The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE Published every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Morning. Saturday, March 16, 1889. SOUTH PACIFIC PETROLEUM COMPANY.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume II, Issue 274, 16 March 1889, Page 2

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

Saturday, March 16, 1889. SOUTH PACIFIC PETROLEUM COMPANY.

Be just iwd tear not; Let aU the ende cUo.n alm'st at be thy oountry’e, Thy God's, and truth’s.

The result of the meeting of the South Pacific shareholders on Wednesday last, although doubtless satisfactory to Mr Weaver, has not been so to anyone of his audience.

The same feeling of doubt and uncertainty remained after his address as existed before it. Not many of the shareholders spoke, but those who did speak did so with no uncertain sound, and it is quite certain that the resolution confirming the decision of the previous meeting would, if put to the meeting, have been carried almost unanimously. Mr Weaver’s explanations of the frequent delays were just what might have been, and were, expected. No one supposed he would fall dead at the first shot. What doubted man or woman ever admits the justness of the suspicions which their conduct arouses ? Do they not always declare their innocence more or less solemnly ?—do they not always offer plausible excuses for every doubtful act ?—are they not always ready and willing to explain why they did this, or why they did not do that ?— do they not, as Mr Weaver did, inveigh against the accuracy of the facts or the knowledge of their accusers ?—and is not the result nearly always the same ?; the accusations are answered, but not satisfactorily, and the feeling that there is a screw loose remains, presently to be confirmed by some further circumstances tending in exactly the same direction as its precursors. To restore lost confidence is one of the very hardest tasks which can be undertaken; it cannot bp done by the subtlut argument, or by th? toning appeals or aMeveralions; words alone will never do it. Confidence t»n only be regained by a continued

course of actions tending in exactly the opposite direction to those which gave rise to suspicion.

We shall be too happy to chronicle and give the fullest weight to any action or behaviour on Mr Weaver’s part which will go to show that he really is loyal to the interests of the Company for which he has worked and that he is really doing his best to further, and not to delay, the testing of the well. We are quite prepared to make allowance for any real difficulties which may be in his way and to give him full credit for those which he surmounts. The issue is in his own hands ; just as his future behaviour is, so will be the confidence or reverse created by it. His words are few, and need not have any prejudicial effect to him if his actions are beyond suspicion. Confidence is always a feeling created by the acts of the person in whom it is placed, and can only be lost or restored by the acts, not the words, of that person. Men do not gather figs of thistles ; a man’s actions produce their own fruit, good or bad, bitter or sweet, just according to the actions. At the meeting of shareholders held on Wednesday last, Mr Weaver said : —“ There is something wrong with the pipe about two joints from the bottom ; it is either ovalled when pulling the tools out, or it is broken in two. lam now using a round reamer with the hope of straightening the pipe if it is only bent or ovalled. If I cannot succeed in doing that I shall have to draw the pipe. I do not think there will be any difficulty in drawing the pipe. Ido not think it will take over a week’s work. I only found out this trouble on my last visit (last week.) I did not suspect anything of this obstacle previously.” On the same evening an “ Absent Shareholder ” gave a flat contradiction to the latter part of the statement, and as this is a very important matter we considered it our duty to inquire into it. Mr Piesse states that early in February he was informed that it was Mr Weaver’s intention to cut and pull the pipe. . That he asked the opinion of Messrs Parsons and Stubbs as to the effect of such a course, and the opinion both gave was that they knew no reason why it should be done, and that if the pipe was cut, the bore would inevitably be lost. We have made other enquiries, and it is certain that Mr Weaver did contemplate because he spoke of pulling and cutting those pipes at least five weeks ago. We have interviewed Mr Stubbs, he corroborates the above statement, and says that until Wednesday he was under the impression that Mr Weaver had abandoned any intention of attempting to pull or cut the pipes. Now as to the effect of these statements. The possible fact of Mr Weaver having stated to Messrs Matthews and Pollen a deliberate untruth, is only a small thing in itself—although it weakens still further any latent belief we may have had in his excuses of Wednesday last. We are brought face to face with this fact, that immediately after drawing the tools up, and before the repairs were made, and before there was any possibility of his knowing that anything was wrong with the pipe, he had it in his mind to pull or cut that pipe, and that moreover he had spoken of such intention. What are his reasons for sueh singular conduct ? No one does orsays anything without a motive What is his ?

We would strongly recommend that the committee appointed by the shareholders take the matter up at once, before it is too late. Let them examine Messrs Piesse, Stubbs, Parsons, and McCoomb as to their knowledge of this matter. None of these people must allow any sympathy with Mr Weaver to stand in the way of the public good. We repeat “ the public good,” because we are all interested directly or indirectly. A “ boom ” in oil would set everything going. If the statements made are substantiated, then it is clear Mr Weaver should not be surprised at the suspicions existing in the minds of the shareholders.