THE COMING ELECTIONS

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 11305, 2 September 1922, Page 5

THE COMING ELECTIONS

WHO SHOULD STAND? PUBLIC SERVICE CANDIDATES. The position of public servants who desire ito contest seats at the general elections was "mentioned in tho House of Representatives yesterday afternoon by Mr D. G. Sullivan, who invited' the Prime Minister to state what the attitude of tho Government would he.. He understood that the Prime Minister had some time ago made a statement on the subject to the effect that no difficulty would be raised. He asked if it was the intention of the. Government to make it possible for intending candidates to get leave to contest the election and afterwards to be reinstated if they desired to he. PRIME MINISTER’S REPLY. “A LITTLE EXPLANATION.” Mr Massey said that in answering the question one needed to enter into a little explanation. Three years ago he was bead of the Railway Department, and when the elections, came along he received .two requests frommembers of the staff who desired to become candidates. He allowed both of them to enter the contests and neither was successful.' One went into business on his own account and the other returned to the. department. After that the question was raised as to. whether the privilege should not he extended, and legislation was introduced into the House of Representatives and agreed to, but was rejected,by the Legislative Ctouhcil. He thought that the Council considered it necessary that before a public servant became a candidate he should "have the 1 consent of the head ,of his department. ,He had discussed the matter with the lawdrafting department recently, and a bill was in the course of preparation there. The Government did not want to restrict the privileges of the people they employed. So far as. public servants Standing for local bodies was concerned, he did not think that any objection on the point had been raised. He had inquired as (to whether any of the railway servants were members of borough councils and had been informed that over fifty were.. .His own opinion was that" the permission of the head off the department should be forthcoming before the officer announced his candidature.