CIVIL SERVANTS

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 143, 14 December 1933, Page 8

CIVIL SERVANTS

RIGHT OF CRITICISM

POLITICAL MEETINGS

No reply was forthcoming from the Prime Minister (the Bt. Hon. G. W. Forbes) in the House of Bepresentatives last night when a charge was made by Mr. P. Fraser (Labour, Wellington Central) that because a youth in the Public Service asked a question of tho Minister of Finance (the Bt. Hon. J. G. Coates) at a Lyttelton by-election meeting, a departmental inquiry into his actions had been ordered by tho Public Service Commissioner (Mr. Paul Verschaffeli). Mr. Fraser, in formulating his charge, said he "wanted to know if a check wag to be put on young lads going to meetings and asking questions. Ho would also like to know if any action had been taken against the Commissioner of Taxes (Mr. E. J. Dowland) when he had said, at a public meeting, at Christchureh, unflattering things about Parliament. Mr. D. G. Sullivan (Labour, Avon): He has tendered a written apology. Mr. Fraser explained that he was not arguing as to whether the Commissioner of Taxes had the right to criticise members of Parliament in the way he had, but what he did want to know was whether there was one law for a person in his position and another for boys in the Public Trust Office or in some other Department., Was it to be a case that where there was a by-election in which the Government had. been defeated youths who asked questions should be hounded downt Mr. J. A. Lee (Labour, Grey Lynn) asked if he was to understand that the Public Service Commissioner was to take action against opponents of the Government. Was an officer to be allowed to extolI', the Government, and, byinference, "condemn the Opposition, but not be allowed to act the other wayt He knew that was how the Government interpreted the term "political liberty." The Russian Cheka was not in it with the Government. He knew that the Public Service Commissioner was something of a law to himself. . Mr. Sullivan explained that when examined before a Parliamentary Committee the Commissioner of Taxes had tendered a verbal apology and later had written expressing his regrets. Mr. W. J. Jordan (Labour, Manukan): How did he account for the ■peech? Mr. Sullivan: It was at a smoke concert. :