COLERIDGE CONTROL

Evening Star, Issue 20635, 7 November 1930, Page 2

COLERIDGE CONTROL

" CHRISTCHURCH COULD HAVE IT” ALLEGED MINISTERIAL STATEMENT DENIAL BY MR TAVERNER [SracuL xo thb ‘ Star.’] WELLINGTON, November G. The Minister of Public Works (Mr Taverner) has been the victim of a remarkable piece of misrepresentation which has created the impression that he made a public statement of his willingness to hand oyer the Lake Coleridge hydro-electric undertaking to Christchurch city. He has never, by inference or direct statement, made any such suggestion, and in an interview with your correspondent took very strong exception to certain matter recently published in Timaru. The Minister explained that during a debate in the House towards the end of the session, when the member for Timaru quoted alarming statements regarding the foundation of the Waitakj dam, and offered to communicate the source of his information privately to the Minister, he undertook to interview this authority when he next passed through Timaru. Consequently, on November 3, he was met .at Timaru station by Mr Herbert Hall, the authority quoted by Mr Carr (member for Timaru), and by Mr 0. E. Kerr, a member of the South Canterbury Power Board. During the course of this interview,” continued Mr Taverner. “Mr Hall handed me a sealed envelope suggesting that I could read its contents at my leisure. I did not have the opportunity of opening this letter for some hours. Then I discovered, to my surprise, that it contained this inac-’ curate statement: ‘ Your remarks as reported in the Press during the recent session of Parliament were that the. Government no longer desired to be the sole supplier of hydro-electric Sower in New Zealand, and that the bvernment was prepared to hand over to the city of Christchurch the Lake Coleridge power station and plant.’” A PROMPT DENIAL. The Minister said ho lost no time in correcting Mr Hall’s misstatement, for on the following day, November 4, he despatched to Mr Hall the following' letter;—“Dear Mr Hall—l was extremely surprised on reading your let-, ter after you left me yesterday that you should quote a report which you state appeared in tho Press during the recent session of Parliament that the Government no , longer desired to be the sole supplier of hydro power in New Zealand, and that the Government was prepared to hand over to the city of Christchurch the Lake Coleridge power station and plant.” “ I desire to reply briefly to the effect that I have never made the statement referred to, nor any other statement out of which such an inference could be taken. I did not see the Press notice which you quote, and if I had I would have taken ah early opportunity of refuting the same. You will therefore see that your fears are quite groundless, and I trust you and your friends will dismiss the matter from your minds,” EXTRAORDINARY PROCEDURE. Subsequently the Minister found that the contents of the letter handed him at Timaru by Mr Hall bad been communicated, immediately to the Timaru newspaper before he could make a reply, and that at the same, time, a Christchurch newspaper was informed by telephone that publication would he taking place. “This is a most un-heard-of thing,” declared Mr Taverner, “and under such conditions I must decline to further discuss any aspect of tho Waitaki or other hydroelectric power supply with Mr Hall., I am quite at a loss to understand what prompted such extraordinary procedure in publishing, without referring the matter to me, a statement which I never made, and in regard to which I had no knowledge that it was attributed to me. It is necessary under the circumstances to state most explicitly that I have never suggested handing the Coleridge scheme over to Christchurch city. Such a thing has never been contemplated, let alone discussed or announced in the Press.”