ABSENCE FROM RECEPTION

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23985, 28 June 1943, Page 4

ABSENCE FROM RECEPTION

FURTHER STATEMENT By CHIEF JUSTICE (P.A.) WELLINGTON, June 26. The Chief Justice (the Rt. Hon. Sir .Michael Myers), in a letter to the "Evening Post,” replies to the remarks of the Mayor (Mr T. C. A. Hislop) concerning the invitation for Tuesday’s civic reception to Lieutenant-General Sir Bernard Freyberg. He states that, after a conversation between his associate and the Town Clerk, he himself telephoned the latter, who said that the Mayor’s instructions were that seats were not to be reserved. The Town Clerk volunteered to see the Mayor again, and 10 or 15 minutes later telephoned to say {hat the Mayor would consider the request. Sir Michael adds: "I said that that message merely added to the insult, and that the matter could not rest there. He said: T am sorry, but I am only obeying orders.' He suggested that I speak to the Mayor myself, and I answered: ‘Certainly not.’ “It ia correct that the invitation was delivered at my chambers about 9.15 on Tu'esday morning, but without a word of explanation. I desired, if I could, to avoid possible embarrassment to others, and -it occurred to me that that might be overcome if the Mayor, even at that late stage, was prepared to withdraw gracefullly. I therefore telephoned the Town Clerk and told him I had received the invitation and could not attend the reception, and that I proposed taking a .certain course of action which, however, could be avoided by the Mayor at once sending me (but not for publication) an expression of regret for his insults of the previous day.” Sir Michael adds that had an expression of regret been made, it would have ended the matter, but nothing was heard from the Mayor. At no stage during the conversations had there been any mention of a difficulty in regard to seating or otherwise.

MAYOR’S REPLY From Our Parliamentary Reporter WELLINGTON, June 27. A further letter to the editor of the “Evening Post’’ from the Mayor of Wellington (Mr T. C. A. Hislop) was published yesterday. It reads: “The Chief Justice omits to say that his secretary was definitely informed by the Town Clerk that he was not to assume that no invitation would be sent, but that it was held up in the meantime. This is the crux of the whole situation and has been overlooked by the Chief Justice. “The reason for this temporary holding back of the invitation was simply to enable consideration of the arrangement of the platform seating to be completed. As I stated in my previous letter, we had to endeavour to find room for 66 persons on a platform that accommodated normally only 55. The puisne judges were invited to the auditorium only, but it was a condition that the Chief Justice should be seated in a prominent position on the platform.”