A BLUNT DENIAL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22738, 26 November 1935, Page 9

A BLUNT DENIAL

UNITED PARTY AND DEMOCRATS RUMOUR OF ARRANGEMENT A FANTASTIC SUGGESTION (Pee United Press Association) CHRISTCHURCH, November 25. The Prime Minister. Mr Forbes, has given an emphatic denial to the rumour that he had entered into an arrangement with the Democrat Party to break wit 1 / the Reform Party after the election awl issue an invitation to the Democrats to form a Government. Speaking at Leeston this afternoon, Mr Forbes stated that there was a rumour current in the Rangitikei and Wanganui electorates that the Democrats were to announce to-morrow that arrangements had been entered into between the Democrats and the United Party by which, after the elections, he would break from the Reform Party and invite the Democrats to form a Government. There was a good deal of laughter from the audience of more than 250 when Mr-Forbes told them of this, but the amusement changed to hearty applause after his blunt denial of the suggestion. "The thing is so fantastic that 1 do not need to answer it for the people of Canter-bury," Mr Forbes said. "They know me and have known me all my life. One of the things I do place the greatest value on is my good name. I have always endeavoured to carry out my pledges. An honourable agreement was entered into between the parties forming tlie Government, and has been carried out honourably right throughout the country. I know this sort of stuff, and it is not surprising considering the mean sort of way the Leader of the Democrats, Mr Hislop, has been trying to cast aspersions on the Government about the report ot the Auditor-general on the system of presenting the public accounts. Mr Hislov criticised the public accounts and quoted certain paragraphs of the Auditor-gene-ral's report, but carefully omitted the most important. "Where the report stated that it was a matter of accounting and book-keeping over which the complaint arose and not of the correctness of the accounts, Mr Hislop left out that vital point, and said that the Minister had been juggling with the accounts and that there had been misappropriation. That is a mean way of doing things, and is trying to insinuate that men in responsible positions in the country are not honest. There are ways of fighting a political battle, but this is a new way to me when they try to tell the people that responsible men administering the country are next door to crooks. "They were not going to announce this rumour about a break with the Reform Party until to-morrow so that I could not reply to it," added Mr Forbes. "I thought that it was just as well, however, to scotch the rumour before tomorrow comes and in that way answer it."