NOT BOARD BUSINESS

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 121, 24 May 1928, Page 12

NOT BOARD BUSINESS

MR. SEMPLE'S ALLEGATIONS | Whilo speaking of Water Board affairs at a recent meeting of the City Council, Councillor R. Semple suggested that he was uncomfortable in associating himself with a certain member, or members, of the .board in view of certain land transactions, and at the following meeting of the board Mr. P. Robertson, Mayor of Upper Hutt, asked to what member, or members, Councillor Semplo had referred, and whether"" he was- going to substantiate his charge. Councillor Semple replied that ho would bring down a written statement at tho next board meeting. Yesterday afternoon he stated, at the conclusion of the business on the order paper, that he had been unable to complete his investigations on account of the time occupied by attendance at sittings of th« Industrial Commission, but that he would bring down, the statement at the next board'meeting. Councillor H. D. Bennett said that he ■ deplored the whole thing. He could not see what- good purpose could be served by making any such statement of charges to which there might or might not be complete answers. He thought that Councillor Semple should drop it, and would go further and say tftat the board should not receive such a statement. He did not think that Councillor Semple was 'a man who wished to "plug" anyone for the sake of plugging, and he certainly could not see that - the board could deal with tho njatter. Unless the board was careful, it would have a regular hornets' nest in its midst. . / The Mayor, Mr. G. A. Troup, in the chair, said that he thought that if the matters in Councillor. Semple's mind had a bearing upon the transactions of the board or tho conduct of any member or members since the inception of the board, then he must rule that the statement was a matter of concern to the /board. If, however, the matters had nothing to do with tho members as such, then he could not allow them to be discussed. Councillor Semple had never intimated to him with what matters his statement would deal. Councillor Semple replied that he was quite easy in the matter. He certainly did not want to "plug" anyone, and he would not have referred to it at the board table had not Mr. Robertson asked the question. He had never dodgod a question in his life, and did not propose to dodge fliat one, and was therefore,prepared to mako a statement ."I want to say to you, however, that it is nothing to do with the administration of this board." Mr. Troup: "Well, if it has nothing to do with this board as a board, we cannot deal with it." Councillor Semple repeated that he was not referring to tho administration of the board. Sometimes member's became pretty warm—he was warm on the subject of milling rights. Mr. Robertson:"That is just what happened hero." If Mr. Troup ruled that he did not want introduced anything that was not connected with the conduct of the board and its members, concluded Councillor Semple, then he would be willing to drop tho matter.