MR SEMPLE IN REPLY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 6 December 1938, Page 10

MR SEMPLE IN REPLY

COMPLAINT OF FALSE CHARGES HAWKES BAY RIVERS BOARD fUnited Presa Association! CHRISTCHURCH. sth December. “If the rivers board is anxious to debate anything, let them debate it with the farmers who made the charge and not with me,” said the Minister of I Public Works, Mr Semple, to-night when a report of the Hawkes Bay RivI ers Board meeting was referred to him. I“I am satisfied that the farmers are prepared to debate and to tell the board what they told me and that the farmers are not all fools and liars.” That he had said that the “farmers were not getting a fair deal” was denied by the Minister. That charge was made to him in Napier by the Pakowhai settlers in the presence of Mr J. Wood. Public Works Engineer-in-Chief, and the district public works engineer, Mr Barnard. M.P., and his private secretary. His reply was that if that was so they were not getting a fair spin. “The river board is merely shadowsparring and making a false charge against me,” said Mr Semple. “I said j at the time of the deputation that if the i statement was true it was not a fair thing to ft.vour settlers on one side of the river. The men gave me an assurance that they were not getting a fair spin. To make doubly sure I asked the j engineer-in-chief to send the inspecting engineer to Hawkes Bay to make an in- I vestigation with the district public I works engineer and the board's engi- [ The Minister added that he had said j repeatedly he was never satisfied with : the way the job was carried out—“and I I would be easily pleased if I were,” he J added. The investigation was now j taking place. So far as he knew any- ] thing he had said was in the interests of the settlers and of the public who I had contributed £ 120,000 to the scheme, i “The rivers board is barking up a wrong tree and it knows it. Never' again will I allow £120.000 of public j money to be contributed to a scheme , without my department having definite I control. The Hawkes Bay rivers job l has been a lesson to me in this respect.” The reading of Mr Wood’s letter approving of the programme of works meant nothing, said Mr Semple. All works had to be approved officially by the engineer-in-chief. However, he would vouch for his life that Mr Wood had never written a letter approving oi the board’s way of carrying out the job and of the progress made, about which the Minister had complained. The letter quoted was probably written some months ago because he had discussed the matter very recently with Mr Wood, who held the same views on the muddlement. Being satisfied that the settlers were telling the truth, he had ordered an investigation. The settlers had suffered tremendously for a considerable time and were in fear and trembling that their life’s work and home would be swept away. He had all the sympathy in the world for them and was endeavouring to do his best for them. That was the only crime he had committed. He had never gone out of his way to j castigate any board without first hav- * ing justifiable grounds.