CANDIDATE EXPLAINS

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 306, 21 September 1943, Page 6

CANDIDATE EXPLAINS

Mr. Robertson And Funds Of Broadcasting Service Dominion Special Service.

AIASTERTON. September 20. Seven hundred people, the largest gathering here of the present campaign, assembled in tlie State Theatre to hear the Labour candidate for Masterton, Air. J. Robertson. Among the issues contributing to the keen atmosphere was an alleged statement nt his Alfredton meeting oy Air. Robertson, in reply to a question by Air. J. L. Heckler, that he would retire from the contest if it could be proved that there was a surplus of £l,ouv,uuu in the broadcasting account. The mayor, Air. T. Jordan, who pretaded, said that one side of the case had already received publicity, and he proposed to ask Air. Robertson to reply and let the matter rest at that. A voice: What about question time.' Mr. Jordan suggested that the audience would be satisfied with his course; if not, they had their remedy. The question had not been nut in the form stated tn the letter to the Press, and lie doubted R Mr. Heckler had actually written the letter, said Mr. Robertson. Mr. Heckler: Certainly I did. So many questions had been fired that Mr. Heckler had become contused, sain Air. Robertson. The question regarding the broadcasting account, as he heard it, was: Why was there so much money lying idle in the account—nearly £1,000,000? His reply had been that there was no such sum: that it was les_s than £lOO,OOO and probably nearer FoO.OOO. Mr. Robertson explained that the big expansion programme had been suspended because of the war. but the money required was being lield in a fund, and it was not lying idle. There were Opposition members on the Public Accounts Committee, and they had never suggested that the money was lying idle. An examination of the Broadcasting Account would show that the cash lying to the credit of the account was £55,000.

“Consequently,” he said. "my state moot about the amount of cash to the credit of the broadcasting account was subslnilliallv correct.” (Applause.) Among the many questions asked by Mr. Heckler was why had the Govern ment not taken over Hie banks as it had promised in its 1935 manifesto. Mr. Robertson said lie had denied that sueh a statement had ever appeared in the .1935 manifesto, and it was during that denial that he had indicated his preparedness to withdraw from the contest if Mr. Heckler could find it in the manifesto. Subsequently. said Mr. Robertson, 14 residents of Alfredton who had attended the meeting had signed a statement that Mr. Heckler’s letter to the Press was an incorrect interpretation of what had hap pened. There were 31 people at the meeting: lwo were non-voters. two more were a candidate and a friend, three more were Mr. Heckler and his two sons. Out of the remainder. 14 bad agreed that Mr. Heckler was’wrong. Applause greeted a request by the mayor that as both sides of the incident had been explained it should be dropped. The candidate spoke for two hours and was given an attentive hearing. He replied to numerous questions. A vote of thanks and confidence was carried by ac ekimation.