THE WEITZEL CASE

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 303, 16 September 1921, Page 6

THE WEITZEL CASE

ATTITUDE OF , THE MINISTER WILL NOT SIT ON COLLEGE COMMITTEE ‘ SPIRITED REPLY TO THE COUNCIL The case of Miss H. Weitzel, the Victoria College graduate who was fined by a Wellington Magistrate for circulating revolutionary literature on behalf of the communists’ organisation, is still attracting attention, The Director of Education wrote to the Victoria College Council requesting that inquiry should be made into some aspects of the case. The c®un- z oil decided on Wednesday night to set up a committee consisting of thp chairman oWthe council and the official visitor Io the college to conduct the inquiry. ' The official visitor Is the Minister of Education, who stated yesterday that he- was n°t prepared to act in the Capacity suggested by the council.

The proposal of the council was brought under the notice of tho Minister of Education (Hon. C. J. Parr) yesterday by a reporter. The Minister indicated that he did not intend toact on the committee. “If I acted as a member of a mere committee of the college council, I would be placing myself in an anoinalous position, since I would have to sub? mit my report to the council fdr criticism, approval,-or rejection. Then in the end the report woujd have to come to me as Minister of Education. The college council is proposing that as official visitor I should report upon the questions raised ,by the Director of Education, and that subsequently I should report to myself, as Minister of Education. That weiuld ■ create a pooh-bah role which I have no desire to assume “I quite approve of the desire of thp council that some independent person should make /the inquiry. But-, the council manifestly has gone the wrong way about securing this object: I propose to talk the matter over \vith the chairman of the college council, and I may be able to undertake an inquiry myself, without assistance from anyone. ’ Another resolution .adopted by the college council bp Wednesday night was as follows:— \

That this council regrets that the <Efinistcr of Education, prior to holding tho inquiry asked for,, has thought/proper to make a public /statement through the Press which has been very prejudicial to the reputation of the college. ’ f Commenting on this resolution, tho Minister said that no reasonable person who took the trouble to read tyis stateniont would agree with the council. I simply told the public about the Weitzel case, which had already been reported in the newspapers,” said the Minister. "I stated the fact that seventeen girl students in a body attended the court, and that I had ordered, an inquiry to ascertain the reason why they did so, and also whether or not the influences represented by Miss. Weitzel had got into*-'the University or the Training College. This appears to be my toffeflee in the eyes of the . college council. ® , “But''surely the fact that a student of the University, recently graduated, had been a prominent agent in distributing revolutionary literature, and had been convicted in the Police Court of the offence, was sufficient to justify my anxiety, and warrant my telling the public that an inquiry would, be held. Anything that I said, to < the Press was true in fact, or was restrained comment on the 1 facts. I cannot agree with tho council that it was-an occasion .for secrecy. The public .ought to know all that flier e z is to know. “I was careful not to condemn the seventeen students of the college beforehand,- as anyone reading my remarks will see. The plain fact is that these ladies did attend the court in a body, arid thev did sO out of personal sympathy for Miss Weitzel. The Education 'Board’s report finds this to be the case. lam glad taht although they sympathised with Miss Weitzel they repudiated her opinions. They certainly placed themselves in a somewhat equivocal position, and I am glad they cleared themselves from suspicion. I shall ask the college .council that instead of mak- z ing a general unfavourable reference to my statement*, they will be good enough to' state, specifically the particular portions of my remarks which they think unfounded ox- unfair. The last thing which I wish to do is to hurt the college, but when such a case as this arises I feel it my duty to get to the bottom of things and to let the public know what 'steps are being taken.”