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Wellington Independent, Volume XXVI, Issue 3349, 18 November 1871, Page 2

In our two former articles we commerited upon tho conduct of Mr Bart&n in the formation of the Press Association, and in connection with the alleged detention of the «' Post's" English telegram of the Bth of September last. We now come to deal with the gravest of the charges against the Government — that of filching the " Post's" telegram of September 30th. Having settled in his mind, by means of an ingenious succession of " inferences," that he and his Press Association were the special objects of Government hostility, and that the whole machinery at the command of the Ministry was being put into motion for his ruin, Mr Barton was in no frame of mind to look at matters in a favorable light. He seems from that moment to have brooded over his imaginary wrongs until they became a sort of monomania. In his jaundiced eyes the Government of New Zealand was the most corrupt and unprincipled of all Governments; a Government capable of unutterable and unimaginable wickedness ; a Government which must be overthrown at all hazards. Then it was, no doubt, that Mr Barton devoted the Ministry to swift destruction, and impatiently awaited an opportunity to strike the fatal blow. And it was not long before the opportunity presented itself. To quote fiom Mr Barton's evidence : —

I come next to the telegram of the 30th September— tho Bluff telegram. These telegrams arrived I think, on the morning of tha 30th September, 1870, and wero coming through at ten o'clock. Tho first; item of news was thafc Napoleon was a prisoner in Prussia. .... On Saturday, October Ist, I received a telegram from the " Evening Post," which is published in the article of fcho 3rd October, 1870. I had aßked the " Evening Post" how they had received their fcelegrums, as I was anxious to find oufc any unfairness with their transmission as before. They sent me back that reply. Tho reply stated that fcho Independent had published a telegram word for word fche samo as that transmitted for the " Post," and accounting for it by saying thafc the Independent must have been supplied with a copy of the telegram from the Telegraph Department;. The following is the paragraph from the " Evening Post," of which his own Wellington agent was editor : — Before we received the first slip (afc 10.45) Mr Gisborne supplied to the " Independent"' which issued them as an Extra— telegrams containing fcho most important heads of tho news, concluding with tho following significant sentence — " Still moro 'astounding information fco arrive for the newspapers," and " Memo, from information nofc directly obtainable—France reported a Republic." Tho "Independent" afterwards issued anothor Extra before ours, containing an unintelligible hash of news, bufc no single item that was no 1 ; in our message. Tho telegrams in this morning's issue of the "Independent" differ materially from thoir Extra, and are simply a reproduction of ours, a few unimportant items which were in our message — but wliich we did not print as being unimportant or anticipated — being given word for word. It is perfectly evident thafc the Government's first telegram was compliled from ours ; that afterwards tho "Independent" received, concurrently with us, 200 words afc a timo to each, (a hasty recltauffage of our message), and that afterwards a copy, verbatim et literatim, oi our message was supplied to tho " Independent." The "Independent's" Melbourno telegrams wero gonuino, and wero publi.hed in fcheir second Extra. Ours did nofc arrive till long afterwards, afc 3.40 p.m.

This was quite sufficient to satisfy Mr Barton's mind. But he had other corroborative facts. It would appear that the latest portion of the news sent to the Press Association was specially telegraphed from Melbourne to Queenscliff to catch the Gothenburg ; and it is only fair to admit that at the first MiBarton was justified in assuming that this late news could not become known unless through his telegram. In his eagerness to injure the Ministry, MiBarton unhesitatingly thundered out his denunciations through the columns of the " Otago Daily Times." He accused the Telegraph Department of " an infamous breach of trust ;" the Government of " appropriating to its own use telegrams to which it had no more right than it had to the pocket handkerchiefs nnd the watches of private individuals ;" of " an unscrupulous abuse of power ;" and of any other high crimes and misdemeanours that his vocabulary of abuse might suggest. We will not weary our readers with the details of the subsequent history of the case — Mr Barton's boast of having legal evidence in his possession to convict the Government of theft, his hollow threat of instituting legal;} proceedings, his own prosecution on a charge of criminal libel by the Government, and his committal ; the withdrawal of further proceedings, and Mr Barton's exultation in an imaginary victory — these are matters too well known to need recapitulation here. But owing to the articles in the " Otago Daily Times" the public, by whom State prosecutions aro rarely viewed with favor, invested Mr Barton with all the attributes and the virtues of a patriot and a martyr. Parliament met, and the Opposition cast about in their minds for some tangible charge against the Ministry. At this juncture, Mr Barton's wrongs arrayed themselves before Mr Stafford iv all their ghastly enormity. A committee of the House was appointed to enquire into the working and management of the Electric Telegraph Department. Witnesses from the remote ends of the colony were summoned, and after a protracted and expensive investiga tion —

Tho committee have to report, with respect to fche first charge, in which the Government

were accused of misappropriating the " Otago Daily Times" telegram for fchoir own information, aud of wrongfully conveying the information so obtained to fchafc portion of the press which supported them, thafc the evidence adduced on tho part of fcho principal accuser and of the Department proves the charge to be entirely without foundation. In the opinion of the coinmifcttee the Department acted wit impartiality and probity, and tho information obtained by tho Government on fchat occasion was derived from ordinary and proper sources. The evidence upon which this decision is founded is singularly con elusive. It is proved that the " Otago Daily Times" telegram was opened on board the Gothenburg, and read by three persons, one of whom, Captain Pearce, is afflicted with such a treacherous memory, that he fails to recollect the most important circumstances. It is admitted that besides the news contained in the second edition of the " Argus" there was " more verbal news" current on board the ship ;" it is sworn in evidence by Mr Mailer, the purser, that he gave the telegraph operator at the Bluff, on the night of the 29th September, a telegram in a sealed envelope addressed to the Wellington Independent, and which had been placed on board the Gothenburg, almost at the moment of her sailing, by Mr Hutton the Independent's Melbourne agent, and it is sworn in evidence by MiMailer, that he went to the " Argus" office before leaving, and there obtained varbally tha items in the "Argus'" third edition, that he wrote these items on a slip of paper and handed the in with the Independeni/s telegram to the telegraph operator at the Bluff, who deposes that he attached them to the Independent's message, and transmitted them both on the following morning. Moreover, Mr O'Toole, SubCollector of Customs at the Bluff, proves that, in obedience to the instructions of the Collector of Customs, he boarded the Gothenburg on her arrival, that he obtained a second edition of the " Argus," together with the contents of the third edition verbally from Captain Pearce, which, on the following morning, were transmitted to the Government, taking precedence over all other messages. Mr Barton's charge against the Government therefore resolves itself into this form — that the Government stole on the 30lh of September what had actually come into their possession by legitimate means on the previous night, and that the Independent received as stolen property on the 30th September its own message that had been handed to the Bluff operator on the previous night. MiBarton, knowing these facts, continued to reiterate his slanders against the Government and ourselves. Having discovered that the charges were unfounded, he had not the generosity nor the manliness to come forward and acknowledge his error, but, obstinately and maliciously, to quote the words of the committee, " continued to use the press in reiterating 'the charges, even after evidence was in his possession which should have disabused his miud," showing, in the opinion of the committee, " that his miud was warped by previous antagonism to the Commissioner of Telegraphs."

We pass briefly over the other charges against the Government. The charge of Mr Gisborne reading a telegraphic report of Mr Stafford's great speech at Timaru, the Committee pronounce a slight breach of the rules, at the same time observing that, "no personal imputation rests on the Hon the Acting Commissioner in connection with this case ;" and the charge of using the telegraph for political purposes, dwindled down into the mere fact that " during the late elections a few telegrams were fi_nked by Ministers in matters relating to the elections." The other minor charges, are disposed o. in the following sentences from the

" The committeo have arrived afc fche followiug conclusions, founded upon fcho evidence taken : — (1.) That the Telegraph Department haa been fairly and honestly conducted, and has been eminently worthy of public confidence. (2.) Thafc fche accusations have beon founded entirely on misconceptions and inferences drawn from supposod occurrences which are proved nofc to have taken place."

A few more words and we have done with Mr Barton. Not only are his inferences, his " impressions, " his " theory," his " interpretation," and his " assumption" proved to have been mere moonshine, but his evidence on several important points is flatly contradicted by more than one witness. It may suffice to give the following extracts from tbe evidence.

Mr Yogel : I wish fco ask you if tho " Daily Times" paid the expenses of your prosecution ? Mr Barton ; No, they have nofc paid a shilling.

Are they going to do so ? — I do not know whether they intend to do so or not, but I believe they will not, for this reason, thafc some two or three months ago I wrote a letter to tho directers stating in effect fchafc I hold them responsible for the costs of my defence, and I received no answer to that letter.

You think you have a legal claim against fchem ? — I believe I a claim.

Why did you leave the " Daily Times" oflice. I wish to know whether ifc had anything to do with this telegraphic matter ? — I believe ifc had everything to do with this telegraphic matter ; for I believe if ifc had nofc been for that, they would nofc havo acted towards me as they did — that is, left; me entirely responsible for fche prosecution, and at the samo time deprivo mo of my office aB editor.

Then they had a reason for dismissing you ? — They dismissed me.

Without any reason ? — Ko, they had nothing in tho shape of a reason. I said afc the time that ifc was on account of this prosecution. I also had an interview with fche Secrotary fco fche " Otago Daily Times" Company, and he requested mo, at the suggestion of tho company, to leave the colony. The idea which he created in my mind being, tlmfc I should leavo the colony for tho purposo of avoiding the prosecution. Of course I declined to do anything of fcho kind.

Who is tho Secretary ? — Mr Bathgate. Compare this with tho evidence on the Oth November.

Mr Bathgate, M.H.R., secretary fco the "Otago Daily Times," having intimated his wish to make a statement to the committee in roferenco to certain replies given by Mr Barton on 20th October (vide questions and replies in Minutes of Evidenoo, Noa. 775, 776, and 777), was introduced, and having beon sworn, stated as follows : —

" I have seen Mr G. B. Barton's ovidence, in which he Bfcatos he was dismissed from fcho

editorship of the 'Otago Daily Times' on account of the telegraphic matter. " I beg to say that Mr Barton's leaving fcho Bervioo was altogether disconnected with tho matter in question; thafc ho received notico long prior to its occurrence, and thafc fche resolution to dispense with his services was entirely independent of tho telegraph question. " I have further to bay thafc I did nofc request him fco leavo fche colony, and thafc the company mado no suggestion of such a nature."

The result of this inquiry ought to convey a lesson to Mr Barton. It should teach him that human nature is not quite so vile as his instincts may have inclined him to believe; that even if he were himself the paragon of truth and of high -souled honor he would have us believe he is, other people are not all the very incarnation of falsehood and dishonesty. Mr . Barton has contrived to blunder into unenviable notoriety ; he has inflicted unnecessary expenditure, and cast obliquy, upon the public institutions of his adopted country. The injury he has done he can never atone for, but he cao do what common honesty demands of him by publishing a complete retraction of the unfounded charges he has made, and in the quiet of Queenstown, in the interior of Otago, he will have leisure and opportunity for that meditation and repentance which are necessary to make him a loyal and truth-loving citizen.