{CIRCULAR.}
TO THE PEOPLE OF OTAGO.
Fellow Colonists.— The proceedings of your Provincial Council during the past week, have no doubt been as painful to most of you, as they have been to me, and as they have been detrimental to the best interests of the Province. It is difficult to find language adequately to characterise those proceedings ; this will be understood when I state that, in as far as they relate to me, they nre alike ill founded and untrue. It appears that, upon 30th June last, the Provincial Treasurer was deficient £1000, and it is alleged that the ranney was in my hands, having been borrowed from that officer as such. The only evidence in proof of this assertion is that of the Treasurer himself, who pleads this as an extenuation of his offence. On the other hand, it is solemnly averred by me that any transactions which I may have had with Mr. M'Glashan were not in his capacity of Provincial Treasurer, and did not involve any funds at the time in his hands us such. (And here it naay be proper to state, for tha information of those at a distance, that the Provincial Treusurer is a Solicitor in private practice, and, as such, with monies of clients passing through his hands ; and also, tßat he wasTreauer for one or two public bodies, with 8 >metimes considerable funds in his hands.) So far, it is simply the assertion of one man against that of another; and the question as to which is correct, must be salved by the relative credibility of the parties. Unfortunately for the Treasurer, he seems to have contradicted himself, inasmuch as he tells the Auditors that the deficiency arose out of payments made at the South before they were entered in his cash book, and he tells the Select Committee that the deficiency was in the hands of the Superintendent; in order to prove which, he produces sundry confidential notes and memoranda which passed between us, and which he appears, lawyer like, to havejjarefully preserved for the express purpose of proving the very opposite of the circumstances under which they were written. I confess that these memoranda are susceptible of the .interpretation which Mr. M'Glaahan has sought to put upon them : a few words, however, will, I trust, suffice to place them in their true light.
It is with exceeding reluctance that 1 make the statement which I now do ; as, however, all delicacy has been buried on the other side, and the vindication of my own character demands it, I have no h«lp for it but to state that, for years back, I have assisted Mr. M'Glashan to make up deficiencies, in bis balances at a time when we had no other transactions ; aud there is no doubt, if he had chosen to preserve them, he could produce, in reply to his own most urgent appeals aud entreaties, confidential notes from me breathing an equally sincere desire, and intimating equal anxiety, to find the money in order to save him exposure and consequent ruin, as those which he has now chosen to bring forward. The confidential notes in both oases were written under the same circumstances, and with a similar object, with the single exception that the one was by a private individual who owed Mr. M'Glashan nothing, and the other by the Superintendent of the Province, who happened, unfortunately, at the time to be indebted to Mr. M'Glashan some few hundred pounds. I can easily conceive its being asked — If you knew that such was the position of the Provincial Treasurer when you took office af Superintendent bow came it that you took no steps in the matter? My answer is, thatal the time I took office, I understood that the had got fairly before the wind ; and it was not until prior to the June audit thai I was aware of its being otherwise. I then urged him to raise money on mortgagej and by the sale of stock, and earnestly eudeivoured to negociate these matters for him. It was while engaged in vhis that the confidential memoranda in question were written ; the results were that his accounts were put all straight, and, had he been led by my advice, the matters which have now brought so much scandal upon the community would have been buried in oblivion— a conclusion which I am sure every wise man would have done his utmost to effect. I admit that, strictly speaking, I had no right, as Superintendent, to overlook or to tolerate any deficiency on the part of any subordinate officer, and the result has proven it; at the same time, as stated in my Message No. 2 to the Provincial Council (which, as the Colonist newspaper has seen lit to suppress in its last issue, I append hereto), the peculiar circumstances of the case appeared to warrant the course pursued by me. Mr. MoGlashan stated in the Provincial Council, that prior to the last audit, he raised £1.000 on mortgage io order to make up his deiiciency. At that tiino I whs indebted to him about £500, of which he received £400 prior to the audit. I know that both the £1000 and the £400 were paid into the Treasury. How, therefore, he can state that the mortgage was for my benefit, I am at a loss to imagine. It is matter of deep regret to me that I should have*- been indebted for a single day either to Mr, M'Glashan or to any body else ; and if some of those who might be named, who have been the loudest and most malevolent in their fulminations or impeachments, had only paid their just debts to me, instead of applying the money to enrich themselves, Mr. M'Glashan would have had no such plea ou which to pal-"
Hate himself as that which he has now chosen to ur-re. O-ie word more as to Mr. M'Glasban. With reference to the amended warrant for passage-money per Gala, he denies dint Messrs. J)hn 'Gladstone & Co.'s letter to Messri. J. Macandrew & Co., giving directions as to the payment of the raonoy, was exhibited .to him; It whm not oily shewn to him, but also to Mr. Street, the Accountant, who was in the of&ce at the time. This may appeara very trifling matter; it is, however, of importance, as shewing how little reliance can be placed upon Mr. M'GMnshsin's memory or assertions.
Mr. M'GMashan further states that he has" made payments to me iu-advance on account of the steam contract. He did, certainly, on one, or perhaps two occasions, pay the subsidy after the steamer was sighted, and before she was actually entered at the Custom House, the proper time. How far it was necessary to publish this I cannot see. I can safely say, that of the £40,000 to £60,000 of public money which has been paid to me on account of steam and immigration, I never received a sixpence before it was fairly earned.
From what has beeu said, I trust * it will be manifest to every reflecting observer that the Provincial Council has jumped at a conclusion too hastily. With regard to most of the members, I will do them justice to say that I believe them to have been animated;. by. no latent animosity towards mj self ; but that on the spur of the moment, without due reflection, and under the influence of th-it sympathy engendered by the tentful emotions (if a hoary headed and eloquent ma \ they were led into an act which, to say the least of it, is ca'culnted very seriously to prejudice the public interest, and which, although a secondary consideration, invokes <& grave injustice and undeserved censure toward myself; an act which equity and dignity alike demanded should hot have been committed hastily, or without first giving the accused an opportunity of answering 1 for himself. I know it will be said, why did I not appear before tha Select Committee. It will be apparent, how ever, that both the constitution of that Com* mittee, the dignity of my office, and my igbevance of the ground on which it was sought to inculpate me, precluded any such appearance. I asked for a copy of the evidence, with a view of rebutting it, but was refused. I then applied to be heard by counsel at the bar of the Provincial Council with a like result.
As to tbe coterie or elicjue by whose dexterity the Council was led in this matter, I have no hesitation in declaring that (he Select Committee was a mere farce,— intended to impart to their subsequent proceedings a show of fair play, — and that in reality the whole question was prejudged in as far as they were concerned* Their anxiety to exonerate the Provincial Treasurer from all blame, affords strong presumptive: evidence that the whole matter was pre-arranged and that the Treasurer if not directly, was at least indirectly, a party to the arrangement,—* full and free acquittal being his reward. The Speaker of the Council himself—who is supposed to set tbe highest example of impartiality — was he»rd to declare, before ever the Session commenced, that — speaking of myself — they would make short work of it. — a drain head court martial, and march to the right about at oncei
Such a mode of judgment, however much it maftaccord with martial law, is not the way ia whiqffthe interests ,of this Prontiqe» and the character of its citizens, much less of its Superintendent, ought to be treated. I can tell the Speaker that although not a military man, the Superintendent of this Province is, perhaps, actuated by as keen a sense of honour as himself, and that he never permits his feelings nor his prejudices to influence his judgment, loan tell him that it is possible for even an honorable man's private affairs to be temporarily— or it may be, sariously, embarrassed,— and ihat if such be a sufficient reason why that man should not hold the important office of Superintendent of a Province it would befarraorehonorableand straightforward lo petition for his removal on that ground: than because there might be difficulties in the way, to attain the same end by a side-wind, or by strategy - As to the personal animosity displayed towards me by the other leading actors in this drama,— to wit \l essrs. Dick and Gillies, m >re especially the latter, — the less that is said the better ; the former might have obtained the ooveted position of Superintendent, and the latter that of Proviu cial Solicitor, by fairer and more honorable means than they have pursued both in public and in private.
As respects the newspaper ,press,—whose bitterness I have often experienced or old — bitterness now only equalled by its malignity, — more especially the Otago Cohnitt, which was wont to paneygrise as loudly as it now reviles —whose tendency seems to be to worship only the risingsim by which, so long as I was in a position to provide the sinews of war, I was treated as a patriot and a gentleman; but, when circumstances change, am branded as an evil-doer and a traitor. As respects the press, I know well how futile it is for an individual, be he right or wrong, to contend against it, and therefore I have no intention to combat its statements. Most of you know the circumstances under which the Colonist made its advent here, and the extent to which it is indebted to me for its est.tblisment — it says little for human nature— but such seems to be the universal axion with fallen humanity, that just in proportion to those circumstances, and to that extent, will be tba amount of vilification and sophistic ited bombast bestowed upon me. lhave quite made up my mind to be abused and pilloried to. the tnast head; my only satisfaction will be the ment conscia recti, and my only regret the having imported a rod (or my own back.
Fellow Colonists, all I ask of you is to examine for yourselves. Be influenced neither by newspaper clap-trap nor by personal acrimony. Let me be judged by my public actions— by ray past character and conduct, and of the result I nave no fear.
It is evident that, with an unfrieudlj press continually drooping its own distorted and antagonistic views into the public mind, no Government that is based upon public opinion can long exist.
It was my intention to have retired at once from the Superintendence, arid to bare devoted myself to private affairs ; as it is, I shall make other arrangements, by which these affjirs will be brought to a termination, aud appeal to you as to whether lam fit to be trusted to administer the affairs of this Provinoeor not. If your verdict shall be favourable, ,we will aoou have a press reflecting public opinion, and I shall devote myself to the great work ■".which ■ for years past has occupied my /attention, much to the detriment of ray own personal interests. Should your verdict.be . unfavorable,; I^nustjnsti bend to it, and retire from pubHp.life:for : eve!rMK J animated, however, bytbeiproud -•"co.psiclU'ii.wl^^'l that I ha*eidoue my duty, Und) ft^t 'i poait^pip will concede to me a fai^BhaM'bf^M^'h'pfip^&^t^ building up. the fbundktipns of \o^s\M^^ Otago. -I I^y^the:-Bonp^'t6 ;: be^ :^- ; .V:^^ ; |^|| ->• ■; : .• i : . , jameis^l(^i|kb^|^ •
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WI18610111.2.21
Bibliographic details
Wellington Independent, Volume XVII, Issue 1488, 11 January 1861, Page 5
Word Count
2,221{CIRCULAR.} Wellington Independent, Volume XVII, Issue 1488, 11 January 1861, Page 5
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