LICENSING DEBATE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 71, Issue 218, 14 September 1928, Page 7

LICENSING DEBATE

THREE-ISSUE BALLOT PAPERS PRINTED ABSENTEE ELECTORS’ REQUIREMENTS MET (“Chronicle” Special Parliamentary Service.-* Copyright throughout Zeaiandj W ELLixX G 1 ON, Sept. 13. Miscluefi brewed, in the Licencing Bill discussion to-night, over the auinission of the Hon. A. D. McLeod., in answer to questions by Messrs H. £. Holland, and. J, G. Hliott in the adternuon, that over 100,000 ballot papers for thi licensing poll in November had already been printed, embodying, according to tne existing law, three issues for popular decision, regardless ofc the fact that it was conceivable that the existing law might be altered by the passage on the Licensing Bill now beiore Paniament, . . . . X(B Mr McLeod hurl first aiiinittcd that hol live per cent oi thetotai number on. ou.lot papers required had bees printed oul when pressed; by x»ir )¥. L. Parry , said that uuoht iUO,UuU had been printed. il was thcoe admissions that formed me oasis oi acrimonious passages during me main licensing iu,*coate in tne. evening. mr xiollami pointed out that thouga Mr Coates uad a two-issue baixue paper* proposal in the Bill, the oailuu papers xor the coming poll were already printed witu three issues on tnem. ivxr McLeod: No! *u.r iiu-iand; il was admitted this afternoon. mi* McLeoci; No. Mr .Holland; What is the use of ihe Minister denying it I Mr Mcixcoid; Because it is not true. Mr Holland cuaraclensed as astounding tne Minister’s replies to questions asked by Mr Eliott and xiimseii in tue aiternoon, when Mr McLeod had first admitted that five per cent, on.y were printed and; then vuat iuu,uuu were printed; and then consideraoiy more man. live per cent. Mr Alcueoid; Nu f it is not. Mr Coates; ’There are over a million printed. Mr iio-land seized triumphantly on this interjection, saying that the x'rime minister had tuereby admitted me trutu ui his cnargeo. Mr Coates nud saxd mat over a million papers were a reauy print mi* Coates; 1 s:«,id nothing of tho kina. mr Holland said that even supposing an tue papers had not been pnnteu, ul any rave IUU,OuU hud been printed, and tnese Had three issues ok. tnem, which snowed tnat thc Prime Minister was insincere in bringing on uie JLisensing Bill in its present xorm. Mr Coates: \ cry clever, very smart, air Hol and: Du you t-ay there arc not three issues on me ballot paper aireauy printed? Mr Coates: You are hard up for something to say. Air llouand: x can tell you facts, but 1 can t make you understand them. reiterated Hku the Government’ while bunging forward this Bill, Knew that IUU,uOU papers, if not the whole lot, been printed bearing three issues. Mr Coates: lou Knew more than the Government knew.

Air Holland: Surely that is good reason for getting rid of such a Government, with Ministers that do not know what their departments arc doing. He challenged the Government to allow a delegation consisting of himself, Air Coates, Mr Elliot and Air G. W. Forbes to inspect thc Government Printing Office and examine its documents to ascertain the exact position and truth or otherwise of his charges.

Air AlcLcod, Alinister in charge of the Electoral Department, said that Air Holland had, according to custom, gone out of his way to make the licensing debate a direct party question. His whole attitude was to »ee not what reforms could be effected for benefit of the people, but what possible advantage the Labour Party juld score. As for his charge, until midday he (Mr. McLeod) was a good ileal more ignorant of what was going on in tho Government printing office than Air Holland evidently was. Apparently he had got some information through secret sources. He must have asked some workers in the printing department to falsify the oath of secrecy under which they wcre engaged. Air Holland (excitedly): I did not. I did not! The Speaker: Order! Order! Air AlcLeod was instructed to withdraw, and did so stating, however, that thc oath of secrecy was demanded of all Government Printing Office employees, and if thc evidence had been secured from that source then some employee had broken his oath.

Air Holland: You arc quite wrong. Air AlcLeod continued that Air Eliott had asked his question because he had heard a whisper that someone knew that a number of ballot papers had been printed. Air Holland: Where did h” ’ ear thnt whisper ? Air AlcLeod: I don’t know. He added that he had secured a report from the officer responsible for the printing of the ballot papers. He read out this officer’s memorandum, which stated that papers for absentee electors, which were wanted early, about 125,000 being required, ha’d been prepared, because time was so short that they had necessarily been prepared in accordance with the existing la v, which provided for a three-issue ballot paper. “Air Holland,” concluded Air AlcLeod, “has gone out of his way to suggest surreptitious actions on thc part of thc Government.”