Payne, Patriot, Pilloried

NZ Truth, Issue 570, 20 May 1916, Page 7

Payne, Patriot, Pilloried

Is the Arch •Briton doing Business with ; tho Bosahe? 'When the House resumed on Thursday afternoon ( Mr. : Nosworthy caused no end of merriment by rising and giving notice that he intended to ask the Prime Minister the following questions: (1) Whether his attention had been oallod to an advertisement ap- | pear ing m a paper called the "Philistine" (published m Auckland and edited by John Payne, M.P.), relating to an alleged cure for asthma, bronchitis, hay fever, and catarrh, inserted by the Anglo-American Antiseptic Remedies Co., P.0.. 80x 884, Auckland? (2) Whether the Prime Minister is aware that this company advertises m a prominent place m its circular that its principal business places are at London, Paris, Now York, and Berlin? (3) Whether the AystraJasian manager of tho aforesaid company, stated m its circular to be John Payne, Alpha-road, Parnell, Auckland, to whom all remittances are to be made payable, is identical with the member for Grey Lynn? (4) Whether the Prime Minister will, m view of the importance of the question, of antiGerman trade, have the necessary inquiries made without delay? Mr. Nosworthy's Queries were punctuated with loud laughs from all sides of the House, although one or two disciples of Sir Simon Sobersides seemed to take the interrogations seriously. In fact, "Truth's" rep. is not altogether sure that tho honorable inquisitor didn't do so. Pool© placidly proposed that Payne should be "Put on the Island," as Groy Lynn's Germ-Hun baiter rose to reply. Mr. Payne, who enjoyed the Joke with the best, had an onsy job to show the foolishness of such questions. The company he represented being a company domiciled m a neutral country, it wai rio act of dbloytUty to trade with it, merely because; tho same company was trading with the enemy. John had many fellow- transgressors to keep him company. New Zealand imported much from America from companies that traded with Germany. Even the Home Government, the -Imperial War Office, were tradings with American munition works that would as readily supply Germany, and probably had supplied, and were supplying, our enemies. «