PERSONAL EXPLANATION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7658, 17 June 1896, Page 3

PERSONAL EXPLANATION.

Jrfß WARD ADDRESSES THE HOUSE. A LAME~DEFENCE. \ A "NO CASE : ABUSE THE OTHER J i \ SIDE." IFkom our Parliamentary Reporter.] Wellington, laßt night. 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 R. Stout, Mr Duthie, and Dr Newman ' especially coming under the lash. The House and galleries were full, but' the only instances in which the Ministerial following indulged in cheering were when Mr Ward Baid he indignantly rejected the 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 scared was when h e informed the House that the' £30,000 draft .for the oata transaction had never been returned to the Ward Farmers' Association. On the House assembling at 2.30 Mr Guinness occupied the chair in the absence Of Sir Maurice O'Rorke through illness. 'Mr Seddon rose and Baid he had a most important Ministerial statement to make; that circumstances had arisen that had • rendered it necessary for his colleague, Mr Ward, to tender his resignation as a Minister • of the Crown.. Some days ago he had re- ' ceived a communication from Mr Ward in which he stated he intended to resign from the Treasury benches no matter which way the judgment went in the case being decided in Dunedin. He (Mr Seddon) had waited on his Excellency the Governor at mid-day and had tendered to him Mr Ward's resignation, which, his Excellency had accepted. „ Later on in the afternoon Mr Ward would himself place on record the circumstances « whioh had led up.to this climax. Mr Seddon ■■ went on to say that he deeply regretted that ' ' the colony should have lost the services of Mr Ward. All must admit that misfortune had overtaken his colleague, and that his -private affairs had suffered through his attention to public business. Mr Seddon moved toset up aSelect Committee to enquire into the affairs of tho Bank of New Zealand and Colonial Bank prior to the passing of the banking legislation. A large number of Bills were introduced and read a firßt time. Mr Ward rose and said he had resigned the. - whole of his portfolios, and said he had done so without the least pressure from his colleagues or his party. He thanked the party for their kind consideration, and his colleagues for the way they had stood by him , _nnder such difficultand trying circumstances. : He proposed to deal with the various phases , of tho case, and he expressed a hope that the , Press Association would do him the justice ' of reporting his remarks fairly and fully. He had been pursued privately like a sleuthhound, but he could tell his enemies that * they might get him down for a month or a . 'year, but they, would hear of him again. He - would face his troubles bravely, and if he did not get- through them he would not ask for ■ympathy.i ■'•■ Going back to 1893, he reminded the Honse that every bankiDg institution in the country approached the Government to •ssis t them to steer through the times of trouble and .pass a Note Issue Bill. TMb : was done; and now one of those who had been assisted was most virulent against him . from behind cover. Then the Government was first approached to. give a two million * guarantee to the Bank of New Zealand. He ■ (Mr Ward) never opened hts month to any banking institutions in which he was con- • neoted in his private affairs, and not a con- ■ dition, suggestion, or stipulation of any kind 'whatever was, imposed by him on the Bank ' of New Zealand in connection ' with his •private affairs, He bad been in the hands of enemies over the banking legislation, but no communication whatever had been made by him in any way to the other banks respecting the matter. As a matter of fact the National Bank was first; approached with regard to amalgamation with the Bank ■'■ of New Zealand, but the negotiations' fell .. through. There was from the first open hostility between Mr John Murray and the Hon. George McLean, but when the National Bank refused amalgamation Mr Murray *." -forgot his hostility and approached Mr McLean with respect to the Colonial Bank. He. challenged Captain Russell to deny . 'whether he . was not in communication with Mr Tolhurst, Inspector' of the Union Bank ,of Australasia, over this banking business. He bad been accused of bringing about the amalgamation of the two .banks, for his own purpose, but as a matter of fact the Bill he brought in had . stopped the purchase of the Colonial Bank. Aa to the appointment of the President of , the- Bank of New Zealand, he pointed out . that when Mr Watson at first refused office - : strong efforts were made to obtain the . services of Mr Coates, of* the National Bank, but without avail, and then a Becond offer was made to Mr Watson. He declaimed „ .that he had never exercised any pressure in regard to that appointment, and tho decision ' . . had been come to unanimously by Cabinet. ' He would challenge Sir Robert Stout to deny, the blackguardly communication- be ' 'had written and asked another person to 1 copy reflecting on the character of another ' person who was loved and revered in this country. He referred to Sir George Grey, ' and if any hon. member wished to see the ' letter he (Mr Ward) would show it to him. ■ . He charged Sir Robert Stout with being . tbe author of several articles appearing in . the Evening Post, and challenged him to deny_it. Alluding to his private business, Mr Ward said that in 1889 his total liabilities . amounted' to only £2000, and his business . was bringing him in an income- of from . i*3pOO to £9000 per annum. If he had attended to his own business and left . 'publio matters alone he would, although still young in years, have been a rich man. : After the banking legislation whs passed he „,' had an offer to hand over his business to the Bank of New Zealand, but he .refused the .' offer. If he bad chosen to do this he could • have dpne.it without reference to anybody! \ It wbb most unfair to charge him with 'being .-' in collusion with anybody over the bank ■ ';. agreement. Sir Robert Stout broadly hinted . that he (Mr Ward) had been bribed respect"- -" ing this agreement. [Sir Robert Stout : "J9o."J Well, the hon. gentleman insinuated it) ■by saying there were members of the Ministry effected by the agreement, and the • statement waß telegraphed all over the ,'; " colpny. AS to the £55,000, of which they ''' Lad heard so much,' he wished to say he ■' believed thenhe would be in a position to provide for it, as his assets at that time "■■' Wer« worth between £45,000 and £50,000. . He had never advised anyone to write that >"■ amoitnt off, and it never wns written off. He challenged Mr Duthie to deny whether he and others had not been doing their best ..- 'to spy into his (Mr Ward's) affairs, and had '; paid a representative who went about lying „ about members of the Ministry. Would Mr , Duthis tell them about his own business and bis connection with banks? With respect to the Judge's decision on hiß affairs, he, found no fault ' whatever with the - the just judge who gave that judgment. He (Mr Ward) was not represented at the Court , - at all. 'It waß the liquidators of the Colonial , ,",rßank who had applied for confirmation or "■' ' otherwise of the proposed agreement. It had'- been Baid that the balance-sheet was ■ '; , cooked, but as a matter of faot he (Mr Ward) ' . Wft's nob in the colony when the £30,001 .- ' transaction took place, and as a result of hiß npt being in a position to give evidence before the Court in respect to that trans- , action he' bad been placed in a most unfair -,^s position over it. He read a letter from Mr . Fisber, his manager, to the effect that he >•-'; ?.,f(Mr- Fisher) took the responsibility for the :'~ ' preparation of the balance-sheet, which was ■■^dS:™ «o w?y cooked, and he felt certain that in i*.-.',allMr Ward's aotion in oonneotion with the tfik company he had acted honorably. : That .vi 'tsttflrwaa never before the judge, and the ;';;;^80,000 never camo bftejs to tbe Ward Asso-

oiation, nor had they to provide for it. He contended that other respectable companies adopted the same plan as had been adopted iv the preparation of the balance-sheet in question. He mentioned Sir Robert Stout, Dr Newman, Mr Duthie, Mr Tolhurst, Mr G. G. "Stead, Mr John McGregor, and Mr Hall, a solicitor in Dunedin, as the chief conspirators who had been arrayed against him. He vehemently criticised several of these gentlemen and said that some of their past transactions, expressly in regard to limited liabilities, would not bear the light of day.

He challenged Sir Robert Stout with having when a member of a select committee been concerned in an account of a well-known southern company which owed £25,000 to the Bank of New Zealand and which could not pay fis in the £. [Sir Robt. Sout : No.} He would produce Sir Robert Stout's own letter, and he quoted from a balance-sheet, which he maintained proved his statement. He asked how it was that the Press Association had not given publicity to the fact that while he (Mr Ward) waa awaiting judgment in the late case this firm's cheques had been returned to the Bank. He claimed that the same publicity should have been given to the affairs of this company as had been given to his affairs. He asserted the Bank of New Zealand had had to provide a reserve fund of £270,000 to meet losses incurred by several of these companies with which Sir Robert Stout and others of his enemies were connected. Sir Robert Stout had asked him to leave the Premier, but he had refused to do so. [Sir Robert Stout : Wait till I reply. I will explain that.] Mr Seddon had been a good leader of the party, and he (Mr Ward) would not desert him. Let the House enquire into the transactions of Sir Harry Atkinson, Sir F. Whitaker, and Mr Mitchelson and they would find some interestingmatters. He referred at length to the private affairs of some of those who he said had been hounding him down, and said many of their transactions required clearing up. Mr Ward went on to say that he might have made mistakes in his political career, but the whole time there had been men undermining his character and attempting to injure him by writing down his private affairs, and these men were associated with what was called the upper crust of society. He defied the whole of these men, and was not afraid of them. He was proud to say that on retiring from the Treasury there was a surplus of £215,000, and the stocks of New Zealand had never stood higher than to-day. He had been unfortunate in business, but he could point to Disraeli, Gladstone, and Pitt, the former of whom had been helped by his friends to keep him from going under. If it had not been for the banking legislation passed by the House his (Mr Ward's) private position would have been a solvent one. In saying good-bye to his colleagues for a time he was bidding good-bye to loyal and true men, who had stood manfully by him, and he also thanked the party for the way they had supported him all through his troubles. The House rose at 5.30. To-day. — The probabilities are that had Sir Maurice O'Rorke been in the Chair in the place of Mr Guinness, the Chairman of Committees, the ex-Treasurer would not have been allowed to drag before the House the private transactions of members of the Opposition, and of others not iv the House, the publication of which will be confined to Hansard, owing to their libellous character. Sir Robert Stout was the principal speaker when tho debate was continued at the evening sitting, He said that Mr Ward had got hold of private letters written in 1886 and 1887, and this was in answer to an inquiry to one received respecting the charges against one of their members, and he believed the facts thereon stated were true. The Pine Company did uob get cash but debentures, and with respect to his seeing Mr Murray, he had received a note from Mr Ward, and at the request of the Ministty saw several members in the matter of the two millions, but when the third Banking Bill came on he differed from the Government, and was termed by the Minister of Lands an "obstructionist," The Pine Company had been hampered by' the Bank's officials, simply because of his (Sir R. Stout) connection with it. Most lawyers when they made money put it into mortgages, whereas he had put it into industries to help develop them. Mr Ward, in his present trouble, had attacked other persons simply to divert attention from himself. The Premier characterised Sir Robert Stout's speech as unjust and unmanly in saying that the Government influenced tbe Bank of New Zealand against htm and his company. The Colonial Bank had tided Mr Ward over his difficulty, and should be held responsible for the advances made. Two or three years ago Mr Ward was worth from £20,000 to £30,000, but it was a business in which money was made or lost quickly and iv large sums. The Premier complained of undue publicity having been given to Mr Ward's affairs by the Press Association tor political purposes. Mr Dutbie said that Mr Ward's financial position was due to plunging and reckless carrying on of his own business. Mr Ward was at liberty to drag his (Mr Duthie's) private business before the whole colony and get all the information his bankers possessed. He owed no person a penny, and no person asked him twice for an account.

. The Minister for Lands and Dr Newman also took a hand in the debate, which was brought to a close at 11 o'clock by the Treasurer's reply. Mr Ward leaves for Dunedin this afternoon, and the probabilities are that leave of absence will be applied for on his behalf. Whether he will continue to serve as a member or will resigu his seat ia problematical at present. It is the ex-Treasurer's intention to have hiß yesterday's deliverance circulated throughout the length and breadth of the land. ' •''•■ .• ■V' - '