INGRAM'S "ART UNION" AFFAIR.

West Coast Times, Issue 2509, 16 April 1877, Page 2

INGRAM'S "ART UNION" AFFAIR.

(communicated.)

In consequence of the committee having disputed the list of winning numbers published by Mr Ingram, in the West C6ast Times as" the prizes of his Art Union r a meeting was called on Saturday evening, to cbiripare notes as regards the lists. Mr Ingram convened the meeting, and in hie* ad vertis'eme'rit he limited the itivitation to the gentlemen who actdd on tlie committee at the drawing, but many ticket -holders and others, attended, and great interest was manifested in the proceedings, the room at the Exchange Hotel being full of people. It was Mr Ingram's desire to exclude everyone from hearing what transpired, except the members of the committee, but the 1 public insisted on being represented, and finally Mr Ingram gave way. After Mr Ingram had challenged one "insulting person " outside, to fight, as a sort of preliminary skirmish, business commenced by Mr Ingram offering to publish, in the folio ffing Monday's Times the list which the committee said was the correct one, of the drawing, and to give the prizes accordingly. Mr Rae, the holder of No. 6 ticket, which had been altered to " 62 " objected to this simple method of settling the difficulty. He said that the affair had now ceased to be one of interest to the ticketholders only, and had passed on to be a matter which concerned the public at large. The point to settle was not who should get the prizes, but who was the

party guilty of the forgery and attempted fraud involved in the altering of the winning numbers ? In order to clear up ihH ihatter"' the committee should insist on spfeihg tlie original list. Tile list w'^s the"h dettlanded,' ,aud after sdfrie delafj Mr Irigfafri produced it. The merest glance Sptdwed tßdt it had been tilmpef-e'd with in the riiost clumsy faahiofi: SotfJe Bf^ tli(> numbers winning watches of value, were altered, and the winning number of prize 2, was also altered. Mr irigram admitted the alterations, but said he knew nothing of who had done the thing — in fact tlie list never was handed to biin by the committee, they put jt Oii the counter in his shop, and several people " passing to and fro" had access to ih The c'omhimee" said this was not true — that they handed tho list to Mr Ingram who 1 put it in his pocket, and it had never been out of his possession since, and tliey drew Mr Irigram's attention to the fact that jeweller's shops were hot usually left at the mere? of people passing to and fro. The original list, besides having been altered as regards figure's, was rhiifilatetl otherwise. Originally it was drawn up on a double sheet of foolscap, ruled plosely, throughout. The numbers altogether did not occupy half of the left hand page, arid the comiriitte'e signed the doeuirienfc at the {dot of the right hand page. "What was done was this : — The numbers, as taken down by tiie c'bmmitte'e 6ri tlie left hand page were altered,- and the. altered copy was transferred to the right hand page, the sheet being torn down the middle, and the original signatures of course appearing at the bottom of the published copy. The list which Mr Ingram produced at the meeting as the original, arid which was in fact the original list, bore no signature tvhate^ei': Whe'h SsT&fl why lie had mutilated the list he said he hitd always done so in his art unions. Referring td Mr In.erahi's explanation as to how the list might ha>e got altered by some persons' when it was supposed to lie promiscuously on the counter, a ticket -holder said that that xvas" easily determined. If any one had so tampered with the fignresj it must have .been with the intention of appropriating the prjzes: Tickets Nos. 54, 6, 160, 322, and others must , have been altered te suit the holders of W"os. 154, 62, 166, and 332 ; he therefore asked Mr Ingrain to be good enough to say who were the persons, if any, who presented tickets numbered 154, 62, 166, arid 3^2 to him for the prizes. Mr Ingram admitted that no one had presented any of these tickets to him in demand of prizes. Then commenced a scene, the like 6'f which 1 tias seldom been seen in Hokitika or any other place. The plainest language imaginable was freely indulged in by those present until " at last so high the contest rose, from words they almost ciiihe to" blows." The committee however, insisted on retaining the altered list, and the crowd ultimately dispersed.