MONDAY, JUNE 28, 1909. POLITICAL MISREPRESENTATION. The Advocate.

Bush Advocate, Volume XXI, Issue 304, 28 June 1909, Page 4

MONDAY, JUNE 28, 1909. POLITICAL MISREPRESENTATION.

The Advocate.

[PUBLISHED DAILY.] OLDEST ESTABLISHED PAPER AND GUARANTEED LARGEST CIRCULATION IN TEE DISTBIOT.

Ministers have had reason to complain on many occasions of the misrepresentation shown by leaders of the Opposition ■■■when criticising the administration of the Government. It is a poor- cause indeed that has to be bolstered up by exaggeration, and when to this is added deliberately misleading statements the position becomes much worse. The leader of the Opposition does not allow a trifle to weigh Avith him when lie thinks he can score- a point against the Ministry. But as Mr Massey is not a particularly skilful , politician, lie is not so careful in making sure of his groundmark as one might expect in a man who aspires to be a leader of a party. A flagrant in T stance of Mr Massey's political uns scrupulousness has just been exposed. Daring- the recent sitting of Parliament Mr Massey, in one of his set speeches commenting on the sins and omissions of the Government, and in this particular instance on their extravagance, quoted from the Eketalmiia Express a statement made by the chairman of the- Ekctahmia County Council, "that it- was time a. protest was made against the expenditure of the Roads Department on unnecessary thoroughfares in the district. Roads were being constructed which wero not asked for or needed, and the upkeep of which would be a burden on the local authorities." "We may say at once that this statement involved a very serious charge against the administration of the Government, and one that was eminently calculated to shake the confidence of the. public. Mr Hogg, M.P., however, at once replied to the accusation, but it has remained for the chairman of the Eke^tahuna County Council to place the matter in its true light, although in doing so Mr Moss convicts Mr Massey of a, deliberate distortion of Jho original statement. In a lettor to the Domiaiion, Mr Moss 3 after

quoting the extract from the- Express referred to above, proceeds: "Mr Massey sisked, was there another district in the dominion whore the chairman of a local body found it necessary to protest against further expenditure of public money on roads and bridges? This latter question is misleading, as your readers will see, when compared with the newspaper report given in the first portion of this letter. Mr Massey omitted the word 'unnecessary' before roads, and added the word 'bridges,' of which no mention was made, and thus altered the ~ meaning very considerably." The writer then goes on to remark: "The protest was made, not against the further expenditure of public money in this district on roads and bridges, but against expending money 011 particular roads which the . council considered not necessary. At this par- - ticular time we. could not get assistance for other roads that were urgently needed to give settlers access to their sections in the back-blocks. . Mr Hogg was interviewed, and the road that was situated within our county has not been proceeded* with. The remarks made by Mr Massey, I have 110 doubt, were made when he was endeavoring to get a thrust at a political opj>oneirfc, but they are, nevertheless, an injustice to a district settled chiefly by small dairy and sheep-farmers, and many of them ; will be greatly, surprised that one who is championing the interests of the small farmer should make such a misleading statement." The thanks of the public are due to the chairman of the Eketahuna County for having so effectively .exposed this instance of Mr Massey's unscrupulous methods. It is perhaps not one whit worse than many . other statements made by Mr Massey when attacking the Government, but it is a clear exemplification of the fact that all Mr Massey's public statements cannot be accepted at their face value.