ASSERTION AND DISPROOF

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19291, 1 April 1926, Page 8

ASSERTION AND DISPROOF

The Labour candidate for Eden evidently intends making the question of interest on State advances the leading point in his campaign. The actual assertions he and his fellow campaigners are uttering about it can be judged by the manner in which he has changed his ground concerning the exact process employed to effect the change. Faced with the fact that Parliament had an opportunity to consider the prospect of an increase—there was certainly no suggestion of reduction when the amending clause was reviewed—Mr. Mason says it was a thin House, as 'many members had left to open their electoral campaign. That is quibbling. But a grosser inaccuracy was committed by the candidate. He said the whole Labour Party opposed it, but only one Liberal member voted against it. Hansard shows that when tho Finance Bill was being debated most of the Labour members made no reference to the clause giving the State Advances Board power, with the approval of the Finance Minister, to fix rates of interest. Mr. Fraser asked a couple of questions, by way of interjection. That was virtually all. What the Labour members said in committee is not, of course, recorded. A division on the clause is. It shows 17 members to have voted against it, of whom eight belonged to the Labour Party. The whole of the Labour Party did not oppose it, for obviously Borne were not there. Actually they were a minority of the objectors instead of, as Mr. Mason declared, being almost alone in voting against it. It is a small point really, but Mr. Mason should realise how unfounded assertions of this kind help to throw suspicion on all that he has to say about the question.