THE STORM WITHOUT.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 249, 20 October 1922, Page 6

THE STORM WITHOUT.

i. ELECTION STATEMENTS. BROUGHT BEFORJ-: PARLIAMENT. ) XO "VOTES FOR VICTOR?." j I (By Telegraph.---rarllamentary Reporter.) '" WELLINGTON", Thursday. Glimpses of electioneering contests II going on while Parliament is at work ( were provided in the House to-day, c when candidates' statements were su'be mitted to Ministers for their opinion. , c Mr. Masters (Stratford) raised a pro(1 testing chorus when he a»ked the Minic ster of Public Works if it was the ~ policy of tbc Government to penaliee j> districts in the matter of public works ] grants if they were not represented by c members ot the right colour. He ~ hastened to assure the interrupters „ that Ive was not complaining on his own ,1 account, but had quite another object ,; in putting (lie question. He had bee:i t ] treated most fairly and reasonably in ~ all grants for his district, but. the Reform candidate for his electorate \\nA. n stated in a spweh in Stratford that had lie been returned last election lie knew, |t and could state authoritatively, that the v f ftratford Main Trunk line would not t have been stopped at Tahorn. II i Ir - >X or Broun (who has been on thn [Reform benchce for two days): I cannot :"neiir; read it again. j Mr Masters: If you had been over iJierc vol.' would have heaird it better. llxilld laughter.) The Minister, of Works replied that he ! had listened to the telejrram read by "Mr. Ma-ters, nnd all lie could say was tliat it «as news to him. The Government hjul scrupuloiifily endeavoured to allocate public money" without fear or - J favour, keeping the country as a ■ 'whole in view and not any political i party or candidate, and from what he 1 know of the Reform candidate for Stratford, the suggestion r-oerned quite I foreign to him. The question was quite ■ legitimate. ri,,l he was ? la4 it had been , r">t, beoail?fl it was often sai-1 that because a man wae of a certain political . 'colour h<? would pet the plums. "If , there was any reason for that said ; in the past I cannot say," continued the Minister, amid laughter, "but so far , as I personally am concerned, and from ,my knowledge of my colleagues, th ; e is the tbinp- ye have absolutely endeaj votired to avoid. ■ j A CRITICS TRIBITE. j Another testimony to th e fairness of the allocations came from the Leader of the Labour party (Mr. H. E. Holland |. who pi.t a question on the same line s to the Minister of vVorke. He said that Government supporters in his I district were declaring that the Govern,mont would not spend money in Buller J while it ivus represented by the speaker. ,"1 know this is untrue, and is generally I untrue; , added •Mγ. Holiand, who askeil hf the Government wou.d grant him a ■return he had moved for to show the, ■ amount of public money voted for earh' I e.ectoral <lietr:ct in Xe w Zealand. Tnicj would pro\ ide a complete answer to the . Government's o«n misguided supporters. ' . Mr. Masftey remarked he was Jjlad to hoar the tnembor for Btillcr cay he had ,no complaints. Mr. Holland: I am not satisfied, bi.t 1 • say the allocation has been fair. | The Premier, continuing, said the return asked for would take months to compi!<-. Hie most important objection he had to it was that some parts of New Zealand were well provided with roads a,ml bridgee, ac they hud been settled for many years, while others required roads, bridyos, telephones, ana even schools, and the comparison would not/ be fair. | ——• j