Oldham or Mr Seddon has become in New South Wales, but as far as their native home is con' cerned, there can be no question that they have both been very considerably lionised, both have climbed to the very top of the tree in their respective avocations, and both are household words for enterprise and advancement; and we hope we may long hold on to our Patea lion whatever becomes of the other two. The Hon the Premier on Friday last seems to have qualified for a new way of spelling his soubriquet, if the report of his remarks during the afternoon and evening sittings of the House is any criterion of his veracity, as during the afternoon sitting, in reply to Captain Russell, the Premier said that owing to the half-hour limit the debate would be confined to the AgentGeneral’s circular, but as soon as that debate was finished Mr Ward would move the following motion to enable him to deal with the statements against himself. [Motion quoted.] Captain Russell asked should the debate on the Agent-General’s circular not be finished, when would the debate on the other question bo taken!' The Premier said on the first opportunity —on Tuesday. This was considered satisfactory, and accepted as arranged ; but when the evening sitting came round the Premier’s memory failed him, and Mr Ward began by jumping straight into his own grievance by moving that the Agent • General's circular respecting the loan should lie upon the table, and in doing so, said—- . . . . It was regrettable that men representing the colony should be liable to such attacks. Sir Westby had been uc> eused of publishing unreliable iufornmli- ii. hi id he would reply to any charges hi might against him in the debate. (Hear hen-.) He would, however, now refer to the charges brought against him in con-

nection with the speech to the Chamber of Commerce in London. Captain Russell said that the Premier had distinctly arranged that only the Agent General’s circular should be discussed. and that the matter before the Chamber of Commerce should not be considered at the same time. (Applause.) The Premier said that he had stated that both questions would come on that evening. (Cries of “ Ob.”) The Speaker said he could not recognise such private arrangements. Captain Russell said that this was not a private arrangement, but made openly iu the House. (Applause.) The Premier said that be had distinctly stated that the matter was to come on that night. (Sensation —Cries of “No,” and “ Tuesday.”) Mr Saunders moved that the Standing Orders be suspended, so as to allow the Treasurer more than half an-hour, but

the motion was not agreed to. The Premier’s memory failed him most signally, and considering that only an hour or two elapsed between the two occasions, one is almost inclined to think that the failure of memory was not altogether an uneducated result, if not a deliberate pei version of the truth. But whichever it was, the Premier having “ perfessed it,” was clearly determined to “ cheek it out,” and did so, and Messrs Seddou and Ward had their way ; but although successful so far, Mr Ward cut a very sorry stick iu his attempted defence of his statement, and instead of clearing himself, proved unmistakably that what he had said about the three millions sterling of unpledged securities, if not an absolute and deliberate falsehood, was at least so much like one as to be totally unrecognisable from the genuine article, and that, too, of the first water. Mr Ward seemed to “ sit up ” at the bare idea

of his having alleged the colony to be bankrupt while it had £272,000 m London in cash! A colony owing thirty-nine million pounds being alleged to be bankrupt with £272,000 in cash in its possession ? or to come down to ev«ry-day life Who dares to allege a business-man who owes £7OO to be bankrupt while ha has £5 in cash at his bankers ? Could anything more puerile be imagined ? Then Mr Ward completely condemns himself in his reply, for after having been told all round by members in the House that his three million unpledgad securities were already pledged up to within a quarter of a million, and toreplodge would—well, in private life mean so many years “ hard ’ Mr Ward said : “ The statement that the “ colony had not the money in London to “ meet the £600,000 falling due, which ho “ made in the Land Tax debate, was true, “but he never said in or out of the “ House that if the Land Tax was not “ collected they would have to make de “ fault. They could have boi rowed the “money. . . . The securities in Lon- “ don are still under the control of Trus- “ lees. Members knew that it would “ have been impossible for him to have “ pledged the securities for payment of “ interest unless their had been a crisis (italics are ours). Surely, then, if members knew that it would have been impossible for him to pledge these securities unless there hud been a crisis, it was scarcely fair to inform the British moneylender to the contrary, as the Treasurer admits having done, although he says, “ what be had done, he had done for the best,” and it is impossible to say other in this case than that “ bad’s the best.” Mr Ward has been “ weighed in the scale and found wanting.”