MR FLETCHER AND THE LABOUR PARTY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1271, 28 October 1911, Page 6

MR FLETCHER AND THE LABOUR PARTY.

WHAT MR. YOUNG HAS TO SAY. A LETTER AND SOME COMMENTS. Mr. W. T. Young, the Labour party's candidato for Wellington Central, addressed about 50 electors in tho Mission Hail, Are Street, last night. Mr. Young referred at length to, some statements attributed to Mr. Fletcher, another candidate for tho same scat. "I am the official mouthpiece in this campaign of the Labour party," said Mr. Young in opening his address. "1 regret that 1 am called upon to-night to refer to a circumstance that has arisen in connection with the election through no fault of mine, and I do so, firstly, because I believe an effort has been made to injuro tho party I am associated with, and, secondly, becauso I regard the assortiou as a reflection upon myself." Ho referred, he said, to a statement made by Mr. Fletcher, and in addition to that statement, it had come to his knowledge that Mr. Fletcher's canvassers had stated that Mr. Fletcher was tho Labour candidate. It seemed peculiar to Mr. Young that only a few years ago the word "Labour" used politically would (to use a vulgar phrase) stink in the nostrils of political candidates. There was only one Labour candidate for this electorate, and tho electors before him knew that. Ho wanted to refer to a statement made by Mr. Fletcher in the Town Hall on the Kith. Ho referred to a statement reported in the organ of the party Mr. Fletcher belonged to—the Liberal party. Mr. Young read as follows:—"I have had the uniquo honour of being asked by tho Opposition, the Government, and the Labour party to be their candidate, and I have informed the latter that ho would not sign any pledge, on the ground that if the people had not confidenco in him doiug wiiat was right, then he must remain out." That had been repeated, Mr. Young said, in The Dominion, and in the "Evening Post." And tho "Post" of Wednesday contained something further: it clearly set forth that Mr. Fletcher had been approached by the Labour party, and requested to contest this seat in the interest of that party, and that Mr. Fletcher had replied that ho would not sign the pledge of that party. On Thursday ho had written to Mr. Fletcher drawing his attention to the following from tho "Post's" report of Mr. Fletcher's Aro Street speech on October 21:—"He had bad the unique honour of being asked by tho Opposition, the Government, and the Labour party to be their candidate. Ho had informed tho latter that he would not sign any pled?o on the ground that 1. the peoplo had not confidence in his doing what was right, then he must remain out." Mr. Young's letter to Mr. Fletcher went on to ask Mr. Fletcher to "publicly produco the communication from tho Labour party asking you to be their candidate," and saying that Mr. Fletcher would be given an opportunity to produce tho correspondence in question at Mr. Young's Aro Street meeting (last night). That letter, Mr. Young said, had been placed in tho hands of Mr. Fletcher at five o'clock on Thursday evening, Mr. Fletcher had at once interviewed Mr. ioung, and had drawn his attention to what had appeared in Thursday's "Post" by way of correction, and Mr. Fletcher had explained to Mr. Young that at the meeting of the Harbour Board on Wed- "™ 3C H, hc had drawn tho attention of the Post reporter to the matter, and got Ihursday's paragraph put in as a correction.

ir f., \°, nn K then read, a letter from Mr. I'letcher in which the latter brought tho correction" under tho former's'notice. Tho "correction" ran: "What 1 did say was as follows :—

That I had had tho unique honour of having been asked by the Opposition and the Government to become a candidate, and 1 believe I would have been acceptable to the Labour party if I h;id signed their platform. This 1 could not do. I would not pledge myself to anyone, and if the people had not confidence in mo doing what was right, then I could remain out.'"

One of the audience: '*A. shuffle." ti "This letter," Mr. Young went on, "li e . s , ab50lllt « I y n ° reference to tho published report of the previous day, and therefore, is not a contradiction, but a' reiteration."

Mr. loung again read from a letter received by him from Mr. Fletcher, as follows:

... I offered to write to the newspaper named, as well as to yourself, contradicting the report as it appeared on the 25th inst. It was with some considerable astonishment, as well as regret, 1 discovered this morning that you had handed to the press for publication a copy of a private letter without notifying me of your intention, especially alter you had my assurance that the report as it had appeared was incorrect, and, further without giving mo an opportunity of sending you a reply, the course taken by you in this matter does not appeal to me to be quite fair. May 1 ask you to bo good enough lo read my reply at your meeting to-night."

The inference to bo drawn from this statement, said Mr. Young, "is that Mr. Hotelier is the Labour'candidate, and I want to say now that whilst Mr. Fletcher somewhat corrects tho statement appearing in the 'Post' of last Wednesday, it is no explicit withdrawal of the posftion. li ]■ a A e , A - ilr - Neither yesterday to contradict this matter through the medium of the paper in a letter over his own signature. He has not done so, and ho u*.s not done so in his letter to me. I earn hat this statement has arisen through ono particular incident, and that is that some member of the Labour party approached Mr. Fletcher and asked him to become their candidate. But I havo received a communication from the Labour party." Jl r . Young read Iho letter, which was as follows:

Doar Sir,—ln reply to your inquiry, L h . a l° l" miorm you that Mr. K Fletcher has never been requested bv this party to be its candidate at any election, neither has the above party received any communication from Mr I'lefchcr on any subject whatever.' Ho is not a member of the Labour party, and in that capacity is treated as being opposed to the Labour parly —I remain, yours faithfully JOSEPH W. KAY, Secretary N.Z.L.P.

And what is this great pledge?" asked Mr. loung. "One would imagine it was something monstrous-that the man who signed the pledge of surety of ms political principles was unworthv of the support ot the electors." Mr. Youn* read tuo pledge, ami, proceeding, said" Ihe proceeding adopted under this constitution in the selection of a candidato is this: firs ly, the candidate must bo a member of tho party; secondly, he must be nominated for selection by the party; thirdly, having been nominated by the party for selection, he must go to a selection ballot of all members of the party and if he secures a majority vote he becomes the candidate of the party, but if he does not tho constitution compels him to stand down and support the selected man; and before the person nominated goes to the poll he must sign the pledge "And that is the class of thing that Mr' Fletcher objects to. I stand hero tonight as the candidate of tho party for this scat—not self-selected. . . , Therefore, you will see that I go one step further than the candidate that assails that pledge. What kind of political candidate is this? 'I have been chosen (the other candidate said) by the Opposition—tho remnant of Toryism in New Zealand; I have been chosen by tho Liberals; I am favourable to the Labour party, and believo that if I belonged to them I would got their support.' What kind of political bird is this? 'The freehold Opposition want me; the leasehold Labourpajty want me—tho party who stand for the suppression of the people, and tho party who stand for nationalisation.' What kind of political principles are these? "I hope wo have heard tho last about the matter," said Mr. Young in concluding his reference to tho incident, "and I regret that circumstances have necessitated my making a personal reference to any other candidate, as'l had hoped to go through this campaign without personal reference to any other candidate." (Applause.)

LETTER FROM MR. MASSEY. Wellington, October 27, 1911. Sir,—My attention has'been directed to a statement mnrle by you in the course of political addresses delivered in the Concert Hall and repeated at Aro Street, Wellington. The statement is as follows :—

"Air. R. Fletcher, Liberal candidate for tfeq Control seat, declared that ha hid.

been invited to stand by tho Opposition, tho Government, and tho Labour party." Will you be good enough to publish in tho public press, or furnish me with any authoritative conimunieation upon tho subject which you have received from tho Opposition party? I am publishing this letter in tho papers, where I hope to see your reply. Yours faithfully, (Signed) W. I'. MASSEY, Leader of Opposition. Mr. R. Fletcher, Panama Street, Wellington.