PLAYING THE GAME.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19551, 6 August 1925, Page 10

PLAYING THE GAME.

ME CORRIGAN’S CHARGES. MINISTER’S CHALLENGE IGNORED. • (From Our Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, August 5. Mr Corrigan, the National member for Patoa, up to a lato hour to-day had made no withdrawal of the charges he made in the House in regard to Sir James Parr in connection with land alleged to be held by him adjacent to a new railway station on the Henderson line, Auckland, and that the land was going to be cut up for the benefit of the Minister. Sir James Part wrote to Mr Corrigan stating that the obvious inference was that the station was being created to benefit u Minister, or that such Minister was wrongfully and improperly using his position as a member of the Government for his own private profit. The belief in Sir James s electorate was that ho was the Minister of the Crown referred to, “If,” says Sir James, ‘‘the statement was intended to refer to me, then I say not only is it untrue, but it is without any foundation whatever. It you intended to refer to some other member of the Ministry, I believe your statement to be equally untrue, but at present I am concerned only so far as the matter affects me personally. Up, to the present, though pressed by the Prime Minister to clear the matter up, you have deliberately failed to do so. A fortnight has gone by and you have sat silent., By this conduct you leave the whole Ministry, but more especially myself,, under suspicion .of seriously abusing the Ministerial posiIn the circumstances Sir James says ho is entitled to a definite statement one way or the other. If intended for him thou he invites Mr Corrigan to repeat the statement outside the House without the protection of privilege, so that he (Sir James) may give him the opportunity of justifying the statement if he (Mr Corrigan) can. if he did not intend to refer to him (»u James), then ho asks him to say so unequivocally, and to indicate which Minister he did refer to, so that appropriate action may, bo taken. ' , , c - On July 31 Mr Corrigan wrote to bir James Parr saying: “I still repeat the statement I made in the House in answer to the Prime Minister when he brought the matter up. I have written for the particulars, and immediately I receive ther I will hasten to let you, through the House, know the information, and I am just as anxious to expedite matters as any member of the House, but until I have the particulars you will quite understand 1 cannot place myself in a false position. You or your brother Ministers need not oo frightened that I will not play the game, and if it is necessary for mo to withdraw the statement and apologise I will be only too pleased to do so.” , , . On August 4 the Minister of Education wrote as follows to Mr J. R- Corrigan : “Sir, —I am in receipt of your leter of July 31. I must express surprise at what you say. Your charge was made as far back os- July 15—i.e., three weeks past. You now say, ‘1 have written for the particulars.’ The inference to I>c drawn is either that you made the charge without having any particulars, or that you made it upon information which vou had neglected to Lake stops to verify. You say in vaur letter that until you have particulars you cannot place yourself m a fair** position. But surely, by making? w public charge without having the particulars, or upon information which you neglected to verify, you have already placed yourself in a false position as a public man. Do you not also see that by mferontially making a charge against me you have placed me in a false position until t bat charge is either proved or admitted to bo false and foundationloss, as I tell you vt it? You say that I need not be frightened that you will not play the game. You have had ample time, to take what is generally considered the riglu course in such circumstances, and I again extend to vou the invitation contained in my previous letter to repeat your statement otherwise than under the cloak of privilege, so t.mt I may take legal action in the matter Unless you adopt that course by 5 p.m. to-morrow I shall hand this correspond enco out for publication, so that the public may judge how you are playing the game.”