THE HAWERA SCHOOL COMMITTEE ELECTION.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 526, 5 June 1909, Page 3

THE HAWERA SCHOOL COMMITTEE ELECTION.

..'. Sir,—ln your issue of Thursday you. publish a-.reply to the,press: message 'distributed; by me. .You.do not give the/name- of your ;cprYesporideiit,-' but', a,; similar telegram -was' sent to the ; "Wanganui. Chronicle signed "Father.Power}?'- I have no'-quarrel ;with. what Father-Power declares to be."the true facts of the pase:", '■' The .point at issue' between: us concerns' tho alleged-' suppression of the faot that Mr.; Dixbu withdrew hjs charge that'a Roman Oatholip.movement.was in. progress to .secure the'return of school, commit-: tees favourable to the election of Mr. O'Dea' a?_ member, of .the Education Boards Mr. Dixon certainly did write fully accepting the 'stateme.nt-that'the letters sent.but on Mr. O'Dea's behalf were,not sent,-as he had be- : Keved; solely to Roman Catholics/ But when drafting the press telegram .that 'withdrawal did riot strike me as essetitial,. for the simple reason: trjat. it did not allay : iihe sectarian struggle in .the'-' slightest degree. 'The day ■ after Mn'Dixon wrote,!and when the letter was;probably before Father Power., and tho facfe were fresh in-his memory; this is what ■Father.Power.replied:'."l regret to see that Mr. Dixon's commentary is .nothing like a straightforward, apology. .'.-..•; V.rale expresses no .'sorrow for having succeeded. in fiercely arousing that bigotry 'himself. :•.■."■ . . He rushed to raise the (lemqn of-bigotry' that he 'cannot" now so easily' lay." That', urihap,pjly,:' was the fact; for the; strife, continued i right.up. to .the n|ght' of the-election:' ; : Al- • though Mr.: Dixon acknowledjied his mistake 1 in supposing tha't Roman Catholics were'tho sole': recipients 'of the circular littery he: did !not" withdraw his allegation that a sectarian 'movement.was afoot:jn favour of Mr. O'Dea; ,it was his virtual refusal to dp so' which provoked Father Power's iett'er, extracts of which are given above. As to , the ''other ■ itom.-which .was/kept -back" (relating, to the ' fight for",the chairmanship) that. was quite apart from : the main'news item. But en that •point a.good deal, might be shid which'would place.the/matter in a,'ycry;different light to that" suggested" by 'your- correspondent.—l : ■aniVefo., ':: ."; '>• ■■■.'".-''; ." '•'.'■■:." • ■ ',-:, ;. , PRESS AGENT AT HA.WERA.. ; Hawera, -June 4. ''.'.•;•..■ . • ■■;; . :■' ■ :.. : ',^:'':;'