CORRESPONDENCE.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 133, 7 June 1910, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

THE APPOrNTMENX OF 'CHIEF i INSPECTOR. J :. . ;<Tc>-tho -Editor.) Sir, —Mr. J. D. Mackenzie is reported , to have said at the last meeting of the : Board of Education .that -teachcra ,wished , to see a "-strongman" appointed to the i position of Chief Inspector. This is quite • true. Birt I can -assure Mr. Mackenzie that teachers and 'the general public, j too, «xpect other qualiflcatrons as well ; in the man to whom is to 'be entrusted t!he important duty of directing . cational progress of .this province. We , expect, and we ask as a anat•ter of right, tliat -the Board: . -shall appoint to this important position a man tff high academic standing above all, we ask that h e shall be a man whose record commands the respect ;and entitles him to the .confidence of those whose energies he will be -called upon" to direct.—l am, etc., ■HKATOtAS.'EER. - (To the Editor.) Sir,—The letter of Mr. AVilliam P. Storey seems to mc one of the -greatest attempts of holding a; brief for the ap-: , pointment of Mr. Mvdgan that .1 ever came across. To quote his own quotation from Mr. Parr's address to the; Board, viz., "Let us do ;the .thing-in a fair and hnpartial manner; let the -appointment be-fair and square and above board;. let us do the thing so thai it will -satisfy tie general .public, and in the end place our. actions. above question." Then 31r.. j Storey goes on: "Mr. Mulgan, whose appointment," etc., etc Now, {Mr. Editor, here is Mr. .Storey .upholding Mr. Parr? 3 remarks, '•'fair and etc., arid -yet a few lines further down he is practically ijholding a hrief for one man.—l am, j ALVIX EDMXJ2<D. '■ THE trABOUR CANDIDATE. (To the.Editor.) Sir, —I am extremely loth to appear in printat the present juncture, and.thus possibly widen the breach in the. labour ranks; but as the nominator of Mr. CjL JL Mcjinight at the Ghoral Hall mass meeting of Unionists of the 3Uth ult., truth and justice impel mc to endeavour to correct many luisstatements which, have been handed to the Press during the last few days. In -your issue of tonight (Monday) the public are informed, that the " party " and "the Committee" were unanimouely in favour of withdrawing Mr. McKnight, and superseding him with Mr. G. Davis. 1 maintain that if the Committee wished to withdraw the candidate selected in the Chora! Hall, ftfter all hands and the cook had voted to " loyally support by vote and voice whichever candidate was finally selected," the Committee (of which the writer is a member) should have taken the m.\nly ana dignified course of agitin convening a mass meeting of organised labour, and then reopening the whole matter. 1 may say that I was present at the meeting on Friday last, and though 1 requested Mr. McKnight to withdraw to avoid dissension, yet I assured him that in the event of refusal he could depend on my < whole-hearted support, as after listening to his explanation 1 had every confidence in iiis integrity .ajul principles; at tbe same time urging him to alter the views he had expressed two years befoTe;. re -preference to Unionists, for .the sake .or harmony. I may say that I was waited on by a very influential .deputation Jast Thursday,, and asked to xirgc Mr. McKuight to stand down on the grounds of bis nonadherence to the '•party*" platform ; I replied that tbe LaTjour party's platform was only in embryo, and that the platform recommended by the last Trades and Labour Conference had not yet been recognised and adopted, but if Mr. McKnight coukl not satisfy myself and , seconder -that be was politically sound, I would request him to withdraw. Sir, 1 am satisfied, and so on Friday last was my seconder, notwithstanding that we both asked Mac to withdraw for the sake of concord.

The fat is in the fire, and I say deliberately that if our Southern visitors had not brought a cut-and-dried nominee from the South (with all respect and regard for the gentleman concerned) and had abided by the voice of the Choral Hall meeting, .all .tlie flood of tittle-tattle and dissension that is now loose would have been effectually pent up; and now an endeavour is being made iby a. faction headed by our Southern friends to save face by nominating Mr. G. Davis. Sir, if the Premier and all his Cabinet -were to ask _mc to adopt a different attitude in ;this matter, I could not conscientiously do so.

•I am, informed by any follow Unionists who attended Saturday evening's meeting of the Committee, that, seeing they ■were in a minority- (I was unfortunately absent) the seven of them -walked out of -the room, and left not more than twelve persons to demonstrate the " unanimity of the party" (or Central Committee).! Re -not getting a, penny .of t3*e funds, my Union will get txack their £10 W to support Mr. Mcßnigit. I do not consider it- a time for signing "Prominent Unionist," or other noms-de-plume, .and. subscribe -m-y6elf, yours, etc., E. E. QAKHAJL

(To fhe Editor.) Sir, —In reply to your correspondent signed "Cheshire/ , of-the 3rd inst. ? per--mit mc to say that no true Labourite, mil deny the advantages of the work done by the Liberal- Government of this Dominion. But in all fairness come: credit must be given for the valuable aid and suggestions given to it from time , to time, by the various Councils representing Labour, in short, the Liberal •Government has done nothing but whait the progressive force of the country has demanded. Re the educational and business abilities of the leaders of the Labour movement, I contend that -a Tnan who can effectually -organise and control ■the 'business of a trade union is- certainly in a good school of training, send granted natural ability, may develop method and that astuteness which is 'the -ioandatipn' -of -business - ability. Will your eoros-". pondent argue that culture, rhetoric or even business ability are the dominant features .of our City-Council, yea or ,even the -1101136 itself?- ""Ehe real .-crux of the question lies here: The Liberal party have done much; the Labour nMwemeni demands that it should do more, and it won't. Hence the determination of tie Labour movement to take a hand in the game. Let no one sneer at iib in its days of-weakness. Twenty years jago in , the Old Country it stood in a similar condition. To-day its * representatives ■aje to be found on all pubiSe bodies up; to itself. It is "but a matter ojE time -when a similar, condition x>f things must prevail, even'in New Zealand. In conclusion, let mc add Qusfc, co ; far as I know, 3ilr Labour candidate, occupies neither tiw posßfcLon jrf secretary, pjpssiaent, -or- vieeprejsident <rf any Union; bat is amply bne'ol tSie rank «,nd -file.-—I am,'iete.,

JVm. B. IQWiSER.

LABOUR AjND LOYALTT. (To theJßditor.) .Sir,—As no delegate present tot the ; .teat meeting ..<jf the".Trades and 'Labour Council ;«eems any desire'to justify their actibn-by-letting the >piiblic ?kiio w .the , true..statement. of. iacis regarding the .resolution, .condemning their ;for -that ;f omous wire -of : sympathy .seat vto the rPremier Tipon -&c death of the _,King,_andae J ; know the .reasons -ias iwell as .statements .of the various .'speakers, I rurave oa, email cspaxe of iyour-valTiable paper to state them and -to-allow ..the .public -to judge. 'Ehjs.as .what took-.place :at *he meeting: The .mover .of the resolution ;hostale to MrHosser. ststednn -hia-speech that he "had-'woiked.iat -fcheEing^spalace and knew that 'he'cw&siio "the .poor." The seconder stated that Mr .Rosser should-have'Consulted-the exen cutive ;bef ore ;&e :sent the .message, -'toe-: vcause, had he done -,so, the rwire would not "have jbeen -spnt. , 3S ibave mo time /lor the 'King." The President that he .sent the virire -when in -.Ghristthxrrch, -and ;it wascaent.-onVbehalf- of ./the Dominion Executive, therefore the.Council was not in order in -criticising ; Me action in -the -matter. -Of -course ..there •was a ihowl ?at this. W&en a. ..temporary chairman -.-was .appointed a -motion -was proposed that the "President's ruling -be not acceptea. a vote 'being -.taken, seventeen -voted for and agamst, the Chairman casting ihjs .vote for, and the acting chairman ■ea'bseqnently explained that hia reason 'for voti&gias be. did was that he knew -that -fcbe executive -were against Mr -Hesser -and ;he wis&ed to save, time, .At least :he understood ite; 1 position from an executive : standpoint. So you ;see there se no use now in .denying ~that the vote .«t . censure .-was jrat iforward .in -.a spirit .of to fthe Crown, because the movers in the affair made that only -too -ctecr in their ■remarks, but they didnotthink tiiat the :matter would ;leak out through the daily rpapers. They could'not see further than 'their ovJn -noses, and never dreamt that! itheir "disloyal action -would reflect iiipon ■the laige ■body of workers throughout :the "£Domhi'ion, «md they.aleo forgot for the time being the .Auckland :body are the New -Zealand* Executive, therefore representing six or seven other •Trades Councils in New rZealand.

As a delegate-to the Trades =and Labour Council J have differed often with Mr Eosser, and have frequently opposed him in. several-matters, but J think it only my duty-as a. Unionist-of'-over 20 yeaiK' standing to -make ptfblic some details that Mr Ttosser, in his interview And correspondence, has withheld from the public—l -can -only assume -from a desire to avoid dragging the Labour party deeper into the mire, caused by the action of a few extremists. I hope that at Wednesday's night meeting there will be a large attendance of delegates— they number over ont: ihundred—and that they, when the -minutes are Tead, will refuse to allow Mr Rosser to resign as President .He. to my mind, with all hie faults and .failings, is -the best man for the position, for if his resignation is accepted -we will pet instead a fanatic. TTie shove is a .plain, truthful .statement of Jacte. I wjite under a norn -de plnme, because not being a paid secretary, I work for an employer.—l am, etc., DISG-XJSTED UNIONIST.