CRITICISM RESENTED.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXIV, Issue 17736, 9 December 1919, Page 5

CRITICISM RESENTED.

A PETULANT OUTBURST.

MR VEITCH AIRS A GRIEVANCE.

Mr W. A. Veitch, M.P., was in petulant mood last night when he v addressed a small audience at the iGonville Town Hall. • • Mr Gilberd presided. The candidate said one very un* fair statement had been made. Hft did not know whether to attributeit to the Chronicle or Mr Mcllvride, > but they could setttle it bo- ■ tween them. It was suggested that-; h,.. had piloted legislaion through.' Parliament last session with an ul- , terior purpose in connection with the proposed acquisition of the • swamp at Castlecliff. The sugges-.' tion was that some land shark pi. somebody else would benefit. It was marvellous how unclean the mjnd?' of some people were. It was a pity,/ that publfc life was becoming so de^" graded. They were reaching the 1; stage when a reputable man and "a' father of a family dare not touch,, public life when the road lay through an avalanche of filth., The first suggestion was that- arrange- r ments were made for the Harboui, Board to purchase 150 acres at £75 f ! an acre, and he supposed somle people were wanting to know what would Veitch get out of it. As ■».; matter of fact, the Harbour Board's' solicitor::, Messrs Marshall and Hut-,-ton, had writtten to the speaker, say; ■ lug the land vas offered at £75 an acre, but it was considered the price; was excessive. The Board wished to, reclaim the land, but it was doubtful -: if they had sufficient power under/; one clause, and the Board desired s; short clause put in. The clause mere--? ly gave the Board power to acquire '*' it, the usual steps under the Public^ Works Act would be taken, and the'V, price would be fixed by arbitration^; The fact that the land was rated"at \ £3 an acre had nothing to do with';: the speaker. The low valuattion wail' 1" the fault of the Government in.not-,* making a revaluation when the ■- Town Board had asked for.lt. The - only way was to get rid of the Gov-i eminent, but they would not do 'It by splitting the democratic vote. .. -.* ': Proceeding, Mr Veitch said that at • his Opera House meeting Mr Durham;':: spoke in his support. It seemed to.V be an unpardonable offe^- p to speaK.." well of him. A very unfair suggest •« tion had been made, and 'thej' "Chronicle" was trying to drive the*.; Prohibition people over to the Mas-?? sey candidate, even •at the cost of :, departing from the truth. He had 1 not arranged for Mr Durham, to,; speak. The motion of thanks was '. moved by Mr T. B. Williams an&, seconded from the gallery. That •"; Mr Durham did speak had nothinV" to do with the speaker. A falso, Imr-.' plication had been made. It wos'ab- ?• surd to suggest that the speaker was ; beins run by the liquor traffic. 'A3 : a mattter of fact, Mr Cuttle was be- ■ ing supported by one gentleman who'^ was very prominent in the liquor . traffic. He was an estimable gentle^". * man, and he was canvassing .the /j town for Mr Cuttle. But it would' not be fair to suggest, becaußer ot v that, Mr Cuttle was being run by the/; liquor traffic. The same gentleman . headed the list to call a meeting "pf- j the Cosmopolitan Club because, 'the. ; speaker supported 6 o'clock closing. . As a mattter of fact, the speaker had .. supported 6 o'clock closing of the hotels in Parliament, and had supported the clause to make it permanent, as he was satisfied it had been a success. He hoped the public : would not be carried away by insincere or false statements. ■ ' ' WELFARE LEAGUE. Another statement made was that the Welfare League was the Liquor r trade in disguise. He did not know , anything about its affairs, except , that Mr Skerrett was one of the 'leading lights. He was obliged for the kind and complimentary -way ' they had spoken-about the speaker, ; and their advocacy of honest and £ ; loyal men being returned to Parlia- ! ment. The greatest win that Holland and hia party could have would V; be to defeat Veitch for Wanganiii'.. - : Tne Reform mouthpiece did not care , p I a dump whether their candidate'or the Official Labour candidate won, as long as Veitch did not get in. Was it fair fighting? What a marvellous combination, John Ball, Peter Fraser, and W. J. Cuttle! Was that not an unholy alliance? The Reform candidate said he went into tha r:flght with clean hands. The Bpeaker would come out of it with clean hands, and he would trust to the , good sense «nd fairness of the people to put Veitch at the head of the poll. » Proceeding, Mr Veitch spoke on , general lines, and at the conclusion of his address received a vote pJ . • thanks and confidence. t ,