‘MORE IN SORROW’

Southland Times, Issue 21850, 29 October 1932, Page 6

‘MORE IN SORROW’

MR LYE REPLIES MR STALLWORTHY TAKEN TO TASK

EXTRAORDINARY STATEMENTS

(From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, October 28. A reply to Mr A. J. Stallworthy’s (C., Eden) outburst in the House of Representatives on Wednesday night was given in the House to-day by Mr F. Lve (C., Waikato) who said that he had invited Mi- Stallworthy to be present to hear what he had to say. Mr Stallworthy claimed to have had a Divine call to politics, Mr Lye said, and that being so he might be expected to show a higher standard of conduct. “I want to refer more in sorrow than in anger to the extraordinary speech made by the Member for Eden,” Mr Lye said. “I have no feeling about the matter. I feel sorry for the hon. gentleman for his hysterical outburst.” Mr Stallworthy had accused him of attacking the then Postmaster-General and with dividing the House for the sake of a miserable bookie, but that was scarcely correct. He did not want to run away from anything he had said, but he wished to put'the real facts on record. He had happened to be chairman of a Committee of the House which had considered the petition of six Auckland postal officials who were dismissed in connection with a horseracing matter. The finding of the committee was unanimous that the punishment was unduly severe and the committee had made a recommendation for reinstatement.

Mr Lye said that he made no excuse or apology for standing four square on the finding of the committee as it was the only decent thing any honourable man could do. Was there anything wrong with that? The statement that had been circulated was entirely wrong and misleading. “I’m not moved by anger and I want to be scrupulously fair,” said Mr Lye proceeding to refer to what he termed another extraordinary statement by Mr Stallworthy. Dealing with the Minister of Education and orders in the Legislative Council it was alleged that the order had been used by the Minister to protect his own interests in the picture theatre business. “When he was strongly rebuked.” he said Mr Speaker: Order. Did not Mr Stallworthy withdraw the words? Mr Lye: No, sir. Mr Speaker said that he did not think the Minister had been accused of having used Orders in Council for his own private interests. Mr Lye went on to refer to Mr Stallworthy’s version of the conversation he had had with the Minister about the matter and said it was an unwritten law among members of Parliament that confidences were not disclosed. Mr Stallworthy had acted like a petulant child. In reference' to Mr Stallworthy’s criticism regarding the school book contract, Mr Lye claimed that Mr Stallworthy had no knowledge of the actual position other than what he had been told or what he had read. “I am sorry the member for Eden is not in his seat for there is much more that could be said about the extraordinary attitude by this misguided member,” Mr Lye concluded. Later in the day reference was made by Mr H. Atmore to the criticism Mr Lye had levelled at Mr Stallworthy. Mr Atmore said that in attacking Mr Stallworthy as he had the member for Waikato had been badly briefed. The member for Eden had performed a public service in drawing attention to the contract that had been entered into by the Minister of Education. There was no doubt that the Minister had made a bad bargain. He fully recognized that. Mr Stallworthy was well able to defend himself against the member for Waikato. Although they might not agree with Mr Stallworthy on many things they all knew of his fine character which stood out just as it had before the attack.