THE NATIONAL PARTY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIX, Issue 63, 14 February 1939, Page 6

THE NATIONAL PARTY.

(To the Editor.)

Sir, —After reading the account of the National Party’s agreement with Australian financiers through the U.A.P., in the Labour Stanuard of 13-11-38, Mr Win. Thomson absolves me from all blame. How perfectly sweet of him. What a benevolent old man he must be. Or is it just a cunning method to throw dust in the eyes of your readers and discredit the official organ of the Labour movement ? He says he would “hesitate to accept all the Labour Standard says.” 1 would go further than that and say I would hesitate to accept anything any newspaper said unless it could be verified. But the position in this case is this: The paper referred to is firstly the official organ of a strong political party. It publishes a damaging statement concerning an opposing political party. Practically every member of that opposing party takes the paper and has read the “damaging statement.” The paper is oil file in the editorial offices of the daily papers which are tile official or unofficial organs of the party about which the damaging statements are/ made. In no case has any attempt been made to refute the statements. Why not? The paper which made the statement lias a Dominion circulation of 35 OCX). The papers of Sydney support the contentions of the Labour Standard. Smith's Weekly which lias the largest circulation of all the papers in Australia gives the affair prominence and publishes the “return of the missionary,” gives his name and who he is, and Air Thomson hesitates to believe all the Labour Standard says.

Now, sir, just a word in regard to the logic of Mr Thomson. He says, “On top of the page, in large ‘red letters’ it published, ‘Foreign Gold for National Party.’ ” Then he waxes eloquent on the fact that Australia is not a foreign country, etc. Quite so. But Australian “gold” is forejgn “gold” when used to interfere in New Zealand politics, just as the dust which the astute Mr Thomson tries to throw in the eyes of your readers is a foreign body when _it enters the eye even ii it is New ’ Zealand dust. But Mr Thomson, such a stickler for truth, is himself guilty of a mis-statement when he says the headlines are red. The headlines are usually red but in that particular edition they are orange. Of course Mr Thomson wouldn’t delilierately make a mis-statement. He may be as colour blind actually as he is politically.—T am, etc.. V. A. CHRISTENSEN. 101 Heretaunga Street.