SPLASHING THE MONEY

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 723, 24 July 1929, Page 18

SPLASHING THE MONEY

MORE ABOUT “SPOILS TO VICTORS” A TARANAKI OUTCRY (THE SUN’S Parliamentary Reporter) PARLIAMENT BLDGS., Tues. The now familiar cry of “Spoils to the victors” rang out once more on the air of the House of Representatives and the man who brought the question up was Mr. S. G. Smith (New Plymouth), who spoke of the influence of policy on educational progress in Taranaki, and the splashing of money, when he got under way in his Address-in-Reply debate speech. Mr. Smith criticised Mr. H. S. S. Kyle (Riccarton) for voicing the “spoils to the victors” cry, saying that thanks to the free Press of New Zealand Mr. Kyle’s remarks had obtained the greatest publicity, while the sound reply of the Minister of Marine, the Hon. J. G. Cobbe, to them was not given so much prominence. Because a friend of his had not been appointed to the Lyttelton Harbour Board the member for Riccarton made a general charge of “spoils to the victors.” Voices From Opposition Benches: What about the appointment to the Domains Board? Mr. Smith took no notice, and went on to say that in Taranaki it was found that the Government nominee on the New Plymouth Harbour Board was chairman of the committee of the late Minister of Agriculture during his election campaign. Similarly, with Opunake and other harbour boards, prominent Reformers were the present Government nominees. Mr. H. G. Dickie (Patea): What about Patea? Mr. Smith: If the hon. gentleman rvho made that interjection has as fine a record politically as the Government representative on the Patea Harbour Board has in his district, he should he proud of himself. Mr. Smith went on to say that the Government nominee for the Wanganui Harbour Board had subsequently stood at the poll and headed It, and now was chairman of the hoard. He was Mr. J. T. Hogan (Rangitikei). But there were other cases of spoils to the victors, he continued, and discussed the £IO,OOO a mile road in North Auckland. Mr. Kyle: Did you dig it up? Mr. Smith: It’s immaterial whether I’d dug it up or not. A Voice: I wish I had a £IO,OOO a mile road. Whose district was it in? Next Mr. Smith went on to discuss the expenditure by the late Government on schools in Taranaki just before the election. Money was being splashed round then, he said. New Plymouth had £528 spent on it, Waitara £2,825, Stratford £2,801, and Egmont. where the Minister was contesting the seat, had £6,801 spent on it. Children were made, in some instances, to suffer so that the Government of that day could make a splash before the election. There was the spectacle of the Minister of Education rushing about to make grants to schools low on the list of order of urgency for improvement, and in some

cases making grants to schools not on the list. A Government Member: And some of them didn’t get any. Manaia, said Mr. Smith, asked for £BS for a partition to divide a room and got £720 for a new room. “When the hon. member for Riccarton gets up,” he concluded, “he should not talk of things that did not happen.” Reference to “spoils to the victors” also was made by Mr. A. J. Murdoch (Marsden), who instanced that in the time of the late Government three Government supporters, including Mr. Rodney Coates, had been appointed to the North Auckland Rural Intermediate Credits Board. Mr. W. J. Poison said that it was the same with all boards. Mr. J. A. Nash (Palmerston): That’s a weak case.

Mr. Murdoch: Not too weak.