Untitled

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVIII, Issue 3883, 14 August 1873, Page 2

The long and unaccountable delay in the issue of the New Zealand war medals has at length been explained by the production of all the correspondence on the subject that passed between the Government and the Agent-General. As considerable anxiety has at rations times been evinced by persons entitled to medals, an outline of the parliamentary paper relating to the matter will not be without interest. - As long ago as November 25th, 1871, Mr Gisborne (then Colonial Secretary) requested the AgentGeneral to forward 1000 medals, at the same time, informing him that £400 had been placed at his service for that purpose. An enclosure from the Defence Office in Mr Gisborne's communication'gave a statement of the cost of the medals obtained previously by 'Mr Morrison. We learn from the same enclosure that Mr Morrison paid to a Mr G. Austin, who was recommended by the Master of the Mint, £73 10s for an inscribing machine and type ; but owing to an inequality in the size of the type the machine waa discovered to be utterly useless, and Mr Morrison was instructed to recover the cost from Mr Austin, as the Government had been put to great loss and incovenience in consequence. A sub -enclosure contains a bill due by the Government to the Master of the Mint of £286 5s 3d for the silver, and manufacture oil 000 medals at 3d each ; and another in favor of Mr Austin, in connection with these same lot of medals apparently, of £179 15s lOd ; with a further bill of £13 10s for ribbon from Francis Bennock and Co. In a letter written by the Agent-General on the Bth February, 1872, he acknowledges the receipt of Mr Gisborne's letter, and promises to use his best endeavors to recover the cost of the useless machine from Mr Austin. On the 15th February, 1873, Mr Waterhouse informed the Agent-General that the 1000 medals sent for on the 25th November, 1871, had not yet been received, although a voucher, dated 12th April, 1872, amounting to £278 0s 3d, had been sent to the Treasury for the coat of the silver and the manufacture of the medals. On the 12th April, 1873, Mr M'Lean telegraphed to the AgentGeneral: — "Where are second thousand war medals ordered eighteen months ago. Much discontent delay." The next communication is from the Agent- General, wherein he regrets the delay that had occurred, and explains that having entrusted the matter to Mr Morrison, he had been under the impression that the medals were forwarded to the colony, until the receipt of the letter from the Government undeceived him. On inquiry he then found that the medals were still at the Mint, unmounted. The delay, he explains, arose through the dispute with Mr Austin, who had been requested either to refund the money paid to him for the unserviceable machine, or to put it in proper working order. He failed to do either ; and as the remaining work to be done to the medals was placed in the hands of the same house, it was kept back pending the settlement of the dispute referred to. The Agent-General concludes his letter by promising that should Mr Austin fail to rectify the inscribing machine on another application to do so, the medals would at once be placed in other hands for completion, and the case placed in the hands of his solicitor. On the 18th June last Mr Reynolds telegraphed : — ''War medals much wanted ; send immediately." To this the Agent-General replies under date 17th July: — " Medals next mail." From the foregoing it will be easy, to conceive what difficulty the Government in Wellington may experience in getting their instructions carried out in London.