MORE CHARGES OF “DISTORTED” FACTS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18182, 15 June 1927, Page 6

MORE CHARGES OF “DISTORTED” FACTS.

INQUIRY INTO DAIRY CONTROL POLICY PROPOSED. Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, June 14. Messrs Morrison, Smith and Morrison, solicitors for Mr Stronach Paterson' late Government representative on the London Agency of the New Zealand Dairy Produce Control Board, today forwarded the following letter to Mr William Grounds, chairman of the board:— “We write to you as solicitors for, and under instructions from, Mr Stronach Paterson, until lately New Zealand Government representative on the London Agency of your board. Mr Paterson has had brought under his notice various New Zealand newspapers, including the ‘New Zealand Dairy Produce Exporter,’ of March 2G last, containing what purports to be your version of the history of Mr Paterson’s actions in his capacity as such Government representative. “You were, of course, aware at the time when you made your attack upon Mr Paterson that even if he desired to reply, it was impossible for him to do so for a period of at least several weeks. To reply in detail now, after such a lapse of time, is obviously of very little use, particularly because such reply might well give rise to further controversy, and again Mr Paterson’s reply to you could not, by reason of his absence in England, be published until the lapse of many weeks after the publication of your own statement. Mr Paterson, therefore, does not consider it necessary or desirable that he should at this stage enter into discussion of the merits of demerits of price fixation of dairy* produce in London. That issue, he points out to us, is already settled, unfortunately at the expense of New Zealand in general and New Zealand dairy farmers in particular. Nor does Mi Paterson regard it as his concern at the moment to answer what he regards as specious propaganda by yourself and some of vour supporters, whose policy has brought the actual results achieved by price fixation to the dairy industry of New Zealand and the interests of the Dominion as a whole. “But it is his concern—and it is for ■that purpose that this letter is written—to repudiate what he regards as your gross misrepresentation of his actions as New Zealand Government representative on the London Agency of the Control Board, and in that connection Mr Paterson would welcome an opportunity before a Royal Commission or other appropriate tribunal appointed to inquire into the reasons foi the failure of the board's policy of absolute control and price fixation, of having his own actions fully investigated. “Mr Paterson also desires us to remind you that while you were in London you had several conversations with him under a clear and definite pledge of strict confidence on both sides. He desires us to point out that for the purposes of vour attack noon him you' have not hesitated to refer freely to those conversations. In his view your attack contains some complete misstatements of fact. It distorts and misrepresents both his confidential conversations with you and the general aims and effect of his work, and it insinuates responsibility on his part for many happenings with which he was in no way concerned. “It would be useless to attempt to carry matters further at this stage because, as we have already said, Mr Paterson is still in London, and unable by reason of his absence to continue the controversy with you now, but he expects to be back in New Zealand not later th£* October, and il you then desire any public investigation such as that, for example, w'hich would be afforded by a Royal Commission into the affairs of the Control Board, and the true history of the actions of its chairman and certain of its members, and of himself, as Government representative on the London Agency, and into the real causes of what he alleges are the disastrous results of the board's policy, we assure you that Mr Paterson will be delighted to join with you in endeavouring to have such investigation brought about. “In view of the fact that your attacks on Mr Paterson have been of the most public character, we are instructed to hand copies of this letter to the newspaper press, and we are accordingly adopting that course.”