"INSULTING ADDRESS"

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 19882, 8 March 1939, Page 5

"INSULTING ADDRESS"

TELEGRAM RESENTED

TREASURER OF TASMANIA MESSAGE TO IMPORTERS (Special to the Herald.) AUCKLAND, this day. “I feel that I have every right to resent most strongly the cowardly, outrageous and unseemly conduct of tile controlling coterie of the Auckland branch of your association, which has naturally brought it into deserved disrepute in this State and, indeed, throughout Australia,” states the deputy-Premier and Treasurer in the Labour Government of Tasmania, tiie Hon. E. Dwyer-Gray, in a letter forwarded to the Bureau of Importers, Auckland. Mr. Dwyer-Gray’s remarks refer to a telegram sent to him by the bureau expressing resentment at his statement that the New Zealand Government’s control policy was fully justified and would succeed. The telegram was addressed to the “Hon. E. Dwyer-Gray, Visiting Politician,” at Invercargill. In his letter Mr. Dwyer-Gray refers to “this insultingly - a d d ressed{ 'telegram.” Mr. Dwver-Gray states that the telegram, the manner and time of its publication, and its preposterous contents afforded the sole exception to the great courtesy extended to him by the Government and all sections of the New Zealand community, including many scores _of importers, during hits recent visit to the Dominion. Answer From Bureau Mr. Dwyer-Gray forwarded to the Auckland press copies of his letter to the bureau. Interviewed on the day of its publication, the secretary of the bureau, Mr. R. M. Barker, said that Mr. Dwyer-Gray’s letter had not yet been received by the ■bureau. The bureau, however, had nothing tb add or withdraw from the statement made to Mr. Dwyer-Gray at the time his comments were published. Referring to the telegram to which Mr. Dwyer-Gray took exception, Mr. Barker said that when the bureau replied to the comments of Mr. Dwyer-Gray, the message was telegraphed to him at Invercargill, the same day as his comments on the ■New Zealand trade control policy appeared in the press. “His comments were resented by the Bureau Of Importers as savouring of political propaganda,” continued Mr. Barker. “It was not known to the bureau that Mr. Dwyer-Gray had then left New Zealand. Full Address Unknown “The reason for addressing the telegram to him at Invercargill as Visiting politician’ was that Mr. Dwyer-Gray’s address in that town was not known. Mr. Dwyer-Gray makes a great fuss of What he terms an insulting title, i.e., ‘visiting politician.’ Either Mr. Dwyer-Gray is or is not a politician. If he is ashamed of his calling lie should retire from it. His further statements show that the comments made ■by the Bureau of Importers were fully justified. “That the action of the bureau was supported is evidenced by the number of letters received from all parts of New Zealand. Leading articles condemning Mr. DwyerGray’s statement appeared in some of the New Zealand newspapers.

“The people of New Zealand will not be surprised at Mr. DwyerGray’s outburst when they realise that he is one of those Tasmanian ‘politicians’ responsible for the embargo on New Zealand potatoes, which makes possible a price for potatoes in Australia of over £2O against the recent payment given by our Government of £3 per ton to the southern potato growers.’