Bees’s Crofter Scheme.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 5018, 28 May 1889, Page 3

Bees’s Crofter Scheme.

The Auckland Star’s London correspondent wrote on April sth: —Mr Eees’a Colonisation Company is, I fear, completely “ up a tree.” I called at the offices of the Company in Victoria-etreet, on Tuesday morning, and found the Secretary, Mr Cracknel!, in a most dolorous frame of mind. At first bo would give no information whatever, but I softened bis heart by my solicitude for bis obvious anxiety, and presently out came the whole story. Throughout his mission it appears Mr Bee’s has never really achieved any practical success. All sorts and conditions of men from the Marquis of Lome downwards listened respectfully to the New Zealander, and were “ very much interested ” in bis schemes, but he has never been able to “enthuse” people sufficiently to induce them to . put their hands in their pockets. Had he begun with » small seftlemfent scheme Requiring a mofierjite amopntof money, it js possible [more particularly at first) he plight liaye got it, but hjs proposals wpre so vatf;, so yagpe,' and so expensive they spared prapticaj men. A fpw weeks ago Mr Bees went north, jubilantly confident (said Mr Cracknell) that he would able to persuade the canny Scotch co-opera-tive societies to invest at least £25,000 in his company. Well, he has failed. “ These societies,” Bees writes to Mr Oracknell ) “received me most hospitably, and my meetings were crowded. All the speakers expressed themselves very much interested in my proposals I fear thought it will be impossible to persuade them to take any practical step.” The failure of this tour Mr Cracknell seemed to regard as giving the final coup de grace to W. L. Bees’s projects.