MISCHIEVOUS INTERFERENCE.

Timaru Herald, Issue 170301, 21 August 1920, Page 2

MISCHIEVOUS INTERFERENCE.

LABOUR PARTY'S LETTER. CONDEMNED. DISCUSSION IN HOUSE. (Erom our Parliamentary Correspondent). WELLINGTON, Aug. 30. In the Houne wis aiLernoon Air J). Jones (Kaiapoij asked the Prime juinJster whetner lie'liacl seen the telegram received by tlie Xiaboiir l'ai-y iiom the of _a.eciun aua tlie leiny to it nuiu j.\ew z,eaianu• auu, u ao, wnai action ne proposed to luko concerning it. iur iViassey replied: "I have seen the paragrapn u> wliich tne nou. £ju«iu--i!ia„ inb rtuerred. and i wisn to &ay tliac 1 regret exceedingly tiiat auy niciubers oi we New- Zeaiund Parnamenc, However lew uieir numoers maybe, aliouid express approval, and oy expressing approval assist, apparently a small &ecuun " JJir Eraser: "Six million workers. ' ■M.V Massey: "riie lion, member lias no more ngut to speali lor the workers than any other member of tn« House. I iiope I shall not be interrupted again. I was saying that I regret Wat members of tne i>ew Zealand Parliament, by expressing approval of the action of a small section of people in the United Jiinguont, should assist in harassing the Imperial Government at a most serious crisis in the history of the Empire. Aow that I nave the opportunity I wish co say chat I believe ihat 90 per cent, of the population ot tins country, pernaps e»eu a larger number, are liioruuglily loyal. (Hear, hear.) Tliey" arc opposed to Jioishevisni, Sinn Eenilsm, x. u. n .ism, and all tne outer -isms with which the . civilised countries ot the world have been afflicted in the past few years. I hope there will bd no more of tnis sort of thinir. 1 know the people of this countrv j)repared to stand by the Imperi.l Government in every, way. possible to prevent the disintegration of the Empire, which seems to be the aim of those few with whom the lion, member has been corresponding. ; Mr W. A. "Yeit-ch (.a few minutes later): "I wish to mention again the matter raised by the member tor Xaiapoi in connection with the message tnat has been cabled to England, purporting to represent the opinion of the workers oi JSew Zealand with respect to certain events of Imperial importance happening just now. I am not going to discuss the matter now, but I regard it as an exceedingly serious incident in the history of this country, dealing as it does with one of the most serious incidents perhaps in the history of the British Empire. I wish to ask the Prime Minister if he will give this House an opportunity, by resolution or otherwise, of expressing an opinion on the matter."

Mr Massey: "i shall be glad \o take the non. member's suggestion, into consideration."

Mr D. G. Sullivan (Avon) : "I wish to ask the Prime Minister, in view <.f the large number of bye-elections won by the Labour Party in Great Britain during the past years, what -evidence he has that the Labour Party, to whose action he has just taken exception, represents a small and disloyal section of the community,: and what evidence he has that the'attitude «f the Council of Action in Great-Britain has not the approval of the majority of the people of Great Britain."

Mr Massey replied: "I speak from my own personal experience, and i believe *that the persons referred to by the lion, member are no more representative of public opinion in Britain, or of the workers of Britain, than the small section of members who sit in that corner—(pointing to the Labour benches)—are representative of New Zealand.-" Mr Fraser: "I desire to make a personal explanation as the first signatory to the telegram which lias been read. I received this telegram from Mr Adamson, a member of the British House of Commons, the representative of West Fyfe, I believe, and one of the leading mining representatives of Great Britain. At the conference were present two ex-members of the British Cabinet, Mr Clynes and Mr Henderson, and leading representatives of trades unions and the workers of Great Britain, and if such communications are received from men representating bodies of workers by any organisation of which I am a member, then I am going to reply whatever the consequences.'' The Speaker had risen to call Mr Fraser to order, his statement being not at all in the nature of a personal explanation, and Mr Fraser,.-'disre-garding the action of the Speaker, shouted the last few words of his statement.