FULL INQUIRY TO BE MADE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16590, 13 July 1917, Page 4

FULL INQUIRY TO BE MADE.

LEGAL PROCEEDINGS PROBABLE, £ [BY TELEGRAPH CORRESPONDENT.!

WELLINGTON, Thursday. | A statement regarding the charges I against the Auckland Post Office by the ! Rev. Howard Elliott was made by the i Postmaster-General,. Sir Joseph Ward, in, I the House of Representatives to-day. j In reply to a question by Mb. G. I Witty (Riccarton), Sir Joseph Ward j said : —I asked for a report about the I statement as soon as I received it. The I statements are not true. From a report !by the Secretary of the Department it i will appear that Mr. Elliott has with- : held some of the information which ■ would enable a full inquiry to be made. I It will be made all the same.

The report was then read, its text being virtually the game as that of the statement made by the chief postmaster at Auckland, with an addition that "in this particular instance it (the submission to censors) cannot be said to have resulted in the delay complained of bv Mr. Elliott."

"I have since been informed," Sir ,; Joseph Ward added, " that the packets - were handed to the censor about 11 am. on Saturday. This matter will be fully ' investigated because it is apparent that there is an underlying motive in connec- • tion with what has been given to the||p press of this country. The experience .of iM most people, whatever their politics "or r", their creed may be, is that everywhers i the post office discharges its duties faith-I "- fully and well. I have never known of« •'.: an attempt being made in the post offioeM -' to delay postal matter for any reason. A?l; a rule complaints about letters come from St! people who very seldom post them or re*®? ceive them. I am not saying that thia'm is so in the present case, because wa m have not the complete facts, but to sag- fl gest that employees would of their own. fig volition, attempt to interfere with thaff correspondence of anyone, whatever hisjß views might be, is absurd because a manSfl would be immediately dismissed for atiy-M thing of the sort. When we get the re-». j suit of the inquiry 1 shall ask Cabinet to* ' I authorise the law officers of the Crownf";

to take proceedings and so stop this at-* tempt to discredit a. great State Depart- . ment."

Mr. J. S. Dickson (Parnell) asked the Minister t> make inquiries also about the* non-deliyerv of letters to Box 912,4 G.P.0., Auckland. He had complaints ? ; that letters were not being delivered as ' they should be to this box. '-.2 Sir Joseph Ward suggested that the person who made complaints should make them in writing to the chief postmaster at Auckland. This would be a more re-1 gular method- In any case the matter would be thoroughly investigated. Mr. Dickson said complaints had been"?' made to the post office, and the reply was that it was due to the censor.

! Sir Joseph "Ward said the post . office, ! was not responsible for what the censor I did. The post office had a duty to obey certain instructions given by the censor. ; He did not know whether there was any : ! reason for special vigilance over Bos 912-

"CHARGES A CALUMNY."

POWERS OF MILITARY CENSOR. , [BY TELEGRAPH.—PRESS ASSOCIATION.] -

WELLINGTON, Thursday.

The postal authorities dismiss the sng« gestion of interference with correspondence by officers of the Postal Department as a calumny. They state that the only interference permissible and probabla is by the Military Censor, who has tha neht, in the public interest, to intercept any correspondence he sees fit, and deal with it at his own discretion. This, however, is a matter entirely apart from the Postal Department. It is practically certain that someone will be prosecuted in connection with the matter.