A STINK BOMB.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVIII, Issue 10728, 27 October 1928, Page 5

A STINK BOMB.

LABOR’S GRAND. ELECTION CHARGE!

ABANDONMENT OF HAIRY

CONTROL

PREMIER’S CONVINCING EXPLANATION

' (Press Association.! HELENSVILLE. Oct. 26. A vigorous rebutal was made by the Prime Mjmster t<tPnighf w to w the’’ fille-* nation contained in the speech of the Leader of the Labor Party (Mr H. E. Holland), at Wellington on Thursday that there was some connection between the abandonment of absolute dairy control, an article published by Mr W. Goodfellow in the Dairy Exporter, and the loan made by the Post Office to the Radio Broadcasting 00. “This is what Mr Holland calls a charge against the Government”, the Prime Minister said. It was preceded by a hint from Mr R. McKeen, the Labor candidate for Wellington South, that a bombshell relating to Dairy Control was to be dropped and that he hoped the explosion would be enough to smash the present Gvernment. (Note the pious hope, the Prime Minister remarked as an aside.) 0 ‘ Any. “Old Digger” will remember what a stink homo was like, and this Labor bombshell is one of them”, Mr Coates said. He read the Press Association report in to-day’s Herald, quoting the whole of the paragraph devoted to that particular portion or Mr. Holland’s speercll and as soon as he read. the statement, he telegraphed Mr Goodfellow, advising him that he would deal with the subject at the earliest possible occasion, his meeting in Helensville to-night, and asking if lie cared to' make any observatons. A message of a similar nature was also sent to the secretary of the Post Office, Mr G. McNamara, who was also/asked to supply the dates on which the Broadcasting Company applied for the loan and that on which it was granted. Mr Goodfellow, said Mr Coates, had replied as follows.: —•

“The original contract provided for four oOuO watts broadcasting stations. Subsequently for State and military reasons, the Post-master-General requested the Broadcasting Company to erect one super-station at Wellington, which was agreed to, provided the Government arranged a loan to cover tins additional capital expenditure. Mr Holland’s reterence that this financial assistance was in any way associated with dairy control is without the (slightest foundation and nothing but grossly insulting political propaganda. My statement in the Dairy Exporter of May 28, 1627, blaming the Labor Party for the Board’s failure to establish the council system of election is strictly correct. The Reform Party were in no way responsible for til© failure of absolute control.”

Mr Coates said that Mr McNamara’s reply was as follows (and he asked the audience to take particular notice or theclates): —

“The Dominion report states that the Leader of. the Opposition referred to an article signed by Mr Goodfellow in 'May 1927 for the Exporter. The first application for a loan from the Broadcasting Co. is dated oth October, 1926. An agreement was completed on 16th December, 1928, but the . money was not paid over till 20th July, 1927, the company not having ordered the material from England until the loan was assured. It was not generally known that the department collects during April in each year the total amount due for licenses for twelve months and pays to the Broadcasting Co. only onetwelfth of its share per month. At the time the application was made, the Department held in trust for the company £5943, At the time, the loan was actually made the amount held was £21,234, and, at the present time, the Department is holding £24,444, so that, apart from the mortgage on the station, the Department is actually holding tho amount of money payable by monthly instalments to the company.”

“There are the whole of the facts in- connection with Mr Holland’s charges that, there has been an agreement between the Government, Mr Goodfellow, the Broadcasting ..C0... and,, the Dairy Board” said tho Prime Minister. “That wonderful bombshell has fizzled. (Applause). There has been no connivance. (Applause). This talk that the Government was responsible for smashing daily control is hot air.”, The Prune Minister said that the Government had submitted two names to the dairy boai’d and they had selected Mr S. Paterson as the Government representative in the London agency. Mr Coates also said that he found there wero serious difficulties amongst members of the board in England and Tooley Street was alarmed. All be had done was to send a cable to the board in Now Zealand, setting out the position as he saw it as head of tho Government. It was nothing less than his duty to have done so.