SCENE AT A MEETING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14644, 1 April 1911, Page 8

SCENE AT A MEETING.

AN UNDELIVERED SPEECH. HARBOUR BOARD CANDIDATES MR. NAPIER ON "FERRY-BOATS." Personalities and warm repartee were freely indulged in at a meeting in St. James's Hall last evening, convened by the Auckland Citizens' League to enable candidates for seats on the Harbour Board to express their views. About 600 persons constituted the audience, and evidently enjoyed themselves heartily in boisterous demonstrations of their approval or disapproval of the views expressed. When tho meeting had been formally opened, Mr. W. J. Ralph, the president of the League, asked Mr. W. J. Napier to address the meeting. Applause and cheering greeted Mr. Napier, who said that as he had previously addressed a public meeting, in.i had given what he considered was a defenco of the Harbour Board against certain unfounded charges, he proposed to wait until after the other candidates had spoken before he addressed the meeting. (Applause). The chairman mad© no remark as Mr. Napier resumed his seat, but asked Mr. E. W. Alison to addrees the meeting. ! Mr. Alison said that he was astonished at the attitude taken up by Mr. Napier. Why was he afraid to speak? Mr. Napier :I am not afraid. (Cries of " He is not afraid "). Mr. Alison said that he had expected , to have an opportunity of replying to Mr. Napier. The Chairman asked Mr. Alison to refrain from personalities. (Applause). ' In reply to a question as to whether Mr. Napier would bo allowed a full 15 minutes later, the Chairman said that it was not intended to allow him to speak, as ho had declined to accept the League's decision, that he should speak first. , Considerable uproar followed this announcement. When tho other candidates had spoken, the chairman invited questions, and Mr. Napier at once rose and asked, " Do you want to hear both sides ? I am prepared," ho said, "to answer the studied misrepresentations of the previous speakers. If the Citizens' League gags me, I am prepared to come here next Friday night and answer them then." The chairman explained that the league had decided that Mr. Napier should be the first speaker, as he had been a chairman of the Board, and had a claim to a position of honour. The league had taken a certain stand, and did not intend to recoil from it in any way. (Applause.) It had no axe to grind. A Voice: On, rubbish ! The Chairman: I may say that we have an axe to grind, and it is a sharp one. It is the-citizens' axe. He added that he would flat permit any question to be put to Mr. Napier. This did not prevent Mr; Napier from questioning Mr. Alison regarding transactions between the Devonport Ferry Company and the Harbour Board, but he desisted when the chairman said, amidst renewed uproar, that he did not wish the meeting to be taken up by a duet between Mr. Napier and Mr. Alison. Subsequently a member of the audience said that it seemed to many people that there was hostility towards Mr. Napier. The Chairman said that before the meeting Mr. Napier had declined to speak unless he was • allowed to speak last. The league did, not wish to gag Mr. Napier (renewed uproar), bat it did not want Mr. Napier ot anyone else fa dominate the .league.. ':v : - : "' ; -?£r. Napiw replied thai;'he had made the jequeei because he wiuhed to reply to the criticisms of the other candidates. "1 have no deairo to dominate, the league," he said. "The s question is whether the destinies of a great city shall be dominated by a lot of twopenny-ha'penny ferry-hoasjs." As the meeting was closed Mr. Napier declared that he would -address a meeting on the following Friday,