WAR MEMORIAL FUNDS

Greymouth Evening Star, 31 January 1923, Page 2

WAR MEMORIAL FUNDS

MR. D. TENNENT’S LETTER. RETURNED BY COMMITTEE. "I move that the letter be returned to Mr. Tennent with contempt'” exclaimed Mr. J. D. Gillies, when a further letter from Mr. D. Tennent was read at last evening’s adjourned meeting of the Grey District War Memorial Committee. The Chairman (Mr. J. D. Lynch): Thank you for your motion, Mr. Gillies! The letter from Mr. Tennent was as follows : — Dear Sirs.—l am in receipt of your resolution of the 23rd instant. Let me say at once that I neither retract nor qualify any line or word that I have written on this matter.. It has been a very unpleasant task, but in the face of the admissions 01 the Chairman of Finance of the Borough, —vide Grey “Stars” of December 15, and 18, 1922, which are confirmed by thc Mayor in his “Paternal admonitions to D. Tennent,” Part 1, vice Grey “Star” December 18, 1922, —a very necessary duty for some one, and watching and following closely with the same keen interest as thousands of other New Zealanders, the whole course of events from August 1914 to November 11, 1918, noting the splendid heroism, the enduring courage and devoted sacrifice of our men, I view as sacrilegious any attempt or 'suggestion of any attempt to interfere with any agreed upon scheme to do their memory honour, and I will op- ■. pose any such suggestion with every ounce of my strength. You will notice that my first letter states a condition . precedent to my intended action. Judging from the “Star” report of your meeting of the 23rd instant there will be no need for further action on my part, for which I will be very pleased; but establish that condition and my stated intention immediately follows. Following the/ report of your meeting I think if the Committee had read and noted all the correspondence they would have acted differently. From this statement I gladly except Air. Ashton and gratefully acknowledge his essential fairness not only in this incident, but on the whole course of his connection with the Committee. In view of the fair manner in which the Editor of the Grey “Star” summed up the posiion on the 25th, I am anxious not to add in any way to the difficulties of the Committee’s task of carrying out their duties to the. subscribers- satisfactorily, and so I would prefer not to add anything to what I have already written, more than this, that ns it is not my intention to attend your Committee meeting I would suggest that as you have the cause of all your troubles with you, that you endeavour to impress on your Chairman, the Mayor, the necessity of carefully considering how he speaks so as not to prejudice the Committee by Ins premature remarks. I would, ask you to give this letter the same publicity as the report of your meeting of the 23rd instant. If after reading this you still desire to see me, call a meeting of the subscribers and I will attend. Yours, etc., —

D. TENNENT. Mr. R. G. Caigou said it seemed to him that Mr. Tennent was placing the blame upon the Chairman of tho Committee, but the Chairman could dc>' nothing whatever without the sanction of tlie Committee as a whole. Some time ago Mr. Tenneiit made the same charge, which was then refuted by members of the Committee. If Mr. Tennent had been a gentleman he would have accepted their assur- . ance. If Mr. Tennent had any complaint against the Borough Council he should make it to that body, and not to the Committee. Mr. Caigou said he personally assured Mr. Ten- " nent at a public meeting that not one penny of the cenotaph fund, would be diverted for other purposes. Mr. Tennent had failed to substantiate his , -charges, and there was no truth at all in them'. Neither the Chairman oi the Finance Committee of the Borough Council nor tho Chairman of the AVar Memorial Committee had power to do anything without the sanction of the latter Committee. Mr. A. H. McKane said that as Air. Tennent had refused to attend the meeting, 4 and still made the objectionable remarks, he felt the same way as Mr. Caigou on the matter. They were just_as proud of their honour as Mr. Tennent was. He considered that the calling of a public meeting would be a disgrace. The best way to settle the matter wr-s to ignore it. He seconded Mr. Gillies’ motion. Mr. A. Armstrong moved as an amendment that the letter be received and that all discussion on the matter be dropped. There had been enough bickering and back-biting. The cenotaph scheme was started two years ago, but was not completed yet. There was no time for bickering. They should finish the job and then produce a statement io show the public ' their good faith. AVhen tho returned soldiers took up the cenotaph collection he did not think there was one cross word in the whole campaign. Mr. S. AVliite .seconded the amendment. He did not agree with many of the statements in Mr. Tennent’s letter, and some had moro cause, to feel hurt over the letter than others had. On the whole, he did not think any good purpose would bo served by allowing tho matter to go any further. Let it drop, and give their account to the public when their work was finished. “INSULT TO INJURY.” The Chairman said that Mr. Tennent had mentioned his name more particularly. His letter that night added insult Io injury. Mr. Tennent was given an opportunity of attending the meeting, but had not accepted the invitation. Ho had replied and stood to his previous assertions, casting a reflection on the Committee. He (Mr. Lynch) for one, was not going io stand it, and he hoped that tho Committee would not do so. Tho members of tho Committee had given their time and services to tho memorial scheme, and aspersions had been cast on the whole Committee. Ho was not going to let the matter drop. It was a public question and had been discussed throughout the district. Tho insinuations and imputations made by Mr. Tennent had got to 15e removed. Mr. Tennent had utterly failed Io substantiate bis charges, and tho speaker hoped that the motion would be carried. Not at a.ny time had the Committee discussed the matter of using cenotaph funds for any purpose other than that ter wldch they were subscribed, nor had the Borough Council discussed tlm matter. Suggestions had been madeby various people but- had never been discussed. There appeared to be some thing underlying Dlr. Tennent’s actions, of which the speaker was not aware. The letter should l>e returned to him to show what the Committee thou’’ht of lu> unjust tecucation:: Mr. McKane said that he would nut like to see the amendment car-

i-ied because Mr. Tennent alleged that the Committee was under the influence of the Chairman. That kind oi thing he resented. He had. a mind ot his own, and usually expressed his opinions. He wanted to see the matter dropped, but he resented the statements in the letter. According to Mr. Tennent, the members of the Committee had no minds of their own. Mr. Gillies pointed out that although members had personally explained the position to Mr. Tennent, he still stood to his statements. Mr. Armstrong contended that as Mr. Lynch, as Mayor, did not refute the statements Mr. H. F. Doogan was reported to have made at a Borough Council meeting regarding surplus cenotaph funds/the first letter written to the Press by Mr. Tennent was justified. The whole matter seemed to be a misunderstanding and should be dropped. Air. Caigou quoted the Chairman s statement that the Borough Council had not at any time discussed the matter. If Mr. Doogan made any statement, it was not before the Council, and therefore Mr. Lynch was not called upon to deny it. It would have been much wiser of Mr. Tennent if ho had interviewed Mr. Doogan in the first place before doing anything else. The Chairman said that he gave Mr. Tennent an assurance regarding the cenotaph funds at a public meeting, and he should have accepted it. The assurance was duly published in the Press. Mr. Tennent had cast a grave reflection on the Committee, and if he (Mr. Tennent) was an honourable man he would withdraw the statements made in his letters. He had made an error and ought to withdraw. If he did not do so he would think less of Mr. Tennent than he did previously. Air. Armstrong again advocated dropping the matter and presenting a statement to the later. The Chairman (angrily): You talk of letting the matter drop, but Air. Tennent reiterates his statement. , I have our report here! (the auditor’s). Air. Armstrong replied that he had no thought of the Chairman or r.ny member of the Committee diverting the funds. .He wanted to see the work carried on without trouble. Air. 11. T. Trouland supported the motion. If they were going to allow anyone to cast such aspersions it would retard their work more than anything else. The amendment was put and lost on the voices, and the motion was carried. R ESIG NATION iVITHDRAAVN. Tn answer to the Chairman, Air. F. H. Denton refused to withdraw his resignation as secretary.The Chairman moved that the resignation be accepted with much regret, and that Air. Denton bo accordcd a very hearty vote of thanks for his valuable services. Air. Denton had placed much time at the disposal of the Committee and felt grieved, as ibe speaker did personally. Air. E. Ashton seconded the motion. Air. AVhito moved that Denton’s actions as secretary bo endorsed and that he be requested by the Committee as a whole to withdraw his resignation. The motion was seconded by Air Caigou and carried unanimously. Air Denton, in reply, said that he appreciated the resolution. He felt very sore when he read Air Tennent’s letters, and had no option but to resign. He would be pleased to continue to act as secretary. (Applause ) Air Armstrong moved that Captain AV. C. S. Colclough also be asked to withdraw his resignation, and that the Committee express its confidence in him. Air Ashton seconded the motion and it was carriedAir Armstrong’ recommended the Committee to take no notice of such incidents in future. Public men were all subject to criticism and they should not be thin-skinned. Air Trouland : I will support that, provided it is fair criticism. The Chairman said that he would do his best to help the Committee to carj-y the cenotaph scheme through, and the discussion terminated. AUDITOR’S REPORT. Earlier in the meeting, the Chairman reported that he had asked Air J. AL Bunt to audit the books, and submit a statement. Air Bunt wrote as follows: — ‘‘At your request, I have examined the records of receipts and payments in connection with the above fund, and beg to report as follows: The cashbook shows that the total amount received from all sources is £ll4l 9s 7gd, and I have verified this amount with, the duplicates of the receipts issued by the Treasurer. The total amount disbursed is £26 13s, and the individual payments have been compared with the receipts held by the Treasurer, and the particulars agree. I assume that all payments have been authorised by the committee, and I am satsified from the accounts and receipts that the expenditure is such as might reasonably be incurred in connection with the administration of such a fund as that under your committee’s control. I attach hereto a statement of receipts and payments, which I have prepared from the records handed inc by the. Treasurer, which statement I have certified as shown on the face thereof. As will be seen from the statement, the balance on hand is £lll4 16s 7 2 d and I have verified this amount with the Post Office Saving Bank book; in addition to which I have obtained a certificate of the balance from tne Accountant of the Post Office Savings Bank, Greymouth“I understand that there arc still some accounts outstanding against the committee, and these would require to be brought into account before a statement of assets and liabilities could be prepared. This, however, is not a matter upon which I am asked to report.” STATEMENT. Receipts.—To contributions (as pet cash book), £ll3B 8s 0^1; to Post Office Savings Bank, interest added to account, £3 Is 7d ; total, £ll4l 9s 7 2 d. Payments. —By “Grey Star,” £2; by “Grey River Argus,” £2 2s 6d ; W. 11. Perkins (stationers) 4s 6d ; E. Dandy (labour at memorial site), £2 6s ; Beatty and Dando (labour preparing cenotaph site), £2O ; balance at Post Office Savings Bank (and stamp on hand 2«) £lll4 16s 7 2 d ; total, £ll4l 9s 7 2 eL— Examined and found correct.—J. DI. Bunt, A.I.A.N.Z.’, A.R.A.N.Z. The Chairman moved that the statement be received and approved. Mr Armstrong seconded the motion, with tho suggestion that the statement bo handed to the. Press. The Chairman : It will be. The motion was carried.