AN UNFORTUNATE INCIDENT

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 302, 15 September 1921, Page 6

AN UNFORTUNATE INCIDENT

UNFOUNDED CHARGE AGAINST THE SPRINGBOKS DISCREDITED CABLE TO SOUTH AFRICA An unfortunate incident has arisen out of the Springboks’ recent match, against the Native team at Napier, which has had the effect of perpetrating a. grave injustice against the South Africans. Briefly, a statement has been going the rounds of certain newspapers alleging that immediately after the conclusion of the ■ game one of the Springboks dispatched a cablegram to South Africa, casting reflections on the Maori football- , ers. The text Of the message in question was quoted in full, and it was generally of a disturbing character. Yesterday, a Dominion reporter interviewed Mr. Bennett, manager of the South Africans, and obtained from him a complete repudiation of the cablegram, which he said was written and dispatched without the knowledge of any member of his team or the officials connected with it. The author of tlfb message was, he said, a, newspaper correspondent, who had since expressed his regret to the team for his action, and explained that it was written in the heat of the moment; also that he had deeply regretted his action only a short time after he had placed the message on the'wires. “The Springboks to a man,” Mr. Bennett continued, '‘are entirely blameless in the matter, and it conveys an alto--gether false impression of the match. The whole of my team and the officials are very much hurt, because the Maoris have been particularly 'hospitable towards us. ] They were certainly not guilty of any dirty play, and we have certaiply not been n party to hurting their feelings in any way. On behalf of the whole of my associates I wish to give the report an absolutely unqualified denial.” ■ >

Mr. Bennett went on to. state that according to cabled advices ‘he had received that day, it would appear that the South African papers had refrained from publishing the message. Incidentally he remarked that it was a matter for deep regret that a section of the Press of New Zealand had published*a report of such a misleading character, and stated that the mischief' would have never been done but for a cable leakage. This leakage was, however, being made the subject of investigation by the Government, as clearly, on the face of it, it was a serious thing to make public what was a private message. Mr. Bennett’s- denial was endorsed by Mr. G. Slade; chairman of the Management Committee of the New Zealand Union, 'who told a Dominion representative that the Springboks had had nothing whatever to do with the sending of the cablegram. *•