The Wanganui Chronicle FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1948 PUBLIC CONCERN IN WANGANUI

Wanganui Chronicle, 29 October 1948, Page 4

The Wanganui Chronicle FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1948 PUBLIC CONCERN IN WANGANUI

JN the course of his contribution to the discussion on the “Southern Cross mail contract, Mr. J. B. Cotterill, the Labour member for Wanganui, averred that “when he returned to Wanganui two week-ends previously he had found considerable public concern about the statements made by the member for Patea regarding the night mail service. ’ ’ The question addressed by Mr. Sheat to the PostmasterGeneral sought to obtain particulars concerning how this business was arranged and there is no suggestipn in the report published in the “Chronicle” of the Saturday, October 16, that Mr. Sheat desired that the service should be cancelled.

There is, however, a strong emphasis placed on the possibility of the service being cancelled by the manner in 'which the Post-master-General chose to reply to the member for Patea. It was from the Postmaster-General that the suggestion of cancellation came. The Postmaster-General said that “if Mr. Sheat thought that this service was not wanted the department would consider cancelling it.” The responsibility for the idea that such a cancellation was to be contemplated arose solely out of the Post-master-General’s reply. For Mr. Cotterill to misrepresent this clumsy reply as the responsibility of Mr. Sheat is to add to his growing list of misdemeanours as a public debater. But is Mr. Cotterill’s averment to be accepted that “he found considerable public concern about the statements made by the member for Patea regarding the night mail service” in 'Wanganui during the week-end including Saturday, October 16. There were no public functions during that week-end to attract Mr. Cotterill save the final meeting of the Trotting Club and it is improbable that the racing habitues were concerned to discuss mail contracts in between the events. Indeed it is highly improbable that more than a handful of people knew anything at all about the existence of these mail contracts during that week-end and so it would be of interest to discover how Mr. Cotterill could have “found considerable public concern.” Seeing it was not expressed in any public resolution, nor was it the subject of discussion by any representative body, what was the evidence upon which the member for Wanganui based his finding of “considerable public concern." It is remarkable if there were so much public concern that nobody else noticed it and that it failed to find expression in the columns of the “Chronicle.” The “Chronicle” does not suppress public news and it is very interested in publishing evidence of “considerable public concern” whenever it is expressed. In what circles did Mr. Cotterill move during that week-end which enabled him to make his discovery—and he alone?

THE DEGRADATION OF PARLIAMENT

Mr. G. 11. Mackley asked in the House of Representatives that all the reinvent papers concerning the appointment of Mr. Simpson, undischarged bankrupt, sometime of Patea, to a position in the High Commissioner’s office in London, be laid on the table of the House he took an appropriate step in the interests of clean administration. Unfortunately for themselves one private member who at one time held Ministerial rank in the Labour Government and a present member of the Administration immediately engaged in unclean observations. Such conduct degraded the Parliament of New Zealand in the eyes of the world and to that extent it is to be regretted. New Zealanders have a good name overseas for the fittingness of their conduct and this reputation was strengthened by the conduct of the troops from this country who served in various countries during the recent war. It 'will be very difficult for friends overseas when they learn of the degradation of Parliament brought about by the language used by Messrs. Langstone and McLagan to understand why it was that Parliament did not take immediate action to expel or to suspend these men who know not the meaning of what is fitting and what is disgusting. That these two men are so unfortunate as to be devoid of a sense of decency in public entitles them to. public pity as well as to private commiseration. To indulge in misconduct knowing it to be low is bad, but to do so not knowing that it is disgusting is pitiable, indeed. No harsh words, therefore, should be employed in respect to the conduct of these unfortunates, but that does not end the matter. Those electors who sent these two men as representatives to Parliament are responsible for the filthy language which these unfortunates elect to use in debate: to vote for these men after they have revealed themselves in their native element of their minds is for each voter to proclaim himself of like kind to his chosen representative. If anyone is comfortable in so voting nothing more requires to be said to him.

THE TEMPER OF AUSTRALIAN POLITICS

STRALIAN politics have ever been on the colourful side, but . of late a measure of irrationality has marked the conduct of the Government. This irrationality has made itself felt in large matters and small. For instance, the Broken Hill companies complain that the regulations drawn up in respect to taxation has been simply not applied to themselves, while they have been required to sell their metals in Australia at a fictitiously low price. There may be some measure of justification for such a singular course of conduct, but it is more difficult to see the justification for the temper in which certain adult young women are being ordered back to Australia on the Russian Government pattern of conduct. These young women went overseas because they were efficient workers with the American Army units: they have since shown their ability’ to fend for themselves and are satisfied with their present situations. Were they in need of protection it would he creditable for the Australian Government to take an interest in their welfare, but it does not appear that they need such help. They certainly have not asked for assistance and apparently they resent the paternal arm of the Australian Government reaching out to bring them home and break across what, apparently, are successful careers. Now a gentleman with a flame disturbing his imagination has presented them to the nation as girls who possibly took the wrong turning. There is absolutely no ground ,for such an assumption and if there were then a public speech on the subject is the most unlikely way of helping the erring ones. It would appear that the Australian Government is moving from one stupidity to another in respect to this matter, thereby making itsell the laughing-stock of Australia and the rest of the world. The subsequent denial of the irrational speech still leaves much to be explained.