THE MOKAU.

Wanganui Chronicle, Issue 12840, 8 December 1911, Page 7

THE MOKAU.

—^. ! REPLY TO MR. MASSEY. (Per Prf>*s A.^opjafcioiO PALMERSTON N., Dec. 6. Mr. C. A. Loughnari, solicitor for the Mokau Co., writing in the Manawatu "Daily Times" takes up Mr. Massey's challenge, made at Parnell last night, that thero should bo a definite change regarding his atitude on Mokau. Mr. Loughnan writes: — "Sir, —I am not content to let the matter stand there and propose to leave Mr. Massey no possible loophole to escape from my charges, which I specify a-s follows: (1) That tho statement that tho 5021 acres actually became Crown land is untrue; (2) that the statement that it was available for settlement is untrue: (3) that the statement that tho Government sold the 5021 acres to tho Company or to anyone else for 5s lOd per o.ero or at any other price is, untrue; (A) that the often repeated statement that speculators made £60,000 profit out of the Mokau transaction is untrue; (5) that the Government could hayo taken either the * freehold or the leasehold of the Mokau-Mohakatini block or any part of it compulsorily n ur-true; (6) that the statement that the Government ought to have purchased tho freehold and lasehbld interests in the Mokau block insfceadf of allowing speculators ,to do so is untrue inasmuch as the Government was advised by ita j responsible officers that it could not safely give more than £35,000 for tho properties in question (see valuation at tached to Mokau report) whereas tho natives demanded £25,000 for the free, hold and Mr. Lewis £55,000 for tho leasehold, making a total of £80,000 V (7) that the statement that Mr. Lewis' leasehold interests in the property had been held to bo bad is untrue j (8) that tho statement that the difference bo tween the price paid to the Maoris for tho freehold and that paid by the Coy for both freehold and leasehold is all profit is untrue, and proceeds from tho untrue assumption that Mr. Lewis's leasehold interests in the property were valueless, ii having been lestabli.shod and sworn to by Mr. Jones at the Mokau enquiry that ho had been offered £100,000 for theso very leaseholds by a London syndicate; (9) that Mr. Massey's original statement to the effect that a second Order-in-Council authorising the Mokau Company or syndicate, to purchase another native block oi 17,000 acres was untrue and supported by no foundation in fact whatever; (10) that the suppression by Mr. Massey in his Palmerston North speech of the date upon which tho Order-in-Council was agreed to bo granted by the Cabinet was misleading and calculated t\ give the public the impression that gazetting of tho Order-in-Council ?n tho following March was the result of Mr. McNab having joined tho Company as chairman in the interval. I don't know what particular facts the Hawke 3" i Bay gentlemen wero referring to when they expressed their opinion that Mr. Massey's statements wero a disgrace* to party politics, but I do say that the iibovo are the circumstances I reported upon when I endorsed that opinion in my letter of this morning. Mr. Massey can take what change ho can get out of that. (Signed) C. A. LOUGHNAN."