SEMPLE CHALLENGE

Evening Star, Issue 23354, 25 August 1939, Page 13

SEMPLE CHALLENGE

WILL RESIGN IF SQUANDERING PROVED OPPOSITION JOCULAR COAFSST TOKGUED THE THINNEST SKIHHED (F.ioa Our Parliamentary Rei>orter.) WELLINGTON, August 24. A challenge to the Leader of the Opposition to join him in placing his resignation in the hands of Mr Speaker was the culminating point of a strong protest by the Minister of Works, Mr Semple, against allegations by the Opposition that ho was a spendthrift in his Public Works policy. “If the Opposition can prove the assertions made in this House during the session,” declared Mr Semple in the House, “ that millions of pounds have been wasted on public works I am prepared to resign from public life and forfeit £IOO to the crippled children’s fund, conditionally that the Leader of the Opposition, if he fails to prove the charges he and his party have made against me and my department, shall do likewise.” The trial suggested by the Minister was one eoridilcted by a properly constituted tribunal of engineers and accountants. He was prepared to prove that there had been a saving of tens of thousands of pounds under his administration, that the service had been given in some cases in one-third of the time, and that scores of lives had been saved on Public Works constructional jobs and on the highways. “On the other hand,” added the Minister, “ 1 am also prepared to prove that during the past administration of Public Works millions of pounds of public money were squandered and lives needlessly lost.” Mr Semple described the process of preparing tho Public Works . Estimates, pointing out that members had the opportunity of seeing them to make representations; that ho called the district engineers to Wellington to overhaul the items. Any member was entitled to go to him and say where money was being wasted, but bo had not had a single representation of that sort. “ But they have asked for thousands of other votes that the public purse could not stand,” said the Minister. “I make that challenge in all sincerity, and I make it right now.” Mr Poison (National. Stratford): Pistols for two and coifco for one. (Laughter.) Mr Semple protested that, when ho had got the best service for the money voted by Parliament it was unfair to accuse film of dipping bis fingers into the public purse, to call him spendthrift and squanderer. “ Why,” he added, “ one member descended to the depth of calling me Public Enemy No. 1, regarding me as something worse than a murderer and a ravager of children.”

Mr Broadfoot (National, Waitomo): Don’t spoil a good speech.Mr Semple: My challenge is there and I will suffer the consequences. The Leader of the Opposition was temiiwrarily absent from the House, and therefore his attitude towards the challenge could not be indicated. However, the Opposition speaker who followed, Mr dull. (Waipawa), treated it jocularly. “1 don’t suppose,” ho said, “there has .ever been a Government the members of which have been so thin-skinned against criticism as the members opposite. It is an extraordinary thing how often one sees that people with the, coarsest tongues have the thinnest sinus. I would commend to the Minister of Works that he should moderate his language.”