THE CURTIS-KING CONSPIRACY EXPOSED.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVII, Issue 1490, 18 January 1861, Page 5

THE CURTIS-KING CONSPIRACY EXPOSED.

As already recorded, the Election fo_* Nelson City ha, resulted in the return of Messrs Domett and Stafford over Mn Robinson. Mr. Elliott, in returning thanks for Mr. Stafford, remarked that " by sending back their former Representatives they had materially strengthened the hands of the Government, and had shown that Nelson would not consent to a hollow and disgraceful peace." While we, in common with every other portion of the Press in the various provinces, look with interest on the contests that are taking place all over New Sealaud,

land communicate to our readers such information as reaches us, from time to time, of the probable success of the ministerial or anti-ministerial candidates ; we do not presume, nor have we presumed to interfere in what is essentially the duty of each individual electorate, i We have a door of our own to keep clean, i and this affords U3 quite sufficient employment ; but considering the position in which the Party whose cause -we espouse are placed — looked upon as that which is to form an important, element in the Opposition to the present ministry, and probably in some measure influencing the policy which the ministry to be ere long formed will pursue, we shall not be accused of transgressing our proper limits, if we take the liberty of alluding to Mr. Elliott's definition of the policy S which the Opposition are said to advocate in reference to the war — the bringing about " a hollow and disgraceful , peace." We are the more at liberty to do this because the statements with which the i Nelson members cajoled their constituents, backed by _vlr. King late member for Taranaki, have been used here by a cotemporary to fasten on the Representatives of this province the stigma of being peace-at-any-price advocates. Mr. Evelyn Curtis of Nelson, 1 some few weeks since informed his constituents that had the Ministry been turned out, it was understood at Auckland that one of the first acts of the new Ministry (with probably Mr. Pox as premier) would have been to send a " deputation to William King to sue for peace upon the best terms he would consent to grant." Mr. Fox, happening to be at Nelson denied in toto that any such understanding either existed or was entertained. Mr. King of Taranaki, thereupon came to Mr. Curtis' rescue, and made a clean breast of it by describing the proceedings of a certain private meeting which he said was attended by many of the Northern members, at which some resolutions were proposed, the exact wording of which he did not recollect, but they were characterised by himself at the time as humiliating and disgracefull, and warranted him in denouncing the Wellington members, among others, as a peace-at-any-price-party. In fact, asserting sufficient, if true, to authorise Mr. Elliott's recent description of the Opposition policy as one intended to bring about " a hollow and disgraceful peace." Mr. Fox at Wanganui said there was not a word of truth as to such resolution being proposed— he believed that the resolutions brought forward proposed the sending of a deputation to the Grovemor to consult with him as to Obtaining peace. Such a declaration from Mr. Fox ought to be a sufficient denial of Mr. King's statements, and no doubt would have been considered so. We have, however, by the Lord Ashley, the corroborative denial of several Auckland members, and the New Zealander gives us further particulars. The meeting was not a meeting of Opposition members at all; it was a meeting to which were asked all the NortJiern Island members indiscriminately, except Mr. Richmond the Native Minister, who was omitted from his connexion with the Government. Friends and foes of the Stafford Ministry were equally invited — a not very likely meeting to broach the idea, and still less to expect to carry a resolution proposing " to send a deputation to William King to sue for peace upon the best terms he would make." The meeting was purely conversational. A resolution was read to the meeting asking the Governor to appoint a commission to proceed to Taranaki — not to seek an interview with Wi Kingi j and certainly not to make peace — but j only to " ascertain and report whether or 1 not' &ny means can be devised, consistent with the dignity of the Crown, to bring to an end the unhappy war that exists there." This resolution even was not put or agreed to, nor did our members take part in the conversation, excepting a few words from Mr. Carter and Mr. Brandon j the remarks of both of whom are most incorrectly described by Mr. King. We reprint the article from the New Zealander above referred to, and the let-, ters of several Auckland members therein mentioned ; aud can only hope that now the statements of Mr. Evelyn Curtis and Mr. Thomas King have been proved false, we shall hear no more of these peace-at-any-price attempts to malign and damage political opponents. Wo have Mr. Fox's declaration that "if he were in the Ministry to-morrow, he would push on the war with the utmost vigour" and our readers may rest satisfied that nothing can be more unfounded than Mr. Elliott's assumption that the Fox or any other party, would consent to a hollow and disgraceful peace."