DEMOCRAT FUNDS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19133, 30 September 1936, Page 5

DEMOCRAT FUNDS

AID 1 OF MR. GOODFELLOW INTENDED £IOOO LIMIT AIM TO GET CONTROL BREAK WITH THE PARTY ;, -; . (?« Press Association.) AUCKLAND, this day. evidence for the defence was presented in the Magistrate's Court' before Mr.- Wyvern Wilson yesterday, afternoon in the case in which HarrV '■■;, Charles. Baulf is suing several well known personalities of what was the Democrat Party, claiming.'to recover £195 as the balance of salary and expenses allegedly owing for' work-as the Auckland organiser of the party: Oontinuing his evidence, William Goodfellow, company director, said he had -never exercised the right to appoint" the executive."" It' was originally: intended that the party should consist "of" 14 or 15 prospective members of- Parliament which he should nominate.. : The party Was 'to. foster fecipMcal trade; 'and -jpuiside :o£Vthat he had>np; general*interest in politics and did not intend to stand himself. He eventually agreed to the constitution "of "the party.

"I never at any period intended to put in'more than about £1000," stated the' witness. "It is untrue that I was to put in £SOOO as a subscription ■- to a party fund of £15,000." There was no understanding, the witness added, that any money he put into the party fund was a gift. The witness said that at one .of the first meetings of the party, the organiser, A. E. Davy, mentioned that he would like to engage Baulf as a local organiser. Baulf came to see the witness, and asked the witness if the party was financial as he had had some unhappy experiences of political parties.

The witness said that he paid Baulf 's salary for two months, and kept the party going for six months. In November, the witness undertook to raise £IOO a month for four months, prior to the instituting of a public campaign "for, funds in March. •- PAYMENTS TO FUNDS

Up* Co then, he understood that the plaintiff had been paid. The funds awsre sufficient to .pay him. Up to tjfcHpiPQ of the resignation of the witnesi, -he had paid £1516 . into the party, including money collected from friends. In addition he made loans to Davy which had been repaid. The witness had not been repaid any of the £1516.

The -witness said that J. B. McKinney, a country organiser, received £6 a w'eek. The witness paid several cheques to McKinney. The witness said he did not attend any meetings of the Auckland executive after March, and was not present at" any of the meetings which J*. B. Donald attended. The witness said he knew nothing of the £3OOO fund controlled by T. C. A. Hislop and Davy. The witness said that he would consider such a fund most improper.

In June, the witness suggested to Donald' that he should call up. his guarantees, so that the party could be put back on n sound basis. The "witness said he would accept no responsibility in this case, even for moneys claimed bef.ore his resignation. MEMBER OF EXECUTIVE He admitted being a member of the executive and paying Davy's salary up ;.to August, 1935. "I attended meetings up to then to try to salvage the party," stated the witness. . ''.lt had gone off the rails. Reciprocal tra,de as a policy, which was the only thing I was interested in, had been relegated to the background, jts finances had also gone off the rails. There was not much money owing, but Lobjected to the collecting of money from people whose political feelings were opposed to the original policy of the party." . 'At no timt', said the witness, had he told Baulf he would not be responsible for his : wages, but Baulf was at a meeting in March when the witness said he would find no more money for the party.

"Up to August, however, the witness continued to pay Davy's salary, having promised to do so. The witness said that at the last meeting of the central executive in Wellington he had made a iinal attempt to regain control of the party by gaining control of the finances. "If I could control the finances, I could dictate the policy," said Goodfellow.

"That is politics, is it?" asked Mr. Wilson.

“Unfortunately, yes, sir," the witness replied. The witness said that he understood that Baulf's wages were to be £4. That was what Davy had told him. He would repudiate a further claim for wages, because he did not know of any arrangement other than that the plaintiff should be paid £4 a week, and be engaged by the month. SUPPORT TO REFORM Prior to 1934, the witness had subscribed to and supported the Reform Partv, he stated in answer to Mr. H. J. Butler, who appeared for Davy. He. had helped to form the Democrat Party purely to advocate reciprocal trade. The witness agreed that the Government had in 1933 cancelled a contract for the supply, to the railways of coal in which tne New Zealand Co-opera-tive Dairy Company was concerned. On the production by Mr. Butler of a letter of which Goodfellow admitted the’ authorship', Mr. A- K. North, counsel for Goodfellow, raised an objection on the grounds that it was irrelevant. ' * “Many things could have been said about the inner workings of this business that were better left unsaid," remarked Mr. North. The magistrate ruled the letter out of order. ;• v ■ In - regard to wages, Goodfellow told Mr. Butler that probably the wages agreed to be paid to Raulf were £4 a week, and it was subsequently increased

to £6. After the organisation was formed, ho took it that the Dominion executive was responsible for the payment of Baulf's wages and other matters. After his resignation, ho said, he washed his hands of the whole campaign. The witness said that he did not continue to make payments after March except for past commitments.

To Mi*. North, Goodfellow said that in July of 1935 he had tried to have Davy removed from the central executive, but the meeting, he said, would not have passed any motion that he wished. The plaintiff, said Mr. St. (lair Brown, counsel for J. B. Donald, was rather like :i clog at a football match. He did not know who was his master.

The magistrate : Well, no one seems lo be whistling for him. Mr. 'Brown submitted that the plainfill was engaged by Davy and Davy alone, and it was for Ihe court to decide whether the engagement was on behalf of that nebulous body, the Democrat Party. At the time his client, Donald, was not a member of the party. Counsel said Baulf was employed by Davy. The magistrate said thai while the plaintiff look his instructions from Davy, that did not necessarily make Davy the principal.

Questioned by Mr. Brown, Donald said he did not enter into any personal arrangement with the plaintiff to pay wages, lie did not give his personal guarantee to pay moneys owing. He had brought the matter up with Davy in Wellington, and Davy had replied'that if the party "went,'' the plaintiff would be paid. ]l' the party did not, Ihe plaintiff would not be paid.

Mr. .). P. W. Dickson, counsel for the plaintiff, interposed that all this was new to Baulf.

The. witness Donald said he had spoken to Mrs. .Susan Mabel Milne, a member of the committee, because he understood from Baulf's evidence that he did not hold him personally liable. He had never signed any application to join the party. "Baulf said that I received payment for furniture in the rooms in the British Chambers, and that i seized the furniture. I. want to deny that." said the witness. The rooms were let without payment, except for 10s a week for the lift,

"I had certain furniture in the rooms, and said they could have it if they liked to pay me .CZO. I have not been paid, nor have i received the 10s a week. The rooms are the same at- present as when they were left. 1 thought it was best in view of the trouble that the rooms should be left, as they were, so I changed the lock. "1 have made several inquiries about the books from Baulf, and from Denny. the treasurer, but they said they did not know where they were.'' The witness detailed his financial transactions with Baulf. He said that Baulf came to him last December very perturbed, and said, that- Davy had promised to semi him £2l as he needed money to pay his wages. The witness Save him his own cheque for £2.1. on the understanding that it was to be repaid immediately Davy's cheque arrived.

"In April, he said he was going to lose his house and furniture," said the witness. 1 felt sorry lor him, hut- said thai, any money I lent him must be on a business footing. I paid all the debt,; he had outstanding. 1. said he might collect some money from the Democrat Party, and he gave me an irrevocable order for this money.

“Baillf said ill evidence that T pleaded with him not to add me to the action. I want lo deny that, lie is not my cousin.

"Von look' more like his uncle," said the magistrate. ''hater I asked him if it was fair to sue me, in view of all I. had done for him," the witness continued. "I want to clear Hie suggestion that Baulf is bringing this action to try to force money out of various people." The case was adjourned.