MRWILKINSON AND THE PRESS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14465, 6 March 1909, Page 14

MRWILKINSON AND THE PRESS.

Sin, -As chairman of the meeting in the Alhambra Hall, will you permit me to confirm Mr Wilkinson's statement that, when referring to the opprobrium cast u|!on the members of the Licensing Committee, of which he was one, he distinctly said: "111 justice to the papers concerned, I wish to say that these remarks do not appear in either of the two Dnnediu You say in your footnote to Mr "Wilkinson's letter on the subject that, unfortunately for him, your reporter does not bear him out. He would be an unreasonable man who would expect a reporter to remember everything that a speaker said, or who would complain when he found that the reporter had omitted some material part of his speech. Your reporter on the occasion is thoroughly qualified and most careful, but I am sure that he will accept my personal assurance on the matter, and I think your readers will also do so.—l am, etc.. Alex. S. Adams. Dunedin, March 5. [We append the following explanation given by the member of our staff who ioported Mr Wilkinson's speech:—"Sir, - At the licensing election meeting held in the Alhambra Theatre on Tuesday evening Mr Wilkinson distinctly used the words. 'Wo were called "sneaks" and "pimps" by a section of the press.' Tho words had refereno3 to surprise visits pnitl by members of the then Licensing Committee to licensed premises to ascertain how the trade was being conducted, and followed upon a resume of the work done bv the committee, of which th« speaker was a member. White 1 have personally very high K'specl for Mr A. 8. Adams, and also for Mr Wilkinson, f am sure t.hcv are in error in savins that the two bunedin rlatlfs wore specifically excluded from the general reference. I did not hear any lefere.nce to the Dunedin dailies lieino- excepted, and am sure that had such a distinction Iwen made I would have made' a note of it at the time. Memory is an unreliable jade, and I observe ihat'Mr Adams and Mr Wilkinson are at variance in regard to the qualifying words now said to have been 'iml. Mr Adams says they were: In justice to the papers concerned 1 wish to say that these remarks do not in either of the two Dunedin dai hes. Mr Wilkinson nuts it differently •and says: 'What I .did say was that a paper bad made use of those epithets, but that 1 did not refer to either of our daily papers. Both gentlemen speak from memory, and they give a different, ipsissima verba version of what was said. Mr Wilkinson, if I may say so in a friendly spirit erred ,„ not . specifically mentioning any particular newspaper or seel ion of the pre.4 that had used the opprobrious terms. \ genera reference, even excluding the Dunedin dailies, wag not fair to fhe M a wliole.-I am, etc., Your Rkportm "_ ■Since penning the above I have turned up the report of the meet!n* in the Evening Star, and I find Mr Wilkinson reported a, saying: 'Has committee had also paid surprise Vls ,t, s to licensed premises, and tor this a section of the press called them sneaks and 'pimps'; when the Moderate Committee acted similarly they wero commended. It altogether' rje"paidccl on who did it whether it was right or wrong in tho eyes of the press." There is no reference in tin's indsnendcnt report to tin Dunedin dailies being exempted from the "section of tho press" referred to, and as this bears cut my note and memory of what was said I can only conrJudo that. Mr Adams and Mr Wilkinson have aisociatod another reference made during tho evening to the Dunedin dailies with Mr Wilkinson's remarks.-YouK RV'I'ORTBn.