CRITICISM ANSWERED

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXI, Issue 141, 16 May 1941, Page 4

CRITICISM ANSWERED

MR TENNENT'S REPLY.

; MAYOR'S STATEMENTS. ; In the course of his address at the ; | Opera House, last evening, Mr W. B. •Tennent replied to criticism levelled s against him by the Mayor. Tho candidate also attached Mr Mansford on | Ins method of conducting the camipaign, charging the Mayor with using .two weapons, namely, personal abuse j and misrepresentation; and secondly, i terrorist propaganda. j Although Mr Mansford's charge I against Mr J. A. Grant had been | amply refuted, he was not big enough | minded to admit his mistake, Mr Tennent said. Regarding tho, charges made by the .Mayor against the speaker. these had been completely answered on .Monday night; tho attempt to belittle the speaker being moan and contemptible. I Kurthor, they had been shown to be incorrect and the attack was unworthy of a man who was Mayor. Nevertheless, Mr Mansford was not big enough minded to acknowledge and apologise for such a misrepresentai tion. ! Mr Tennent then dealt with what he termed the Mansford propaganda j machine. With just Mr Mansford and 1 himself in tho picture, it would have j been a very interesting campaign. Ho • I felt quite confident that with the sup- ■ port assured him, oven though it i would have been a very close run, he would have won. However, at tho last minute a third man appeared over the - horizon, Mr Murphy. Immediately I the Mansford propaganda machine ! was set to work. It was a very clever I piece of machinery working full bore ( pouring out propaganda. "Wo can't have a man welcoming the Governor ; i in a soft collar! That would he drendj ful! We can't have a Labour Mayor j as tho rates'would soar! Wo would be ruined! The city finances and all 1 I would go! Such was the propaganda 1 put out and it never ceased," said the I speaker. One would think that this 'young gentleman was a boast with j four horns, to hoar some of tho talk. ! That was one side, but what was Mr | .Mansford's public attitude? Mr Mur- ] • phy could be an angel sent from heaven as he never mentioned his name. Mr Mansford could hit out. as he said, ( but lie could also lie low. Why? When there were just two in the picture Mr Mansford was sure he was getting tho < major portion of the Labour vote, but with Mr Murphy's entrance so many ' votes were taken from him that he (hen dropped back to a bad second. . Mr Mansford was not mentioning Mr Murphy because he did not want to antagonise Labour. "They were cry- •[ ing we don't want Mr Murphy, Rut are they at heart really worrying J about Mr Murphy?" Mr Tennent asked. "They know' that Mr Murphy is probably the least knov. n Labour man I who has stood for such an office. They know that even if he got in he could not do any harm with a non-Labour ' Council. Then why all tho propaganda?" The speaker's opinion was c that the man they were afraid of was Blair Tennent. They were trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the \ electors. They wore trying to raise the bogey cry in order to deflect votes not from Mr Murphy but from that very solid body of support which was be- [ hind the speaker. It was very clever and. subtle, but he was sure the people would see through it. That solid body of support would remain firmly behind him and put •him at the top S of the poll on Saturday. OPERA HOUSE INCIDENT. Mr Tennent next referred to an incident which happened during a complimentary function to troops in the | g Opera House on Tuesday night when Mr K. A. Henderson, president of the Chamber of Commerce spoke. Ho made reference to the small payment those boys received for the job they were doing. He advocated support for j the National Savings Campaign—all ' c very fine sentiments with which we all % agree, said Mr Tennent. d Then he said : Now. coming to the £ city affairs- ami turning to mo with tho usual palaver about my good friend Mr Blair whom ho respects and admires—tho affairs of tho city have been very well managed during tho past ton years and I know (turning to the audience) that you ladies and gentlemen, will see that Mr Mansford is re-elected on Saturday and that he ' is still Mayor when these hoys come j " back. Did Mr Mansford rise and ! s apologise for such a blunder? Not a word.'"l realise it was a very difficult !!\ situation for him." added Mr Ton- 1 nent. "I think I have never heard s anything in such bad taste, and 1 I* don't think any action has been so C repugnant to the people who heard it. Not a hand was raised in applause. j c Instead the audience gasped. It has ',g shown quite clearly to what lengths j .j.] Mr Mansford's supporters will go to ].. try. in a death grasp as it were, to | ' catch votes. This action along with Mr , Mansford's dastardly attack on Mri, Grant and his attack on mo on j'* grounds not one of which he can sub- ! stantiate 1 am sure have sickened the hearts of tho people of this city ° and they will not lorget it on Satur- i t day at tho poll." *• Mr Tennent next directed attention j ' to the citizens' ticket which was ad-1 r vertiscd in the Press and asked if | anyone knew who the author of it Ii ; was. Mr Hodgens disclaimed all know-: J ledge of it; Mr E. H. Smith did like- I ° wise; also retiring councillors seeking re-election. Who then was responsible! for it? "I can definitely assure you c that neither I nor my committee i : were," said Mr Tennent. "I'll wager j! 1 anything it wa6 not the Labour Party, J 1 but I'll say without any qualification ?' it was the Mansford propaganda ma- ' : china,. Some of his prominent support- J ' ers have so far lost their sense of n proportion that they will take unto j " themselves the right of publishing the | - names of men on. a list which they j " choose to call the citizens' ticket with- j JJ out having the decency to first ask £ them will they allow it." The pointed out that the timing of pro- j paganda was as important as tho pro- i a paganda itself, and in this case it j 1 had been badly timed. The ticket had ; t been published 3(3 hours too soon. The I jmen whose names wore on the ticket j a had been able to burst the balloon and j » so nullify its effect. %

POLITICAL INTENTIONS

The next point touched upon by the candidate was Mr Mansford's political intentions. The Mayor's cry was no change while the war was on. He would persuade the people that tin' city could be 6aved only by re-electing him. but if he were elected to Parliament in five months, on hi.s own admission he would drop all these important city affairs which only "he could save. That was truly an amazing loss of all sense of proportion. "Don't be misled by panic propaganda;" urged Mr Tennent. "It is not directed against Mr Murphy, but against Te.nnent who is the man they are afraid of." On Saturday it was not Mansford, Murphy, and Tennent on trial. It was the electors. The voters he put to the test of being able to show that they viewed this matter in a calm resolute manner, looking all the facts squarely in the lace. He was sure they would sum it all up by saying that of the three Tenucnt had the best claims.