CITY ELECTION PROTEST.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20862, 23 May 1933, Page 10

CITY ELECTION PROTEST.

/ - + / €R. ARCHER'S BITTER SPEECH. CITIZENS' ASSOCIATION ATTACKED. PIBLIC CHALLENGE TO MR S. «. HOLLAND. A violent denunciation of the Christchurch Citizens' Association and a challenge to the chairman of the association (Mr S. G. Holland) to issue his | allegations in such a form that j they could he tested in the Supreme Court on a writ for | libel, were made by the deputyMayor (Cr. J. K. Archer) before the Christchurch City Council last night. .In one of the bitterest speeches of his public career, Cr. Archer, who was one of the four Labour candidates into whose electoral qualifications an enquiry was sought, charged the Citizens' Association with hypocrisy and extreme political partisanship, and declared that the letter which it addressed to the council was "just an expression of hatred against the Labour party and against all those who support the Labour party." At the suggestion of the Mavor (Mr D. G. Sullivan, M.P.) the letter and all matters relating to it were referred to the By-Laws and Finance Committee for submission to the City Solicitor. Cr. Archer said the new council had so far got along well and had shown a proper spirit of co-opera-tion. He regretted, therefore, that at the close of the meeting the apple of discord had to be thrown into their midst:—not by himself, but by the Citizens' Association and some comparatively unknown man who signed himself S. G. Holland. Cr. J. W. Beanland: Do not be sarcastic. Cr. Archer: I do not know him from Adam. Cr. Beanland: That is your loss. "All Sorts of Insinuations." "My view is that this communication would not be worth discussing at all if it was being discussed in committee," continued Cr. Archer. "But of course we are in open council and the letter is now public property. In any case, the communication does not stand alone. For about a fortnight this association and this gentleman have had the free run of the newspapers and have published all sorts of insinuations damaging to the reputations of some councillors which have been distributed throughout Canterbury and throughout the whole of New Zealand. When these statements and insinuations were first made I was riot included; but during the last week my name has been added to the list. Though invited to speak by the newspapers I have refused to speak all the while and my silence has consisted equally of amusement and contempt. Except for one reason I would keep silent to-night; and that reason is that a lot of people have been thinking that I have to keep silent in respect of these serious charges which have been made against my public life." Cr. Archer said he did not believe that the senior Citizens' Association's representatives, with whom he had worked on the council for a number of years, thought that he was in his seat as the result of a subterfuge or that he would remain in it for five minutes by subterfuge. He did not believe that 5 per cent, of the supporters of the Citizens' Association or 2 per cent, of the citizens of Christchurch thought so. He was on the council because he had a legal right to be there.

"A Few Hot-headed People." "I take the view that somehow or other the association has allowed itr self to be led by a few hot-headed people in its ranks and that one of those people signs himself S. G. Holland," continued Cr. Archer. "In fact, in the last paragraph of his letter he takes the whole responsibility on himself. Obviously this Mr Holland has quite a lot of money on himself and considers that he is of sufficient importance to speak for the Citizens' Association and for the citizens of Christchurch.. "I think this communication is absolutely unique in the council's history. He says he wishes to apply to the council 'respectfully'—l suggest that 'insolently' would be a more appropriate adverb. All his words and all his base suggestions concerning me are steeped in insolence. He says he has been at some disadvantage in obtaining information; I don't know who has been seeking the information, but whoever it is he has gone so far that he has not hesitated to bring into the dispute the name of an honoured member of my church who died a few weeks ago. If they have to go so far that they have to bring the dead into it, they should shut up shop. Charge of Hypocrisy. "Mr Holland says he is only acting from a sense of public duty. I hope the council believes that. If the association is acting from a sense of public duty, then it is acting so for the first time in its history. This is mere hypocrisy. The Citizens' Association has been saturated for years with political partisanships and this letter is just an expression of their hatred against the Labour party and against those who support the Labour party. The first request here is Ho amend the roll by erasing therefrom' the names of four of tw. It doesn't ask for an enquiry except as an after-thought It has investigated the matter; that is S Hough—and so our names are to be ragged through the mud. "A Gang of Criminals." "The section about myself retninded me of Tennyson's quotation that a lie that is half a lie is the Slackest of lies," continued Cr. Iftrchen, "JThe whole thing is mis 4

representation; whether it is deliberate or not I cannot say. The facts are these. The action of my church in nominating me was taken in my absence as an expression of confidence in myself. It was a bona-fide action, without any suggestion of getting round the law. I accepted the appointment in that spirit. I asked the returning officer if it was in order. He said it was, and I went forward to the election. "I resent the insinuation that I and my church are neither more nor less than a gang of criminals, for if we have taken the action that we are alleged to have taken, we are a gang of criminals. I was in residence in Tennyson street when the main roll closed, and after the period of objection to the roll had [lapsed, and at that time I had no I thought of leaving my residence. The letter refers in inverted commas to [the word 'occupier'—the very use of the word is blind prejudice and gross ignorance. My church did not notify me of their decision. They notified the Government Department, and that depai'tment instructed the council to place me on the roll as an 'occupier,' which, I am informed, is simply a technical term under which an elector is enrolled when he represents certain property. Probably many Citizens' Association members have enrolled and voted under the same conditions. A Public Challenge. "I will publicly challenge this Mr Holland to put his assertions and insinuations, his innuendoes, read by thousands of citizens—l publicly challenge him here to put them in such a form that they can be taken into the Supreme Court under the law of libel. If he will give them in that form I undertake within 24 hours to issue a writ of libel, and I will give him the opportunity in the Supreme Court to prove his assertions and innuendoes, and the moment he does so I will resign my seat.

[ "I am here because I have a legal right to be here," Cr. Archer went on. "I am standing on my fundamental right as an elector. I was not anxious to be a councillor again. I had had enough of it. After working for the city for years, and though I say it, I think I have served it well, people who posed as my friends hold me up as law-breaker and a sneaker—that is a position no self-respecting man could tolerate. I have only stood for the council because I believed I could give some service to the public, and I object to these slanderous, these libellous, not only assertions, but insinuations that have been made against me. "I say this again—that if Mr Holland is a sport, and if he is prepared to play the game, let him put his insinuations in such a form that they can be tested in the Supreme Court of New Zealand." Mr Holland Defended. Cr. Mathison seconded Cr. Archer's motion that the letter should be received "Mr Holland merely signed the letter as chairman for the time being of the Citizens' Association—it was not taken up as a personal matter at all," said Cr. W. Hayward. "I regret that Cr. Archer has made the remarks he has made! I personally have no feeling in the matter. It should be made clear that Mr Holland merely wrote from a sense of public duty, and as chairman of the association."

Cr. T. Andrews said Mr Holland had always been a sport. He did not think the letter should come before the council in such a way. It should have some other way of determining these matters, some authority to whom it could submit them for a ruling., Mr Holland could not be blamed for bringing them forward. He had himself no ill-feeling toward the Labour party. Cr. Lyons said he was sorry Cr. Archer had taken up such an attitude. It seemed almost as if he did "protest too much." Mr Holland in writing • the letter had merely wished to know whether Mr Archer had. the right of candidature or not. "I am not myself a lawyer, but it seems to me the point whether an organisation as occupier can be substituted by an individual is one that is worth getting an opinion on," said Cr. Lyons. "There are anomalies and weaknesses in the statutes governing the right of people to vote."

Anomalies and Weaknesses. The letter raised points which the committee could consider and which certainly it would do well to refer to the Municipal Association and to the Government with a view to having the legislation made clear. The letter was really out of court at the moment, though it was perfectly open for anyone to move for an ouster. He regretted that Cr. Archer had spoken in so personally antagonistic and bitter a way. No member of the Citizens' Association had referred to the deceased member of Or. Archer's church in the manner complained of by Cr. Archer. - The questions involved in the letter were merely academic questions of law. Cr. Lyons moved as an amendment that the letter should be referred to tHe Finance Committee for submission to the City Solicitor for an opinion, the committee to make such suitable recommendations to the Government as might be necessary. This was seconded by Cr. G. T. Thurston. "It seems we are looked on by the other side as a crowd of criminals, and I invite investigation to show that we are not," said Cr. Thurston. Cr. E. H. Andrews said it was a pity councillors did not confine themselves to the terms of the letter instead of making a lot of statements that were based very largely oh hearsay. He took it that the letter had been drafted after legal advice, and he did not see that it attacked the bona fides of the councillors concerned. He knew, as well as cithers, that there were on the roll scores of names of persons who were j now dead.

"Always Anathema." "There was no necessity for Cr. Archer's unreasoning and unbalanced tirade against the Citizens' Association," he continued. "I.know, of course, that the Citizens' Association has always been anathema to him." Cr. Archer: Hear! Hear! "I thought it was very unfair to attack the councillors on this side of the table as hypocrites and so on," added Cr. Andrews. Cr. Archer: I was not referring to the councillors. . The Mayor: Cr. Archer was referring to the letter, and not to persons present here. Cr. E. H. Andrews: He talked of councillors who had posed as his friends. That is an accusation of hypocrisy. ~ The Mayor: I would remind you that the Speaker has ruled in Parliament that the word "hypocrite" is not unparliamentary. Cr. Andrews: I wonder, then, if I would be in order if I used the word I want to use to describe what I think of the things Cr. Archer has said. I think he completely lost his head, and was entirely irresponsible for the state he was in. "i do not think it \uas ©we£ in-

tended to convey the idea that the councillors concerned used subterfuge or used wrong means," Cr. Andrews added. "It is not in the letter." Cr. Archer: It is. Cr. J. S. Bavnett: What is the purpose of the whole business, then? "Body-line Bowling." Cr. H. T. J. Thacker: Don't you think it is worse than body-line bowling, Mr Mayor? The Mayor: Yes, I think these interjections are. I think it is advisable that councillors should not address remarks directly to each other. Continuing, Cr. Andrews said that to put things in order for the future it would be well to get a ruling from the city solicitor. "His ruling would make us more careful to have the rolls properly prepared in the future, and councillors would see that they all had the proper qualifications in future. They should see that they were on the roll in their proper capacities, as I have always done. It is the duty of everyone to see that he is doing the right thing." Cr. Archer in his address had used a lot of matter that had appeared in the newspapers. Cr. Thacker: Can't we vote, Mr Mayor? "What I do resent is Cr. Archer's unreasonable attitude toward an outside association and its chairman, on whom it devolves to take this action," said Cr. Andrews. "Worse than all are his remarks about councillors on this side of the table." Cr. J. W. Beanland: It might have been wiser for Mr Archer to have spoken through the newspapers and not to have kept himself bottled up all this time. At the meeting of the association at winch this was discussed it was found that one of the nominations was not quite right. It was then thought that it would be a good thing to look up the qualifications of the others. No harm was meant. I think Cr. Archer will accept that. Cr. Archer: I will accept that from you, but not from the others

An Honest Action. Cr. Beanland (continuing): I think that is unnecessary. The letter was sent here in the hope that the council would refer it to its solicitor, and put the matter right. I think the action of the association was honest, and far better than all this talk. Personally, I think the councillors concerned did not stand on these qualifications knowing that they were doing wrong. "It ought to be made plain," said the Mayor, "that with Cr. Archer this is a moral question. The strength of feeling he has shown is more [than he would show in an ordinary [division on the council. To amend | the law is a matter for Parliament, and not for the council. Whatever opinion is now in the minds of Citizens' Association councillors, it should be remembered that" the same question could have been raised in the past about the qualifications of some of their own members on the council. The matter should be looked into all round." At Mr Sullivan's suggestion, Cr. Lyons agreed to amend his motion to provide that the enquiry made by the Finance Committee and the City Solicitor should cover, apart from the particular issue, any other matters arising from the points raised in the letter.

Cr. Archer's Reply. "I do not regret, I do not withdraw, and I do not modify what I have said," said Cr. Archer in r.eply. "I spoke warmly, but everything I said was carefully prepared in the quietness of my study. Nothing except my murder would have pained me so much as this act of the Citizens' Association under Mr Holland. Recently my house" was entered by burglars, and set alight in four places, but that did not pain me at all as this has. This has pained me unspeakably, especially after my public life in the city, in which I have always practised straight-liv-ing without equivocation, and also because of my position as a clergyman. "If I have deserved this I have deserved the contempt of Christchurch," said Mr Archer, "not only as a man and a citizen, but also as a clergyman. These speeches tonight are another example of the hypocrisy of the Citizens' Association. They have tried to say that this is a general question, that hundreds of people might be similarly affected. Why then was the general question not raised?" Cr. Archer than read a newspaper statement which he maintained was equivalent to a criminal charge against him. Cr. Andrews: Did you ever hear about turning the other cheek? Cr. Archer: Don't quote the Bible at me, or I shall find a quotation to confound you. The Bible is a dangerous book to quote from unless you know it. "Ought to Apologise." "It has been suggested to-night that this is merely a friendly enquiry, and that this is a harmless letter. Yet the council is formally requested to amend the main roll and the supplementary roll by erasing therefrom these particular names. That request must mean that there is evidence to justify the erasure. "I do say that these speakers tonight, instead of criticising the resentment that I have expressed, ought to have apologised for making these charges." Cr. Thacker: They ought to join the Labour party. Cr. Archer:, They have tried to divert a smoke screen on to me, to place the blame on me. My language was fairly adequate, but not half as strong as it should have been. The amendment to refer the letter to the committee was then put and was carried.

ASSOCIATION'S LETTER. FULL ENQUIRIES ASKED. The text of the association's letter, which was signed by the chairman (Mr S. G. Holland) was as follows: "In view of the fact that Section (40 of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1920, provides that any person who is not an elector is (a) incapable of being elected a councillor, or (b) of continuing to be a councillor, this association respectfully draws attention to certain matters arising out of the recent elections, and formally requests the council to enquire into the same as required by law. "The association is at a disadvantage in obtaining information, and takes up the questions with some hesitation and only from a sense of public duty. Formal Request. "The council is formally requested under Sections 9 and 10 of the Municipal Corporations Act to amend the district electors' roll and the supplementary roll by erasing therefrom the^

following names which appear thereon as electors:— "Miss M. B. Howard. "Mr E. J. Howard, M.P. "Mr G. T. Thurston. "Mr J. K. Archer. "The application is made that in each case proper enquiries be made with reference to the status as an elector of each of the above (a) on the date of nomination as a candidate and on the date of the poll, (b) at the date of this application, and that the roll or supplementary roll be amended accordingly. The request is made in this form as the association understands that one or more of the above have purported to alter their status since the date of the election, and it has been suggested that certain apparent irregularities are now in order. Grounds for Enquiry. "The grounds for the enquiry are set out in the attached schedule, but the council will no doubt under the above Section 10 make all such further enquiries as it considers necessary to properly rule on the matter as required by statute. It is noted that the council is directed to amend the list from time to time either upon any objection being taken or of, its own motion. "This application may also be considered as being made also by the undersigned and personally as a duly enrolled elector." Individual Qualifications. i The qualifications of the four candidates individually were dealt with in the schedule:— "Miss Mabel Bowden Howard was enrolled on the supplementary roll as residing at 194 Gloucester street. Miss Howard did not have the residential qualification required by the Municipal Corporations Act, 1920. Since the date lof election it is understood that Miss Howard has entered into an agreement to lease with Mrs McCombs. It is disputed that such lease has given Miss Howard the necessary qualification. In any event the qualification was not held on election day. "Mr E. J. Howard, M.P., was enrolled as residing at 19 Travers street. It is disputed that this qualification was held. His telephone address and presumably his residence is at 71 Page's road, Wainoni, which is outside the city. It is understood that Mr Howard has since purchased property in the city. It is disputed that any alteration of the roll. consequent upon this is in order. Mr Archer and Mr Thurston. "Mr George T. Thurston was enrolled as an occupier of 194 Gloucester street in his own right. It is understood that the union of which Mr Thurston is secretary is the tenant of the premises. If so. Mr Thurston is not the occupier within Section 6 (d) of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1920. Mr Thurston lives at Cashmere, which is outside the city. "Mr J. K. Archer was enrolled as nominated by Sydenham Baptist Church Trust. It is understood that these premises are the residence owned by the authorities of the Sydenham Baptist Trust. They are actually occupied, by the Rev. E. J. Simpson. MiArcher resides at Cashmere, and if he is shown in the valuation roll as the occupier of the Sydenham property it is disputed that this is in order."