WAS IT A BRIBE?

Wanganui Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 15973, 15 November 1919, Page 5

WAS IT A BRIBE?

REFORM CANDIDATE S VIEW OF POLITICS. AN INDUCEMENT TO ELECTORS. PROMISED DISTRIBUTION OF PROFITS WITH ORPHANAGE IF ELECTED. “If elected, I shall be prepared to give all the profits (after accounts arc duly audited) from my fruit farm in Nelson to the Orphanage for the next three years.”—Mr Cuttle, replying to a. question at Aramoho on Thursday night. When the above excerpt from Mr Cuttle’s address at Aramoho appeared in the “Herald” last night, there were many who read it with astonishment and were rather sceptical that any man of intelligence who is really in earnest about winning a seat in Parliament, should be so ignorant of the laws of this country as to make a statement such as the above, which even to the most unthinking can only be accepted as a broach of a certain Act which deals with bribery and corruption. The recorder cannot be accused of mia-re-porting, and Mr Cuttle, the Reform condidate, and his big-gun supporters, cannot remove from his “promise of favours to come if elected” the pernicious principle in politics of making an offer to do certain things if the electors will assure him a return to Parliraent. It is well-known that consternation reigned in the Rfeform camp over Mr Cuttle’s blunder, and that the offer of “favours to' come,” reduced whatever little prospects Mr Cuttle had of going to Wellington as the district’s representative. His advocates may say the statement was made in jest but no one who knows Mr Cuttle would over classify him as a humourist. A number of letters have been received by the Editor on the matter, but as there is perfect unanimity as to the Refwmer’s bait, and only a variation in the words used, in the communications addressed to us, we confine the publicity of the opinions expressed to a couple of samples which wo think will serve the purpose equally as well as a column of letters particularly in view of shortage of space. To the Editor. Sir,—When I read my “Herald” tonight, I saw that a remarkable statement had been made by Mr W. J. Cuttle, Reform candidate, at Aramoho. As I bought a Chronicle lip the town in the morning, I traced its columns-'to see if there was any corroboration, but found there were no “damaged, goods in the Reform mouthpiece paper. _ It was easy to read the Editor’s mind; that it was too damaging and must be suppressed. It is pleasing to find that we have one paper in our town that was not afraid to give a correct record of tho meeting. Mr Cuttle could never hope to win after offering such a bribe. We do sometimes put men into iarliament without knowing their character thoroughly, but seeing that Mr Cuttle took tho lid off for once, and let ns get a peep at his, I do not think that ho can blame anyone but himself for the few votes he will receive on election day. Mr Cuttle has now proved himself quite unfitted to represent this electorate, or any other electorate in Parliament. There have been too many men in the Parliaments of by-gone days who worked on the principle of “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” We must in toe interests of clean politics avoid returning such men in future. A public promise to devote the profits of a fruit farm to the Wanganui Orphanage was nothing else but a most barefaced bribe to Wanganui electors. Mr Cuttle, you are now a back number for sure. _I LOVER OF CLEAN POLITICS. To the Editor. gj r Was Mr Cuttle mis-reported when he offered to give toe profits of his Nelson fruit farm to the local Orphanage if the people would elect him to Parliament? 'The Orphanage is a verv deserving institution no doubt, hut I do not think its funds require to be swelled under such conditions Mr Cuttle, I thought, was above that kind ‘of thing, and evidently his Reform tutors thought so, too, so left that little aside out of the lessons. He might as well retire from the contest now. I would not now vote for Reform with such a candidate representing its interests. —I am, etc., 1 DISGUSTED reformer.