Missing letter still a mystery

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33680, 1 November 1974, Page 3

Missing letter still a mystery

Lieutenant-Colonel A. C. R. Elderton has apologised under duress to the Post Office for publicly suggesting that its integrity was being undermined from within.

Colonel Elderton earlier this week claimed that a Post Office employee was responsible for intercepting a letter he had written to the Christchurch Rugby Club and diverting it to the Canterbun.' University student news-i paper, “Canta.” Publication of the letter ini “Canta” prompted a police i raid on the newspaper’s! office after Colonel Elderton, comnlained. His remarks about thel Post Office also prompted a! thorough inouiry at the! Chief Post Office as to the fate of the letter.

Post Office officials confronted Colonel Elderton with evidence that he himself had been responsible for the letter’s going astray in the first place. FIRST STATEMENT Last Wednesday Colonel Elderton promised the Post

Office that he would make a (statement to the newspapers (withdrawing his remarks (about the integrity of the I department. The statement read:— 1 “An explanation for one of the two missing letters lost ■has now been obtained. i “The Post Office is completely exonerated. It is not (in the public interest as yet to give details as to how it (fell into the hands of ‘Canta.’ “The second letter is still (missing and investigations are proceeding.” 1 “The Press” had to get in

touch with Colonel Elderton to elicit his statement. A reporter then referred it to the Chief Postmaster (Mr M. T. Reedy), who suggested that Colonel Elderton, after Mr Reedy had spoken to him, might like to expand the statement a little more.

Yesterday “The Press” again approached Colonel Elderton, who issued a new statement, which said:— SECOND STATEMENT

“With reference to my statement to you and the letter which was addressed to the Christchurch Rugby Football Club and which vras published in the student newspaper ‘Canta.’ “The evidence at the time all pointed towards the fact that a Post Office employee had been concerned. “As a result of further evidence which has come from a completely unexpected

source the Post Office has been found to be completely exonerated and tjiat no Post Office employee was concerned.

“There is therefore no question of the integrity of the Post Office having been undermined.”

Colonel Elderton rang “The Press” a little later and said he wanted to add, at the suggestion of another reporter, at another newspaper, the words "and any such suggestion is regretted.” Mr Reedy said the Post Office was satisfied with that statement.

Mr Reedy and Colonel Elderton both know how the letter fell into the hands of “Canta.” Colonel Elderton’s explanation in part is that he wrote the letter which gave his address as P.O. Box 7070, Sydenham. He did not have that box any more.

The new hirer of the box, when they received the letter, sent it back to the Post Office which, in turn, sent it on to the returned letter branch in Wellington. There it was opened to find out who had written it. It was sent back to P.O. Box 7070.

Nobody is willing to disclose what became of the letter after that. Colonel Elderton asked “The Press” not to pursue its inquiries any further because the police might have difficulty doing their duty. P.O. Box 7070 Sydenham is hired by a toolmaking firm which could not be located yesterday. Colonel Elderton has refused to sav, even though the Post Office has told him, how the letter went from P.O. Box 7070, Sydenham, to “Canta.” _.