The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE Published every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday Morning. Thursday, January 31, 1889. MANAGERS AND MISMANAGERS.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume II, Issue 254, 31 January 1889, Page 2

The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE Published every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday Morning.

Thursday, January 31, 1889. MANAGERS AND MISMANAGERS.

Ba just and tear not; Let ell ths end. thou aim's* at be thy country'., Thy God*., and truth's.

A few weeks back we delicately hinted that the local shareholders of the South Pacific Petroleum Company were premature in passing a vote of confidence in Mr Washington Weaver, it being plain to anyone that he had ample opportunity to prove how well he was entitled to that confidence. The Company being a private one, we are not privileged to criticise the general state of affairs so openly and freely as if the undertaking were one in which the 'public were more directly, and not merely secondarily, interested. The local shareholders have an unfortunate knack of being inconsistent in whatever form of action they decide upon : they are unanimous that someone is to blame, and very much to blame, but when it comes to deciding who that someone is, the local shareholders seem to be lost. Whoever is uppermost in their mind’s eye appears to be made the scapegoat of the occasion, and a someone else shines forth as an example of all that which is the nearest approach to perfection. When Mr Fleming made his last visit here, he smoothed things so nicely that, though his abrupt method of doing it did not altogether please us, he parted on the best of terms with the Gisborne shareholders, and a general feeling of resentment was created against the absent Mr Weaver. That was very well for a time until Mr Weaver himself returned, and then all was changed. Very strong remarks were made against Mr Fleming, and a vote of confidence was accorded to Mr Weaver —whatever the vote of confidence was required for is more than we know. Mr Weaver told the meeting that if the newspapers knew as much as he did they would not make the assertions they had done. With that we perfectly agreed—our misfortune has always been that on certain points in regard to the South Pacific we knew very little, and would have been glad of enlightenment. What we have known all along is that things have not been going on in a way that is at all satisfactory. Always, too, when these vexatious circumstances give promise that they are about to vanish, it is only for them to recur in a worse form at a later period.

One of the mistakes which the local shareholders appear always to have made is the singling out of individuals upon whom to vent their feelings of discontent, and the last meeting certainly gained a point in avoiding this pitfall. The directors, as a body, are most deservingof censure, and it is to them the local shareholders should address themselves in terms the meaning of which cannot be mistaken. They are the responsible parties, and whether or not they have been misled is not necessarily the business of the local shareholders. The singling out of individuals has on each occasion been subsequently questioned, whether the opportunity has beentaken to censure or compliment. Tuesday’s meeting wisely steered clear of this means of causing trouble, and as a consequence made a better mark upon which to cast the onus of blame, Mr Weaver told them plainly enough at the previous meeting that all he had to do with then was the lifting of the tools from the well, after which the course of action rested with the directors. All this seemed very curious, but for anything we know to the contrary, Mr Weaver may be acting in strict accordance with instructions.

Up to last night we were not able to ascertain for a certainty if Mr Weaver had gone to Sydney, and it is therefore advisable to say little on that point though one may be inclined to think much. The local shareholders have acted wisely in refraining from such pointed allusions as have previously been made, but the directors of the company can in no way excuse the disgraceful management for which they must be mainly held responsible, and a very strongly worded resolution would be only a mild expression of opinion in comparison with the mismanagement to which it would have reference. At present we can only repeat what we have said on a previous occasion that there is something about the Company and its management which we cannot understand—with all deference to Mr Weaver, we are as yet far from knowing all that we should like to know as to the why and wherefores in these matters. Jn Mr Weaver’s own interest we cannot imagine any theory why things should be in their present unsatisfactory state, That gentleman still seems to retain fgll confidence in the prospect, holds a large interest in the Company, always speaks hopefully, and seems to have no desire to dispose of his interest.

•• HAND IN HAND.” Germany has struck out in a new line lately, and we are told that that nation and England are advancing hand in hand so far as Samoa and Zanzibar are concerned. Bismarck refers to England as an old historical ally of Germany, and the greatest colonising power in the world. This effusive outburst of affection, however, has rather an empty sound after what has gone before. One is induced to regard it with suspicion and to anticipate some other cause for

the sudden change than that of pure brotherly love. Neither England nor Germany has any reason to be proud of the part it has played in regard to Samoa; instead of a hand and hand policy, it has so far been just the reverse, and the unfortunate natives have been made the victims of the jealousies of the rival Powers in those waters. The natives have been left to butcher one another, in sight of forces representing England, Germany, and America, and not one of those powers have dared step in, each jealously watching the other like one dog with a bone would regard the presence of another hungry member of the canine species. Germany did indeed step in at last, but for what purpose ? —only to supplant the monarch who did not suit their purpose, and by their action thus perpetuate the human butchery. A strange “ hand in hand ” policy that, England has enough sins to answer for in regard to the shameless part she has taken in the Samoan affair, but we hope it may never be said that she was a party to the wholesale murder that has been carried on there. Turning then to the East African Company's mission. Nothing but failure could, have been expected for a colonisation scheme carried out in the high-handed way that was attempted by this company. While professing to be intent on suppressing the slave trade, the establishment of mission stations, and the general promotion of civilisation, there is grave reason to believe that the Company’s main object has been the grabbing of further territory, and the obtaining for Germany of a firm foothold in this quarter of the globe. It is an unfortunate result of all Germany's attempts at colonising that they incur the hatred of the natives, and it is more gratifying than otherwise to know that the Company has failed in its attempt. The successful passage of the Company’s Bill through the German Parliament, and the prospect of Government assistance being granted, will provide for another effort in this direction, but we question very much whether England’s best policy would not be to hold aloof from the combination. The “ hand in hand" policy is not to be regarded with favor in these matters.