MR. HORNSBY'S LETTER

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 70, 16 December 1919, Page 10

MR. HORNSBY'S LETTER

DIFFERENT STATEMENTS COMPARED. 'By Telegraph.—Special Corrosponc'.ent. Carterton, December 15. Prime Minister's Office, Wellington, December 12, 1919. Dear Sir,—ln response to your re"nes-t lam sending you a cony'of the confidential letter written bv you to the Prime Minister on the 22nd tilt. The letter is as follows:— "Carterton'. Nov. 22, 1019. "(Confidential.) "Dear Mr. Mns-sey,— There has hapn"Ued in this district one of the most distressing and even outrageous things' it ha' ever been my lot te encounter. From house lo house, from lip to lip. a statement hn= b"en carried that mv mine we.s sul>miH"d at a meetine; of the Reform Party held 1-pre in .f-rtej-. ton. as the Reform r.andi'bite. that T "•'"! turned down with a ban". and_ th»t M'Leod was then chosen. Now. sir. e= vou nri» .perfectly well aware, no «uch thoneht or sun-gesHon »v«r eemo from vou or from me. Sir Walter Tiuchannn wns asked to come nn '-"re and if possible prevent, a con tot. That is true, but to snv that it ws«= ever con(oirplil«d that rev n<w shoe 1 -' to subieiH-il Wllv e= a R' ? orm csrnd"hilp is :> dvomlfu! '-" hatched for mv nmlnin". Yon are |b« nply nee e.i'i <-ct this viffht. and T know that I shall not : nnenl to you '" v,i„ t* ot ™ ri-rhf M-itl, Ml ™en. If Pir W"'te.- did *hif> thin" llien it v«t ,i /Wnn'-lo thin? to do. aid he must have th"t he we= doi"" wo vi-nnc 'Now. sir. T hnvo done t-W I b«lio<->d end do lwlieve what was r'tjlif-. T em l'». in-r puni--b»d for it lmt T will not M-« this sort of thin? lying dnw". nor W'vou exneet me so to do. '?*<■■ disW->] -dement and others who «=lia" tiiivi"le.«. but whom yon ~wiH. V aV- H ■•'=- unljce am 'out airainr.t me. Tin* lnet thins; is the la=t. straw, therefor- J ennoil to vnu to do i"« iii't'eo and '"'".'"• p this cnH T=pm-t.-'Voe'-s sincerely (>v.;rned> .T. T. M. TTorncbv." I Mr! 1 Massey's renly to this letter was fas j follows':"Prime Minister's Office. Wellington, "November 21, 1919. "Dear Mr. Hornsby-Replving to your letter of the 22nd instant, all that T ran sav with regard to the nueshon wlne.i you refer to me is thatif your "name wnssubmitted at a meeting of tie Reform Partv held in Carterton ns the Reform candidate and that you were turned down with a bang," I never heard of it. and do not believe that anything of the son took olace. Nothing cf the sort was suggested lw'me.—Yours sincerely (Signed) W. F. Masscy." , The facts with which this letter deals are, and have been for many weeks, common property in the Wairnrapa district. All that was in doubt mav now be examined bv comparison of the statements made nt different times by the Wnrdist candidate. When was 't that Hie submission of his name to the Reform meeting in Carterton by Sir AVolW Buchanan became known to "* r r. 80-nsby? He knew nil about it on November 22. What is suggested is (hat he knew all about it long before then. Tr has never been alleged by Mr. A. T>. At'Lec-a'. or any of his friends, that Mr Hornsby's name was submitted to the Refo-m meeting in Carterton as that: of a Reform candidate. All that has ever Iwep =nid nt any time was that Mr. Hornsby's name was submitted to the conference, nnd that the prorosal was turned down with a. bang. It was, in fact, the only question on which the meeting spent any tirn Q , and th» r.recisc finest ; on submitted wris ns to v.-he'lier it would not be wise to refrain from uoininatit"r a Reform candidate, and to n've Mr. Hornsbv a free run as e.n Independent, which he had a*- that time declared himself to be. Nnf n snnl can 1«> discovered who has ever told any other storv. Every elector knows fhat proposals nf this sort are not made by responsible people to a specially-convened meeting of. th" Reform Partv unless it is finite well un,levoteocl (lief the candidate lias no obiectinn. Moreover. ev-?ry sensible elector also knows flint without some more definite arraifemenh Hunt two consent n proposal to give a. clear P"!d to an Independent is not likelv to be accented W ft-" chief of'any i—■!-.- escort in special which never did exist in the Wairnrapa.

At his meeting at Palnierston North Mr. Masscy pointed out Hint theiv was great risk that neither the Reform I'a'ly nor the Liberals would be returned with /a working majority. In that cas-.» it was ! difficult to know what might; be tin l out- | come. He said unhesitatingly ilrnt lie would never remain in power by the help lof the extreme Labour Party. So fains ho was concerned, if that party held the balance of power after Kv: elections ho would immediately call the House together and would hand in his resignation to the Governor-General. Alll'.nu.'.yh Sir Joseph Ward had stilted that li" • would not continue in power wili'.i Hi" support of tho Labour Parly he had mil said that lie would not accept their support to turn the present Gnvernmenli out and to gel. into power. He referred lo (he statement iniyle by ,Mr. .Holland at Wcstpnrl On the cited that be would support Sir Joseph Ward lo tiuvl Hie itelorm Parly, but after that he would dictate the policy of 1 Hie'Goveninieul. This was a position which Hie Country con id not afford to tolerate. (Applaud.)--(Special corrcsoondettt.)